Even though the rain eventually subsided following Saturday night’s torrential downpour in Brisbane, the conditions were far from ideal at Esplen Oval and made for a relatively sloppy start.
“The oval looked in surprisingly good nick, in that if you walked past the oval you couldn’t visibly see any puddles,” Reserves Coach Nathan Clarke said.
“But when the players ran across the ground, you could certainly see the water splashing against their feet.”
“It was very much a wet weather game, even though there wasn’t really any rain.”
The Lions took a little time adapting to the conditions and even trailed at the first break, before piling on 13 goals to two in the second half to secure their fourth win from five starts.
“Barring our inaccuracy, I thought we were pretty good in both halves. It’s just that we started kicking straight in the second half that proved the difference,” Clarke said.
The match also signified off-season recruit Dayne Zorko’s first match with the Lions - and he certainly didn’t disappoint.
“Dayne had a terrific comeback game,” Clarke said.
“We know that he’s an elite State League level player, so there were no surprises that he was able to play well. However, the way he played still exceeded our expectations.”
“We just have to manage him over the next week or two. Then I expect he will come into the picture for senior selection.”
First round draft selection Sam Docherty also returned from a couple of weeks on the sidelines to play a key role in the second half onslaught.
“Sam is, by nature, an attacking defender and probably got off to a bit of a scratchy start because he was still adjusting to the conditions,” Clarke said.
“But he ended up being very good for us and looks a real player.”
While much of the attention was focussed on Zorko and Docherty, it was 21 year-old rookie Josh Dyson who was arguably the most influential player on the contest.
“Josh is a very dynamic player and although he can be untidy at times with his disposal, he pieced it all together on the weekend,” Clarke said.
“He was really energetic and had good pace coming out of congestion - and there was a lot of congestion!”
“Particularly in the first half, when the heat was on in the first half, he lapped it up.”
Up forward, the Reserves were best served by Bryce Retzlaff, Jordan Lisle and top-up player Alexander Kitching who each booted three goals.
“Retzy had his customary 8-9 shots on goal, but only finished with three,” Clarke said.
“Jordan didn’t have as many shots on goal because he rucked 60-70% of the game. He was really clean in slippery conditions, and showed a lot more defensive energy. At one stage he even ran down the smallest player on the ground!”
Clarke also praised the efforts of his stringent defensive line who conceded just 37 points for the match.
“Niall McKeever and Justin Clarke have been really good as our key posts in defensive, and I really like the way that Steve Wrigley plays across half-back,” he said.
One of the other key contributors to the Lions Reserves’ victory was injured midfielder Amon Buchanan, who was apparently behind one of the match-winning moves from the coach’s box.
“Amon claims to have made the masterstroke move of putting Cheynee Stiller into the middle as an on-baller,” Clarke said.
The Lions’ overall dominance could be attributed to the fact they had 18 listed players in their line-up.
Such was the availability of players, that the Reserves had the luxury of affording Callum Bartlett a week’s rest - keeping him fresh for this Saturday’s match against Aspley at Yeronga.
“Aspley are struggling a little bit at the moment, but they’re a team that worried us last year and we’re very wary of them,” Clarke said.
“They have some quality players - like Robbie Copeland, Trav Johnstone, Matt Payne, Ben Bucovaz and Micah Buchanan.”
“They probably don’t have a heap of height, but what they don’t have they make up for in determination. They pack a fair punch.”
FINAL SCORE
Brisbane Lions 16.22 (118) d Morningside 5.7 (37)
LIONS GOALS
Lisle 3, Kitching 3, Retzlaff 3, Zorko 2, Bewick, Dyson , Harwood , Hawksley
LIONS BEST
Dyson, Green, Kitching, Lisle, Stiller, Wrigley
