The Lions Reserves have opened their NEAFL premiership defense in style with a strong 87 point win over the Morningside Panthers at Esplen Oval.

Overwhelming an initially determined Morningside outfit, the Lions emerged the victors 22.12-144 to 8.9-57.

While the Lions dominated possession in the early exchanges they struggled to shake the Panthers who were pouncing on the majority of their opportunities.

The match continued to be a close affair until ill discipline from Morningside gifted the Lions a handful of goals halfway through the 2^nd quarter.

From that point on the Lions took control and through some strong defense starved the Panthers of any significant scoring chances.

Both sides were guilty of some wayward kicking early on but the Lions steadied as the match played out, simply proving too clinical for the home side.

Niall McKeever, Callum Barlett and Jordan Lisle spearheaded the Lion’s attack, providing solid targets up front, kicking 11 goals between them.

New Development coach Leigh Harding was particularly impressed with the defensive effort put forward by the team.

“The Backline all played well, which in turn allowed our forwards to get on the scoreboard, guys like Jordan Bourke and Justin Clarke were excellent,”

“Overall there were some great team efforts and guys contributing to the whole group, a really positive start.” He said.

The Brisbane Lion Reserves play the UWS Giants from the Eastern Conference next Saturday at home in Coorparoo.