JAMES Podsiadly kicked a career-high eight goals to lead Geelong to an unconvincing 29-point win over the Brisbane Lions after Jonathan Brown was stretchered off following another sickening collision.

The Lions led by three points at the final change before the Cats' big forwards Podsiadly (three) and Tom Hawkins (two) took charge in the final term as they ran out 20.13 (133) to 15.14 (104) winners.

The win snapped a two-match losing streak but was overshadowed by Brown's horrendous third quarter incident that saw him taken off on a medicab wearing a neck brace.

Initial scans at Brisbane's Princess Alexandra Hospital have cleared Brown of any facial fractures.

The Lions' captain was running back with the flight of the ball and collided with the oncoming Harry Taylor and Mitch Clark.

He went straight to ground and did not move.

Clark, Taylor and Brown's opponent Tom Lonergan all laid prone on the ground when play was stopped.

The Geelong defenders got back to their feet while Clark did also, but was hobbled for the rest of the match.

Brown was conscious and sent to hospital for scans.

Even Geelong coach Chris Scott - a former premiership teammate of Brown's - was sickened by the incident.

"I feel sorry for him. It typifies the way he plays, backing into a pack he had no right to back into and putting himself in harm's way."

It was the second time this season Brown has been involved in a horrific collision after taking an accidental knee from Fremantle's Luke McPharlin in round one.

On that occasion he sustained multiple facial fractures and missed six matches.

With the Lions struggling in the big man department, Geelong found their run in the fourth quarter but was far from convincing.

"The reality is for the moment for parts games we are just an average team and that is not going to stand up at the end of the year," Geelong coach Chris Scott said.

The home team moved the ball quicker and more fluently for most of the match, with Todd Banfield (four goals), Clark (three) and Pat Karnezis (two) useful focal points.

After a week on the Gold Coast, the Cats looked in holiday mode for much of the match, missing targets and playing without their usual intensity.

But Podisadly kept them in the contest, kicking five goals in the first half and finishing with eight against hapless Matt Maguire.

Geelong trailed by 14 points late in the second quarter, but goals to Allen Christensen, Jimmy Bartel and Podsiadly gave them a slender two-point lead at half-time.

FIRST QUARTER

Joel Selwood did not take long making his presence felt in his comeback match, grabbing the clearance from the opening bounce and spearing a pass to Tom Hawkins. Hawkins missed the shot but Geelong scored their first goal soon after, through James Podsiadly. Brisbane Lions quickly bounced back, courtesy of smart handballing and a Luke Power finish and Tom Rockliff snapped a goal minutes later to put the Lions in front. Podsiadly kicked his second, but the Lions looked more determined and keen to play on and goals to Mitch Clark and James Hawksley gave the home side a two goal lead. Podsiadly kicked both his and Geelong’s third to cut the margin to eight.

Brisbane Lions 4.6 (30) Geelong 3.4 (22)

SECOND QUARTER

Jonathan Brown found Todd Banfield with a long handpass and Banfield converted, starting Brisbane Lions’ second quarter on a good note. Geelong kicked two goals back to be within two points but the Lions quickly responded through Patrick Karnezis (15th minute) and Mitch Clark (17th minute).  Podsiadly booted his fourth major to ring the margin back to eight points but Patrick Karnezis, just as quickly, had his second, to keep the buffer beyond two goals. Geelong went on a run, kicking three goals in a row, including Podsiadly’s fifth, to take the lead.

Geelong Cats 9.4 (58) Brisbane Lions 8.8 (56)

THIRD QUARTER

The two teams traded goals early with the margin never exceeding three goals all quarter. Brisbane held on to their lead, courtesy of three Todd Banfield goals, but Lions captain Brown took a Mitch Clark elbow to the head in a sickening clash in the 20th minute that left Clark hobbling and Brown stretchered off with a neck guard on. The Cats seemed to gain the momentum from the clash, but were unable to hurt the Lions on the scoreboard, kicking one goal and three points for the rest of the quarter.

Brisbane Lions 13.11 (89) Geelong Cats 13.8 (86)

FOURTH QUARTER

Geelong dominated the last quarter to run away with the win, in the absence of Clark and Brown. Tom Hawkins had two goals in two minutes and Podsiadly added three more to his tally to have a career-best eight for the game. Ashley McGrath kicked an early goal for the Lions but they had to wait for the 26th minute to score a goal again, this one coming through Sam Sheldon. Travis Varcoe replied not long after for the last goal of the game, leaving Geelong 29-point winners.

Geelong Cats 20.13 (133) Brisbane Lions 15.14 (104)

Influential players

Podisadly starred with eight goals and Brownlow medallist Jimmy Bartel (32 disposals - 14 in the fourth quarter) was not far behind. But it was two of Geelong's youngsters in Tom Hawkins and Allen Christensen that also stood up in the fourth term. Hawkins kicked two of his three goals to and Christensen had nine of his 25 touches to help give the Cats some breathing space.

Irishman Pearce Hanley continues to develop for the Lions. His 30 disposals and match-high 11 marks gave the hosts plenty of run from their back half. Matthew Leuenberger had 35 hitouts, but just as impressive was his 17 touches, two of which pumped the ball deep into the Lions' forward line for marks and goals to key forwards.

What it means

Geelong snapped a two-match losing streak but it wasn't enough to impress coach Chris Scott. He said they were an average team for parts of the game and not much more. Their tall forwards Podsiadly and Hawkins looked dangerous and Joel Selwood (23 disposals and nine clearances) was good in his first match back from suspension.

The Lions were competitive again but came up one quarter short. Without Brown contributing on the scoreboard they managed to find some other targets up forward and lead one of the competition's best teams through three quarters. The skipper's injury didn't help but they ran out of legs in the fourth quarter. The Lions played a far more adventurous brand of football that would give supporters hope.

The next four

Geelong: Richmond (Etihad Stadium); Melbourne (Skilled Stadium); Gold Coast (Skilled Stadium); Adelaide (AAMI Stadium).

Brisbane Lions: North Melbourne (Etihad Stadium); bye; Adelaide (Gabba); Gold Coast (Gabba).

Dream Team highlight

Geelong: Allen Christensen ($219,700) had 116 Dream Team points to be one of Geelong's best, along with perennial point scorer Jimmy Bartel (120), while James Podsiadly's career-best bag of eight netted him 115 points.

Brisbane Lions: For Brisbane Lions, Pearce Hanley ($287,800) led the side with 129 points and Tom Rockliff was not far behind with 114. Ashley McGrath (100) was the only other Lions player to score in triple figures.

The crowd

At just under 20,000 it was not one of the Lions' biggest crowds but it was certainly the loudest. With a number of puzzling umpiring decisions going against the home team, the fans in Brisbane found their voice for the first time this season.

Stats that mattered

After being dominated through the first three quarters (297-239), Geelong found more of the footy when it counted. They won the disposal count 117-81 in the fourth quarter and more importantly the clearances 15-4.

Geelong                     3.4      9.4      13.8    20.13 (133)
Brisbane Lions          4.6      8.8      13.11  15.14 (104)

GOALS
Geelong: Podsiadly 8, Hawkins 3, Corey 2, Christensen 2, Stokes, Johnson, Hunt, Varcoe, Bartel
Brisbane Lions: Banfield 4, Clark 3, Karnezis, Hawksley 2, Rockliff, McGrath, Power, Sheldon

BEST
Geelong: Podsiadly, Bartel, Corey, Christensen, Taylor, Stokes
Brisbane Lions: Leuenberger, Black, Banfield, Raines, Hanley, Rockliff

INJURIES
Geelong: N/A
Brisbane Lions: Brown (face)

SUBSTITUTES
Geelong: Simon Hogan replaced by Steven Motlop in the third quarter
Brisbane Lions: Jonathan Brown replaced by Ryan Harwood in the third quarter

Reports: Nil
Umpires: Kennedy, Bowen, Pannell
Official crowd: 19,906 at the Gabba
 
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily of the clubs or the AFL