A Norm Smith medallist had a starring evening as Brisbane ploughed its way to another preliminary final on Saturday night.
And he certainly wasn’t alone in what was an overawing Lions midfield that won clearance and contest, with an engine room “machine” breaking a finals record, and another bouncing back from a poor qualifying final outing against Geelong.
Foxfooty.com.au rates every Brisbane player out of 10 from its semi-final vs Gold Coast.
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1. Kai Lohmann
A bold new trim in tow, Lohmann had some early moments but couldn’t make an impact, before marking and goaling impressively in the second. He kicked his second in the third quarter, continuing to be a menace to the Suns’ defence. He ended his night with three majors and six score involvements. 7
3. Jaspa Fletcher
One of the busiest Lions in the early going, showing poise in the back half in possession. In what’s been a breakout campaign, Fletcher was serviceable but quietened down as the night went on, not having to do much as Brisbane’s defence constantly shut the Suns down. 7
4. Callum Ah Chee
Kicked a goal in the first quarter and continued to get involved in the forward half in the second. He then went into defence in the second half and didn’t look out of place. 6
5. Josh Dunkley
Applied typical impressive tackling pressure from the outset, but he gave away a free kick to direct opponent Matt Rowell in the second term that resulted directly in a goal. He continued to exhibit his ferocity at the contest, throwing his body around to make life difficult for the Suns’ ball-getters. “Josh Dunkley’s a tackling machine. He’s in and under, he’s hard at it; he’s played a great game,” Hawthorn legend Jason Dunstall said at half-time. Dunkley had 11 tackles in the first half alone and finished with 18 — the most ever in a finals match. 9
6. Hugh McCluggage
Lined up next to Noah Anderson at the outset and has a team-high eight-disposal opening term. Dunstall: “Huge Hugh — he has bounced back beautifully. He’s getting clearances, he’s getting possessions around the ground, he’s found himself in some really good positions … he used to be more of an outside player, (but) he’s turned himself into a serious inside player who can then still get on the outside when he needs to.” Leigh Matthews also said McCluggage had been “outstanding”. He had 21 disposals to half-time and finished his night with a game-high 33 disposals and 10 clearances. 8
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7. Jarrod Berry
Kicked a goal in the first quarter and was solid early with tackling pressure and decision-making. He was busy with the footy and provided some good run all night long, getting himself in good spots and finding his teammates in opportunistic positions. He finished with 27 disposals and eight score involvements. 8
8. Will Ashcroft
Was relatively inauspicious in the first quarter but was everywhere in the second and onwards, snapping a high-arching goal before cutting off a pass and setting sail for another. “He’s on fire,” Fox Footy caller Mark Howard said of his dazzling second stanza. Dual premiership player David King added on Fox Footy at half-time: “He’s been everywhere … he’s been the one that’s separated this game in the absence of Lachie Neale. He’s said ‘hey, let me take over’.” In the first half alone, Ashcroft had a game-high six score involvements with his 15 disposals and five clearances. Ashcroft should have had his third goal in the third term, but he finished his night with 28 possessions and a game-high 11 score involvements. 9
10. Levi Ashcroft
Levi wasn’t as busy as his older brother, finishing his night with 10 possessions and having done nothing of great note. 5
13. Logan Morris
Mac Andrew went to Morris in the early stages. Snapped Brisbane’s first goal and was lively with three opening-quarter score involvements. He kicked his second of the game in the second term but was quieter as the night went on — not that he had to tear the game apart with the result beyond doubt — finishing with two goals and four score involvements. 7
15. Dayne Zorko
Of course, for the theatre, Zorko went to Touk Miller at the start of the game. But they didn’t have too much to do with each other as the game unfolded. As most would have expected coming into the contest, the 301-gamer was a preferred ball user for the Lions coming out of the back half, among his side’s major ball-winners on the night. 7
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16. Cam Rayner
Three score involvements in the first quarter, looking lively around the goals. In the second, Rayner flexed his core strength, getting away from the grasp of a tackler and setting sail on a bouncing bomb goal. Jonathan Brown called Rayner’s first half “very influential”, with the livewire finishing his first half with five score involvements and a goal. He continued to have an impact in the second half, carving out more scoring chances — to three-quarter-time, he’d broken a whopping eight tackles. He could have had four goals but finished with one, adding nine score involvements for the match. 8
20. Sam Marshall
Looked a tad out of his depth in the early going and went mostly unseen, bar a few moments. He was tactically subbed out of the contest in the final quarter with 10 disposals and two score involvements. 4
22. Ty Gallop
He missed a chance to kick his first AFL goal in the first quarter, but he made amends after juggling a mark late in the third, snapping truly to bring the crowd to its feet. He also showed good competitiveness in the third term in particular, justifying his selection. 6
23. Charlie Cameron
The livewire drew Bodhi Uwland, who was impressive in the Suns’ defence early. Cameron was outmatched early but started to get involved in the play in the second. He pulled off some really impressive kicks to set up scoring opportunities to his teammates, involving himself in more and more scores as the game went on — he finished with nine involvements. He had more than a few chances to get on the scoresheet, but a major proved elusive. 7
27. Darcy Gardiner
Lined up on King in the early stages, and King had his way with the swingman early on — but the Lions didn’t elect to switch Andrews onto him. To his credit, he was able to halve his matchup as the night went on. 6
31. Harris Andrews
Jy Farrar went to Andrews and appeared to play a negating role on the star key defender. Andrews took five marks in the first term, stamping his impact from the get-go. He had a team-high six grabs at half-time. Halfway through the final term, Andrews had a game-high six intercept marks to his name. “He’s just putting on a clinic back there,” Alastair Lynch said from the boundary. He finished with a team-high 10 intercepts. 8
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32. Darcy Fort
Was still the first-choice ruck, with Oscar McInerney starting forward. The big tapster did his job without being outstanding on Saturday night. 6
33. Zac Bailey
Pretty quiet in the early stages and got caught in a couple of tackles, but he got on the scoreboard in the second term after being in the right place at the right time. He took a great mark in the goalsquare to kick his second goal in the third term. It wasn’t truly his night, but he finished with nine score involvements; equal-second among Lions. 7
35. Ryan Lester
Did his job as per usual, playing his reliable back-half role without any dramas. 6
37. Brandon Starcevich
The dependable stopper went to Ben Long early on, and he was stingy as ever in the back half; helping thwart the Suns’ forward forays all night long. 7
38. Bruce Reville
Started as the tactical sub and managed two disposals after coming onto the ground. 5
44. Darcy Wilmot
He was looking after Bailey Humphrey early on and kept him to very little impact. Wilmot led the Lions for intercepts in the first half with six and was typically getting involved in rebound play. Jonathan Brown called his first half “fantastic”. He finished his night with eight intercepts; second among Lions, behind only Andrews. 8
46. Oscar McInerney
The veteran started forward, with Sam Collins taking him early. Darcy Fort remained the first-choice tapster, but make no mistake, ‘Big O’ was having an impact in attack, registering five score involvements in the first half alone. “Bringing McInerney in was the right call,” Brown said late in the game. 7