THE BRISBANE Lions will seek to replicate the efforts of North Melbourne when they host the Western Bulldogs in a crunch clash at the Gabba on Saturday.
Following the weekend loss to Hawthorn the Lions currently sit ninth – a game outside of the top-eight – and the assignment against the third-placed Bulldogs looks a testing one.
However, the Lions can take heart from the weekend performance of North Melbourne, which led at every change in accounting for the Bulldogs by 20 points.
The win continued the Roos’ push for a top-four spot and was set up by an enterprising first half, in which North Melbourne steered through 11 goals to five.
The lead stretched to 50 points part-way through the third quarter, before the Bulldogs started a comeback which momentarily cut the deficit to 14 points late in the final term.
The Dogs were led by skipper Brad Johnson, who kicked five goals and had 22 possessions and 11 marks, while ruckman Ben Hudson was a late withdrawal with a back injury.
In other weekend action, both of the Lions’ other two remaining opponents emerged victorious – the Sydney Swans grabbing a thrilling four-point win over Fremantle and Carlton racking up 42 scoring shots in thumping Port Adelaide by 66 points.
Geelong annihilated Melbourne by 116 points, Collingwood overcame a difficult week to account for St Kilda by 14 points, Adelaide thumped Richmond by 63 points and West Coast all but ended Essendon’s charge at the finals with a 10-point win at Subiaco.
The best individual performance of the week probably came from Swan Adam Goodes, who booted a career-high eight goals, including two vital majors in the dying moments of the dramatic win over Freo.
With three rounds to play, Geelong is odds-on to grab the minor premiership, with Hawthorn and the Western Bulldogs set for top-three finishes.
The Swans are working hard to hang onto fourth in the face of challenges from North Melbourne and Adelaide, while Collingwood, St Kilda, the Lions, Carlton and Richmond are fighting it out for the chance to play finals.
The divide between top and bottom of the ladder was highlighted, as Geelong systematically demolished a shell-shocked Melbourne outfit. Wet weather proved no barrier for the Cats, who had seven multiple goal-kickers and were the best part of 10 goals in front before the Demons even managed to register a score.
Carlton 18.24 (132) d Port Adelaide 9.12 (66)
Blues fans might be concerned by their team’s continued inaccuracy but they will have been delighted by a resounding win that keeps Carlton in the race for a finals berth. The 10th-placed Blues (nine wins) dictated proceedings from the outset and improved their percentage to 99.28 – only a little more than one point less than the eighth-placed Saints (10 wins) and the ninth-placed Lions (nine wins).
Collingwood 14.13 (97) d St Kilda 12.11 (83)
Collingwood put its mid-week media circus behind it and leapfrogged St Kilda into seventh spot with a hard-fought 14-point victory. Many commentators had wondered how the Pies would react to the season-ending suspensions of stars Alan Didak and Heath Shaw – and Mick Malthouse’s side answered those queries by leading at every change. The Saints tried hard but looked only a shadow of the team that defeated Hawthorn less than a month ago.
Sydney Swans 17.10 (112) d Fremantle 15.18 (108)
More final quarter heartache for Fremantle fans, after their team led by more than two goals mid-way through the last term but was overrun by the Adam Goodes-inspired Swans. Goodes booted eight goals, including two in the dying minutes, as the never-say-die Swans kept their grip on fourth spot and a finals double-chance.
North Melbourne 21.10 (136) d Western Bulldogs 18.8 (116)
The Bulldogs look set for a third-placed finish to the home-and-away season but their indifferent recent form continues – the loss to the Roos was their third in the last four games. After a slow start in which North Melbourne kicked six of the first seven goals, the Dogs worked their way back into Sunday’s game but had no answer to best afield Brent Harvey or Roo crumbers Shannon Grant, Matt Campbell and Leigh Harding (three goals each).
Adelaide 16.12 (108) d Richmond 6.9 (45)
The Crows look to have well and truly overcome their form slump, after making it three wins on the trot with a comprehensive rout of Richmond. The Tigers had everything to play for in their bid to stay in finals contention, but it didn’t show as a far more polished Adelaide outfit completely dominated all but the first few minutes of the match.
West Coast 17.11 (113) d Essendon 16.7 (103)
Essendon appears to have kissed its finals hopes goodbye, with a second-half fightback not enough to secure a win against a more determined West Coast in Perth. The Eagles laid the foundations for the win with a 10 goals to four first-half and benefited from a brilliant seven-goal performance from up-and-coming forward Ben McKinley.
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
