Amon Buchanan ran riot with 38 disposals, Sam Docherty had 28, and Callum Bartlett relished the damp track to win 22 touches - most of which were hard ball gets.
The home team had ten different goal-kickers on a tough day for key forwards; Jackson Starcevich and Josh Dyson kicked three each, and Jordan Lisle battled manfully for two majors and ten marks.
The 17.15 (117) to 2.8 (20) win was the Lions’ seventh in succession, and boosted their percentage to almost 200%.
The Tigers, who fronted the competition a little over a month ago, now slip outside the top 5 and are in real danger of missing the finals.
The Lions’ September spot is a formality, though they have several tough match-ups looming in the closing rounds; including next week’s stoush with the Suns.
Gold Coast firmed up fifth spot with a comfortable win over Aspley on Saturday, and they’ll surely be fired up for their third match against the Lions this season; an early-afternoon curtain-raiser to the senior game at Metricon Stadium.
The honours have been shared from the first two clashes, and Lions midfielder Claye Beams reckons it’ll be tight next week.
“It’s always good coming up against another AFL-listed club; both sides really look forward to it and lift,” says Beams, who starred with 28 possessions and eight tackles against the Tigers.
“I’m definitely envisaging a close, hard-fought match against the Suns.”
Yesterday’s game was tight for the first two quarters, before the Lions kicked 13 unanswered goals in the second half to run away with the four points.
Both teams kicked a solitary six-pointer in the opening half hour as they sought to adjust to the difficult conditions and each others’ game style in their first meeting of 2012.
As the second stanza opened up, so did boom ruckman Billy Longer’s jaw. The Club's first round draft pick was escorted from the ground to have stitches to patch up his split face.
Longer didn’t re-enter the fray, but the injury shouldn’t stop the big man from facing the Suns.
The Lions opened up a 21-point gap at the main break, before a touch of class from Josh Dyson ignited the second half carnage.
The 181cm attacking midfielder clung on to a brilliant contested grab diving backwards then slotted the goal from 45 metres.
The Lions stretched their lead to 44 points at the final change, with the Tigers looking decidedly toothless going forward without scoring lynchpin Tim Notting who was a late withdrawal from their team.
The liberal smattering of Lions fans perched on the grass around the ground were treated to another highlight late in the last quarter as their team stretched the margin.
Cal Bartlett won the ball in the centre square, burnt off two defenders and speared in a pass to the leading Jordan Lisle. The ex-Hawk then pivoted and lofted a perfectly weighted chip in to the outstretched hands of a running Richard Newell, who marked and goalled from 20 metres.
Claye Beams says such clinical efficiency and clean ball movement is a big reason his team is on top of the ladder.
“A big focus for us has been hitting targets, and making sure we’re executing our skills cleanly-particularly by foot,” Beams says.
“That was the really pleasing thing about the game against Labrador; although it was wet and muddy we were able to move the ball pretty cleanly-particularly in the second half.”
The Lions and Suns Reserves play at Metricon stadium on Saturday July 21 at 12:30pm.
