Wet conditions at Yeronga last Saturday afternoon made for a tough slog between the Brisbane Lions Reserves and Labrador.

But after an expected low-scoring first half, the match opened up and the Lions took full advantage by piling on 13 goals to zero after the main break to run out eventual 97-point winners.

Reserves Coach Nathan Clarke said the trying conditions and relentless pressure from the opposition made for some anxious moments in the opening half.

“When it has been really wet, we’ve tended to overuse the footy a bit,” Clarke said.

“So the match wasn’t without its frustrations.”

“I actually felt like we might have been a bit vulnerable after coming off a good win over Sydney. The conditions were also a great leveller.”

“But that’s not to discredit Labrador, who really cracked in there and made it a physical contest for us.”

“Tim Notting was a late withdrawal for them, but they got to bring in a young fella whose eyes might have widened up at the prospect of playing against AFL club.”

“They ended up getting plenty of energy from their young kids who didn’t seem to care about the weather, and just had a crack.”

The Reserves’ long list of good players was headed by Callum Bartlett, who impressed the coaching staff in a relatively unfamiliar role.

“Callum did really well,” Clarke said.

“It was good to see him embrace the new role across half-forward after spending a fair bit of time in the midfield of late. He will potentially spend time in the midfield again soon, but it’s great to see him adapt his game as required.”

“It was really difficult to list just six blokes in the best players because there were so many good contributors on the day.”

“Patrick Wearden is one who was close to being our best player in the first half.”

“Patrick got some good feedback from our mid-year review and the penny seems to have really dropped for him lately.”

“He has been knuckling down in the gym, and on the weekend showed greater confidence in his abilities. He went for his marks on a wet day, and a couple of them stuck.”

Jesse O’Brien and Ryan Lester, who were rested from the Reserves’ match against Labrador, are both expected to be available for this weekend’s round of matches.

FINAL SCORE

Brisbane Lions 1.4 4.10 8.14 17.15 (117)
Labrador 1.2 2.4 2.6 2.8 (20)

LIONS GOALS
Dyson 3, Starcevich 3, Newell 2, Stiller 2, Lisle 2, Gambale, Buchanan, Docherty, Hawksley, Bartlett

LIONS BEST
Bartlett, Beams, Buchanan, Docherty, Lisle, Sheldon