THE BRISBANE Lions have beaten the Western Bulldogs in Melbourne for the first time in almost nine years, storming to a 58-point win at Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

The Lions had spoken of their motivation to make the club's past greats proud at their Hall of Fame function on Saturday night, and that's exactly what they did in winning 18.6 (114) to 7.14 (56).

Donning the old maroon strip of Fitzroy, the plucky visitors led by just 15 points early in the third term before piling on 10.1 to just 2.6 for the rest of the match.

The Lions made a mockery of what was expected to be a tight contest.

The Lions' feverish pressure proved telling as they kept the Dogs goalless in the third term and for much of the second half.

Piloted by a magnificent 40-possession, two-goal performance from goalkicking midfield/forward star Tom Rockliff, the Lions were also superbly served by rebounding defender Pearce Hanley (29 touches), Jack Redden (31), Daniel Rich (22 and two goals), Simon Black (23) and Dayne Zorko (29).

Lions utility Daniel Merrett slotted four goals, including three in a scene-setting first term, while Ash McGrath also chimed in with five.

It was the Lions' first victory on the road against the Bulldogs since the final round of 2003 - just a month before they stormed to their third successive premiership.

The Dogs had won the subsequent five Melbourne clashes by an imposing average of 57 points, including victories in their past two clashes by 65 and 78 points respectively.

Just seven players from that 2003 match were playing this time - Lions skipper Jonathan Brown and teammates Black and McGrath, along with Bulldogs Daniel Giansiracusa, Daniel Cross, Brian Lake and Bob Murphy.

Brown and Lake opposed each other for much of the afternoon, with Lake taking the honours.

The Lions - who moved the ball with system and precision - were clearly the better side in the first half and should have been further ahead at the long break than 17 points.

They kicked the first three goals inside nine minutes, including two via contested marks and tight-angle conversions from Merrett.

It took the Bulldogs 10 minutes to post their first score, and 15 minutes for their first goal.

The Lions piled on 6.1 by quarter-time - just as they had the previous week against Hawthorn only to lose by 65 points - but this time they gave their opponent little respite.

The visitors led by 25 points midway through the second term but the Bulldogs managed to stay within striking distance. Nine straight Lions goals turned the contest into a hiding.

The only apparent negative for the Lions was an arm injury to Matt Maguire, who was subbed off at quarter-time.


WESTERN BULLDOGS     2.3    5.6    5.10    7.14  (56)
BRISBANE LIONS              6.1    8.5    12.5    18.6  (114)

GOALS
Western Bulldogs: Giansiracusa 2, Cross, Dickson, Higgins, Murphy, Roughead
Brisbane Lions: McGrath 5, Merrett 4, Bewick 2, Rich 2, Rockliff 2, Hanley, Raines, Redden

BEST
Western Bulldogs: Howard, Liberatore, Campbell, Griffen, Lake, Dahlhaus, Cross
Brisbane Lions: Rockliff, Hanley, McGrath. Zorko, Redden, Merrett, Black, Rich

INJURIES
Western Bulldogs: Nil
Brisbane Lions: Maguire (elbow)

SUBSTITUTES
Western Bulldogs: Liam Jones replaced by Clay Smith during the third quarter
Brisbane Lions: Matt Maguire replaced by Josh Green at quarter-time

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Wenn, Jeffery, Mitchell

Official crowd: 20,146 at Etihad Stadium

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club