Brisbane belt weary Cats

Brisbane Lions   116 defeated Geelong   47

Brisbane’s return to premiership form went up another gear this afternoon as they belted a terribly disappointing Geelong by 69 points at a rain-soaked Gabba.

In difficult conditions, the Cats were outclassed by a pumped-up Lions’ outfit, keen to atone for five straight home losses and they led all game, extending the margin at every break.

The mercurial Jason Akermanis was the star, gathering 34 telling touches and kicking five goals, including two sensational snaps from the boundary in the third quarter. Jonathan Brown added four of his own, while Luke Power and Simon Black offered fine support as the Lions big guns fired for Nigel Lappin’s 250th game.

On a sorry day for the Cats, Matthew Scarlett kept Daniel Bradshaw quiet, while Joel Corey and Cameron Ling both amassed 20+ possessions but they did not have enough mates as Geelong struggled to match the triple premiers.

In further bad news for the Cats, Paul Chapman suffered a knee injury in the first half and Jarrad Rooke was unable to complete the match with hamstring tightness. For the Lions, Robert Copeland injured an arm in the closing stages and was taken off the ground by trainers.

A Geelong team already weakened by injury was further hit prior to the game, losing captain Steven King and forward Andrew Mackie, replaced in the selected side by Tom Lonergan and James Rahilly.

Brisbane took less time to acclimatize to the slippery conditions and they dominated the early passages of play, booting the first three goals through the prominent Akermanis and Brown before the Cats could put a score on the board.

Chapman toe-poked Geelong’s first major from half a metre to get the visitors underway, and with the momentum on their side, they burst back into the game. The Cats kicked three of the last four goals for the term, cutting the margin to a manageable seven points at quarter-time.

Corey continued Geelong’s revival with the first goal in the second quarter, bringing them within a point, but from there it was all the Lions as they hunted in packs, controlled the midfield and gave the Cats no opportunity for respite.

Brisbane repeatedly forced Geelong into error and on the rebound, were able to find players in space in their forward line. The Lions kicked the last four of the half, all from marks inside 50, while the Cats could only add two behinds, giving the home side a seemingly unassailable 30-point lead at the long break.

Power and Akermanis were racking up the touches and using them to great effect, while Brown was his usual brilliant self, displaying clean hands and enough finesse to boot three goals.

For the Cats, Corey and James Kelly were the only players in double figures for disposals as Geelong struggled to find enough of the ball to threaten the Lions.

The first goal after half-time was always going to be important for the Cats, but it was the Lions’ Anthony Corrie who delivered, skirting the pack and slotting his second to end any realistic Geelong hopes.

With rain pouring down and the match drifting slightly, Akermanis livened proceedings single-handedly with two magical goals within a minute to end the quarter - both from tight on the boundary. They were part of five straight Brisbane majors to end the term, sending the Cats to the last break staring at a 58-point deficit.

The play deteriorated in the final quarter as the drizzle increased and with the result academic.

Despite the doom and gloom, the Akermanis highlight reel kept ticking over, the Lions’ superstar adding two more wonderful goals, capping off a great afternoon for the triple premiers.

Following their mid-season break, Brisbane resumes against Melbourne at the Gabba on the Saturday night, while Geelong confronts Hawthorn at the Telstra Dome on Sunday week.

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