BRISBANE LIONS 7.2 Â 12.3 Â 14.7 Â 15.9 (99)
CARLTON 3.2 Â 5.5 Â 9.12 Â 13.17 (95)
GOALS – Brisbane Lions: Close 4, Zorko 3, Rockliff 2, Rich, Hanley, Smith, Lester, Walker, Rockliff, Cutler. Carlton: Casboult 4, Silvagni 3, Wright 2, Phillips, Boekhorst, Buckley, Armfield.
BEST – Brisbane Lions: Zorko, Rockliff, Gardiner, Andrews, Robinson, Close. Carlton: Cripps, Curnow, Simpson, Casboult, Tuohy, Kreuzer.
INJURIES – Carlton: Weitering (hand).
UMPIRESÂ Â Deboy, Hay, Ryan.
CROWDÂ 17,432 at the Gabba.
For the first six minutes of this match, it looked like being another day at the Gabbatoir – with the Lions to the slaughter. What other conclusion could be reached, after Daniel Rich kicked in all of 15 metres, only to see the ball intercepted by Carlton's Matthew Wright, and the ball duly put back over his head?
What followed was one of the more astounding individual efforts for the season, by anyone, from any club. It was the Dayne Zorko show – perhaps not the most likely source of entertainment, but a fitting reward for a gutsy player who will win the struggling club's best and fairest by a street.
By half-time, Zorko had 19 possessions, put the ball inside 50 on 10 occasions, directly given off four goals, and kicked three of his own, gained over 600 metres for his team, putting them 40 points up at half-time after firing the ball onto the chest of Michael Close, who joined Zorko with three goals.
He faded after that – quietened by Blaine Boekhorst – but he was still a clear best on ground, being the difference between the two sides even as the Blues charged home, falling just four points short as the Lions ran out of legs and were forced to fight until the dying seconds to secure just their third win of the season.
"We could have won, could have lost it, it was really up to their boot, wasn't it," Lions coach Justin Leppitsch said. "That was the difference in the points. But we moved the ball well, fast, and blew ourselves up a bit, and couldn't sustain it for the second half … But fortune favoured us today, and it's a good feeling for our club.
"I thought our leaders were very good. Even though Pearce [Hanley] didn't get a lot of the football, I thought he cracked in and tied up the contest really well. Tom [Rockliff] was obviously excellent, and Daniel [Merrett] led that very young defence to stop the bombardment towards the end. I was rapt with our leaders, and Dayne was terrific."
Really, the Blues kicked themselves out of it, kicking 8.12 in the second half to the Lions' 3.2. Dylan Buckley missed a couple of sitters; so too Levi Casboult, who was otherwise among his side's best. Patrick Cripps was an animal at the stoppages, with 22 contested possessions from a total of 24. Zach Tuohy barely missed a target.
Carlton looked better on the overall stats sheet – they finished with clear advantages in possession, on the inside and outside, in clearances and hit-outs, with Matthew Kreuzer dominant in the air. But the Lions tackled like their lives depended on it, and the damage was done in that first half.
Carlton coach Brendan Bolton said his team had its chances. "We had quite a few more inside 50s [68-46] but obviously didn't convert … We had a lack of defensive intent in the first half. Really spirited in the second half … But we need to learn and evolve into a team that can do that more consistently.
"We've been making progress, but I think for 45 minutes in that game, the first quarter-and-a-half, we really plateaued, and then showed a lot of spirit after that. So we'll challenge really strongly that first half in our review, then look at our second half and show the contrast."
And it was Zorko who set it up. Early in the second quarter he hit Hanley for what would have been his third goal assist. Hanley, though, was forced off under the blood rule, leaving Zorko to kick it himself. Minutes later, he crumbed his own marking attempt, spun between two Blues players, and drilled his third from 50 out.
The Lions were also well served by Darcy Gardiner and Harris Andrews, both of whom made an enormous contribution in defence as the Blues began to run the Lions ragged in the second half. Tom Rockliff played one of his best games for the year; Mitch Robinson, as usual, played with special fervour against his old club.
The final minutes were pulsating, and really, it would have been cruel for the Lions to be denied after such an awful season. For most of the final quarter, Carlton looked like running over the top of the home team. But they weren't good enough at the key moments, Andrews, Gardiner and Daniel Merrett holding tight at the finish.
VOTES
(Andrew Stafford)
Dayne Zorko (BL) 9
Tom Rockliff (BL) 8
Patrick Cripps (Carl) 7
Darcy Gardiner (BL) 7
Ed Curnow (Carl) 7