Chris Fagan was desperate to avoid the fanfare as he passed Leigh Matthews as the longest-tenured Lions coach, but it was fitting his side put in the sort of physical performance that would have made his great mate proud.
The two-time reigning premiers were forced into an arm wrestle by the Suns for much of the 14.11 (95) to 6.17 (53) triumph at the Gabba, in a Q-Clash far from the lopsided affair of last year’s 53-point semi-final demolition.
But ultimately, the class of Brisbane’s all-conquering group stood up when it counted, as Will Ashcroft clinched his second Marcus Ashcroft Medal – named in honour of his father – with a goal, 31 disposals and four clearances.
It continued a rich vein of form for the 22-year-old, who overcame an inconsistent – by his standards – first half the year, to pass the 30 disposals milestone in his past nine games.
“I think he’s taken a bit of pressure off himself, to be honest. I think he was trying too hard to live up to the reputation of being a two-time Norm Smith medallist, and was probably trying to be a superstar,” Fagan said.
“He’s gone back to having a narrow focus every time that he plays and has simplified things, and that’s helped his form.”
Fagan had already surpassed Matthews’ 142 wins as Lions coach last week against the Hawks, and on Saturday night went beyond the legend of the early 2000s for most games at the helm (238).
And while Brisbane have established a reputation as one of the AFL’s most lethal attacking outfits – second in the competition for points scored heading into the contest – it was a renewed focus on their defence that ultimately reaped the rewards against their M1 rivals.
The Lions ranked last in the league for average tackles per game (48) before round 23 began, but affected 69 – the majority coming before the final quarter, and including 18 inside 50 – to register the 15th win of their campaign and just about secure a top-four berth following Adelaide’s defeat to Fremantle.
“It felt like a much closer game; the margin was 42 points, but it felt a tough game all night. It was on their terms in the first-half, but I liked we didn’t get the game played the way we wanted it and were still able to win,” Fagan said.
“We know that [pressure] is important to us, we’ve just got to bring it. That’s not system-based, that’s just energy-based because we haven’t changed our system at all, but we get different results in different weeks.
“We have to try and tap into that energy.”
Neither side were able to generate much momentum in the opening half – heading into quarter-time locked at 2.3 (15) apiece, before the Lions slowly but surely began to win the moments.
Despite the Suns dominating the clearance battle early – Ned Moyle, Matt Rowell, Noah Anderson and Touk Miller combining for 24 clearances and providing plenty of chances for their forward line – their inability to execute inside 50 plagued them.
While Jed Walter came up with two strong finishes, the Gold Coast’s 52 entries compared to the Lions’ 45 did little to impact the scoreboard – Brisbane’s finishing with an 84.4 per cent efficiency inside 50 compared to the Suns’ 51.9.
“There were ample opportunities. Inside 50s – win, clearances – win, contested possession – win, post-contested possession – win. You know what they won? Polish,” Suns coach Damien Hardwick said.
“I thought we had really good opportunities to score, we just made it look hard.”
Ryan Lester kept Christian Petracca limited to just 12 touches, while Ben King could only muster a pair of majors as Harris Andrews made life difficult for the man who is set to move to the Hawks in 2027.
In contrast, once the Lions got a sniff, they put the foot down. Dayne Zorko was typically composed in directing counterattacking traffic – even drawing a 50-metre free before striking for one of the goals of the match – while Zac Bailey (27 disposals), and Ashcroft brothers carried that momentum downfield.
The forwards were eager to benefit from that work – Logan Morris backing up his seven-goal haul against the Suns earlier this year with another four, while Oscar Allen (two goals) and Eric Hipwood (one) joined him on the scoresheet and offered the strongest glimpse yet into what threat the three talls could present come September.
Levi Ashcroft’s increased involvement in the past two weeks will undoubtedly please Fagan, backing up his 27 touches against Hawthorn with another 26 and a goal against the Suns.
Ahead of Lachie Neale’s likely departure at season’s end, the 19-year-old Ashcroft will have every chance to stamp his claim to the two-time Brownlow medallist’s job next year – particularly in the absence of Hugh McCluggage, who Fagan confirmed during the week would not been seen on field until the finals, rather than be rushed back from a calf concern against Collingwood next week.
Brisbane Lions 14.11 (95) def Gold Coast 6.17 (53)
Best players: Will Ashcroft (Lions), Levi Ashcroft (Lions), Logan Morris (Lions), Matt Rowell (Suns) and Dayne Zorko (Lions).
Goal kickers
Brisbane Lions: Logan Morris 4, Charlie Cameron 2, Oscar Allen 2, Dayne Zorko, Cam Rayner, Eric Hipwood, Darcy Fort, Will Ashcroft, Levi Ashcroft.
Gold Coast: Jed Walter 2, Ben King 2, Ben Long, Bailey Humphrey
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