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A STUNNING six-goal final quarter has helped Carlton overcome a 32-point three-quarter time deficit to steal an unlikely victory against the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba tonight.

The Blues won a wildly fluctuating contest 18.7 (115) to 16.13 (109) in front of 34,327 bewildered fans – the biggest crowd at the Gabba in 2008.

After leading by 18 points at half time, Carlton watched the Lions totally transform the game with a nine-goals-to-one third quarter to take a seemingly unassailable lead to the final change.

But that's when the drama started.

Brendan Fevola, Cameron Cloke – who starred with four goals – and Jarrad Waite all goaled in the first six minutes to reduce the margin to 14 points and put the home team under pressure.

When Murphy, Cloke and Waite added further goals, the Blues had seized the lead at the 17-minute mark, and they clung on in a dramatic final 10 minutes.

Joe Anderson backed back in the final seconds to mark in front of Jonathan Brown and seal the win.

Nick Stevens was the side’s final-quarter catalyst, getting the ball 13 times, along with midfield mates Chris Judd and Murphy, who had been totally outpointed in the third quarter.

Carlton had more than twice as many possessions as the Lions in the final quarter, 115 to 56, and the waves running forward finally told.

Cloke, with four goals and a spectacular first-quarter hanger, was superb up forward.

Brad Fisher had a three-goal burst in the second term, Ryan Houlihan three of his own in the first, and Fevola finished with two.

For the Lions, Daniel Bradshaw was superb up forward, booting six goals, while Brown added four.

The loss virtually spells the end of the Lions’ finals chances.

But it was the final-quarter running power of the Blues that won the night, with Stevens (35 touches), Judd (33) and Murphy (27) sublime.

The Lions were best served by rookie Bradd Dalziell (32 touches), Jared Brennan (24) and the two spearhead forwards.

Carlton led by 22 points after a free-flowing and often spectacular first quarter that saw 10 goals in total.

Judd set the tone from the opening minutes when his run-down tackle on Jed Adcock led to a free kick and bullet pass to Cloke who kicked Carlton's second.

The quarter undoubtedly belonged to Houlihan though, who kicked three clever goals.

The first came from a left foot snap from a Cloke handpass, the second from a slick Murphy handball, and the third after a smart roving effort and grubber from the right pocket.

The big highlight came from Cloke, whose spectacular grab was arguably the best seen at the Gabba this season.

His two-hander came after drifting in from the left and using springed heels to climb above Daniel Merrett.

The Lions remained in the contest thanks largely to two goals from Bradshaw, the second of which came when he cleverly dropped the ball on his left foot from the left pocket and watched it leg-break through.

Three goals from Fisher in the second term allowed the Blues to go into the major break with an 18-point lead.

The third quarter was like a whole new game, with the Lions quicker, faster and more desperate to the ball.

Black and Brennan began to dominate in the middle and Bradshaw got on top of Brett Thornton with a stunning four-goal burst, while Brown added two of his own in the nine-goal term.

The twin towers up front combined beautifully, delivering passes to each other for goals.

The home team only hit the lead for the first time at the 18-minute mark and they slammed on another four goals in a four-minute burst late in the quarter to blow the game open and lead by 32 at the last change.

Brisbane Lions    3.4          7.9          16.12     16.13 (109)
Carlton                 7.2          11.3        12.4        18.7 (115)

GOALS
Brisbane Lions: Bradshaw 6, Brown 4, Corrie 2, Power 2, Hooper, Rischitelli
Carlton: Cloke 4, Fisher 3, Houlihan 3, Fevola 2, Murphy 2, Waite 2, Stevens, Walker

BEST
Brisbane Lions: Brennan, Black, Dalziell, Brown, Bradshaw
Carlton: Stevens, Judd, Cloke, Murphy, Houlihan

INJURIES
Brisbane Lions: Adcock (head), Charman (head)
Carlton: None

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

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