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IT’S A case of one step forward and two steps back for
Buoyed by an historic away win over West Coast a fortnight ago the Blues had the wind taken out of their sails by the Brisbane Lions to the tune of 33 points at Telstra Dome on Saturday night.
In what Carlton would have considered a winnable game – both sides shared 3-4 records – it turned out to be anything but as the Lions opened with a blaze and never let the Blues back in to win 18.17 (125) to 12.20 (92) in front of a healthy crowd of 38,675.
Despite five goals to Brendan Fevola, and some solid work from Marc Murphy, Heath
Skill errors, poor decision making, a lack of midfield accountability and a general sense of panic thwarted the Blues early - and the pumped up Lions made them pay.
By quarter time the visitors had kicked eight goals to two on the back of an inside 50 count that favoured the visitors 21-10.
Staring down the barrel of a 37-point quarter-time deficit the home side tried valiantly to shore up its leaks in the second term.
Up forward Fevola kicked his first goal at the 18-minute mark of the second term after three early misses, but with Daniel Merrett wearing him like a glove, the spearhead’s first-half opportunities were few and far between.
With Fevola well held, and Brad Fisher unable to get away from Joel Patfull, the Blues lacked the forward options to hurt the free-flowing Lions, who went to half time holding a commanding 42-point lead.
In the second half every time the Blues got any semblance of momentum the Lions, namely Brown, Black and a host of runners, delivered well-timed blows that rocked Carlton back on its heels.
To their credit the Blues never gave up.
After conceding a big start Brett Ratten’s men matched the Lions’ 10 goals for the remaining three terms to at least give the side something to hang its hat on in the lead up to next week’s match against Fremantle.
But, the damage had already been done.
Fevola ended with 5.4 in a solid performance given Merrett’s close checking and a lack of quality supply, while the likes of Murphy (32 possessions and two goals),
However, having gone in on the back of three wins from its past four outings, it was anything but a flattering performance against a side for which the Blues will likely battle for a place in the bottom half of the eight.
At 3-5, and with Fremantle,
Goals
Brisbane Lions: Brown 6, Johnstone 3, Black 2, Hooper 2, Adcock, Rischitelli, Drummond, Corrie, Bradshaw
Best
Injuries
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Farmer, Chamberlain, Ryan
Official crowd: 38,675 at Telstra Dome
