A breathtaking five-goal first-quarter blitz by Collingwood was followed by a scoreless second term.
So St Kilda champion and Fox Footy analyst Leigh Montagna had a simple question at half-time: “Was that Collingwood throwing their best punch in the first quarter and it peters away from here, or have they got another fight in them and see if they can wrestle back momentum?”
The answer, emphatically, was the latter, as the relieved Magpies on Thursday night rediscovered glimpses of their breathtaking best in the second half to claim their first win of the AFL season — and hand Brisbane a third consecutive loss.
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Having started their 2023 campaign with three successive defeats, the Magpies returned to winning ways in Thursday night’s grand final rematch, beating the Lions 14.8 (92) to 10.12 (72).
In a rollercoaster Grand Final rematch played amid unusually early high stakes, the Magpies responded to every Lions challenge at The Gabba.
After their 24-point quarter-time lead turned into deficit early in the third quarter, the Magpies again upped their pressure and made the most of their opportunities forward of centre, kicking five goals to one in the third term then break-even in the fourth quarter to record a 20-point victory.
The Pies’ forward line fired, with Jamie Elliott, Brody Mihocek, Bobby Hill and Beau McCreery kicking 12 goals between them, while Nick Daicos starred with 30 disposals in a return to half-back.
Lachie Neale was colossal for the Lions in a losing cause, finishing with 35 disposals, 20 contested possessions and 10 clearances, but Brisbane’s forward line didn’t have the same impact as their counterparts.
Brisbane remains without a win after three games — and perhaps more worrying is that two of those defeats have come at the Gabba, where the Lions didn’t lose at all last year.
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After managing Steele Sidebottom at selection, Magpies coach Craig McRae made another surprising call by leaving veteran Jack Crip as the substitute, giving Fin Macrae his first start since late 2022.
Brisbane opted for young dasher Kai Lohmann.
The Pies hit the scoreboard within the first two minutes, with Norm Smith Medallist Bobby Hill finding space to mark and goal.
Cameron Rayner quickly hit back for Brisbane with a textbook front-and-centre goal. But the goal was only confirmed after a bizarre score review call to check if the footy hit the upright, despite a clear gap between the ball and the post on replay.
Another score review followed minutes later, with Jamie Elliott’s goal eventually confirmed before Beau McCreery added another major.
Hill then added another two goals to make it three for the quarter and give the Magpies a handy four-goal lead at the first change.
“It’s a recurring nightmare for Lions fans,” AFL Nation commentator Gerard Whateley said.
Hawthorn legend Jason Dunstall said he was thrilled with Collingwood’s ruthless pressure and willingness to use the corridor, telling Fox Footy: “We’re just seeing signs of their best starting to return to the fold.”
The Lions had seven straight inside 50s then finally got scoreboard reward for effort, with Lachie Neale converting a tight set-shot opportunity.
Brisbane continued to dominate territory in the second term, with Charlie Cameron getting on the end of a forward 5 entry and converting his first goal.
And when Jaspa Fletcher made it three straight goals for the Lions, Collingwood’s lead had been cut to two points.
Rayner then kicked a goal on the half-time siren to give Brisbane the lead and cap off a terrific second term for the club.
Dunstall said the game “flipped on its head” and the Lions “lifted their workrate” in the second term, adding they had “ridiculous territorial dominance” (+19 inside 50s). That came off the back of dominant contested possession (+10) and clearance (+10) numbers for the quarter, inspired by dual Brownlow Medallist Lachie Neale.
McCreery gave Collingwood the perfect start to the third term, nailing a long-range goal before Brody Mihocek added another to give the Pies a seven-point lead
“It is like a finals game,” Channel 7’s Brian Taylor said as both teams upped the ante and Joe Daniher kicked his first goal for the Lions.
But Daniher’s major was met by three more Pies goals to Mihocek. McCreery and Elliott as Collingwood threatened to pull away again with a 20-point lead at three quarter-time.
There was an incident late in the third quarter between Neale and Scott Pendlebury, with the Collingwood veteran slapping Neale’s stomach in a move that sent the Lions star to the Gabba turf. It’s an incident that will almost draw scrutiny from the Match Review Officer.
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Brisbane got an ideal start to the fourth term, with a stunning lookaway handball from Oscar McInerney setting up a goal to Zac Bailey. And when Hugh McCluggage added another for the Lions they were back within nine points.
But Collingwood kicked three of the next four goals through Crisp, who was subbed into the game in the third term, and Elliott twice to help steady the visitors.
And when Mihocek snapped his third goal midway through the final quarter to give Collingwood a 26-point lead, the game was over.
“They’ve looked more like the Collingwood of old than they have in previous weeks,” Channel 7’s Luke Hodge said.
THE 3-2-1 …
3. IS IT TIME TO ‘SHUT THE GATE’ ON THE LIONS?
With both teams winless heading into Thursday night’s match, dual premiership Kangaroo David King pre-game said you could “shut the gate on the loser” — and that was despite knowing Brisbane had played one less game on Collingwood.
“They’ve lost two at home. For Brisbane to win the flag, they need to finish top two, they have to have the home dream run, straight into the prelim, straight into the Grand Final, one trip to Melbourne, grab the cup and go home,” King said.
Now the Lions have slumped to 0-3 after their 20-point loss to the Pies, putting their season on thin ice.
As Hawthorn legend Jason Dunstall said post-game on Fox Footy, the Pies “wanted it more, they were more desperate, they tackled and just genuinely found something to get them over the line”.
“They were too professional for Brisbane,” Dunstall said.
While Collingwod’s forward line fired, Brisbane twin towers Eric Hipwood and Joe Daniher struggled to make an impact, while Charlie Cameron was also wasteful in front of goal.
The Lions took a slender five-point lead into the main break, before the Pies flexed their muscle in the second half.
“Brisbane made a lot of mistakes and had a lot of players disappoint when they needed them,” said Hawthorn champion Jason Dunstall.
The Lions kept Collingwood scoreless in the second term, yet managed 4.5 from a whopping 21 entries for the term.
“They’ll rue that second term,” King said post-match. “They left Collingwood with a pulse and did they respond.
“It’s a great win for Collingwood, but just a head-scratcher for Brisbane and Chris Fagan.”
The Lions were 1-3 back in 2021, but then went 14-4 on the run home to sneak into the top four, so perhaps all hope is not lost just yet. But as King said, top-two is so important for Brisbane due to the MCG factor.
They’ll look to secure their first win of 2024 when they take on North Melbourne at Norwood Oval next Friday in Gather Round.
“It’s tough to get out of this, when you’ve known this for so long, it’s been a fortress up here but now they’re finding it tough. They’ll be running their fingers over everything this week,” King said.
2. TOPSY-TURVY FIRST HALF
The sequel wasn’t as good as the original, but it still felt like anyone’s game for most of the match, especially after a rollercoaster first half.
The Pies started the game strongly, getting back to their pressure-based game style that they became known for in last year’s premiership-winning season.
Their ball movement was slick and they attacked the corridor, trusting each other to win critical contests.
“Collingwood exposed them with speed … they played with dare and said: ‘If we go down, we go down our way’ … it was breathtaking,” said former North Melbourne star David King on Fox Footy.
But the Lions bounced back in a major way in the second term, lifting their work rate and dominating the Pies in all major statistical categories to kick 4.5 to 0.0.
“It looked like a Collingwood game in the first quarter and then it looked like a Brisbane game in the second quarter,” said former St Kilda superstar Leigh Montagna on Fox Footy.
The Lions completely destroyed their opposition, winning the disposal count (+39), contested possession (+10), clearances (+10) and inside 50s (+19).
Reigning Brownlow Medallist Lachie Neale was instrumental in turning the tide, amassing 14 disposals, eight contested possessions, five clearances and a goal in the second term alone.
“There are some players in the team that just give the rest of the team confidence … Lachie Neale is their best player and when he gets to work, it makes everything else click,” Montagna told Fox Footy.
“He just makes everything else flow when he gets it from inside to outside.”
1. BOBBY DAZZLES EARLY YET AGAIN
It was deja vu for Bobby Hill on Thursday night.
The Collingwood small forward continued his love affair with the Lions as he set the Gabba alight in the first term, booting three majors to spearhead the Pies to a dream start.
“He’s been the difference … Brisbane have struggled to find a matchup for him, he’s had two or three different opponents already,” said Dunstall on Fox Footy.
The 2023 Norm Smith Medallist repeated his heroics from last year’s Grand Final, where he had 18 disposals, eight marks and booted four goals.
“It’s a recurring nightmare for Lions fans,” said AFL Nation commentator Gerard Whateley.
Jamie Elliott also booted four goals, while Brody Mihocek also kicked three.
“They got three goals from Bobby in the first term – that set it up for them. But Elliott was the one across the course of the second half that just steadied Collingwood when they needed it,” Dunstall said.
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