Dakota Davidson celebrates a goal during round 10, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos

BRISBANE’S push towards locking up a sixth straight top-four finish remains intact, eventually overcoming a determined Essendon by 38 points at Windy Hill on Sunday afternoon.

Despite key playmaker Courtney Hodder withdrawn due to quad soreness less than an hour before the bounce, the Lions were forced to dig in even deeper than anticipated as an errant afternoon in front of goal (7.12) proved to be their greatest enemy.

BOMBERS v LIONS Full match coverage and stats

The Lions completely dominated the territory battle with a heavily lopsided inside-50 count (21-44) by the final siren, however weren’t able to put their opposition to the sword until the closing minutes to bolster their already impressive percentage to significant effect in the 2.4 (16) to 7.12 (54) result.

Brisbane eventually broke clear of Essendon’s inside heat in the final quarter with three goals repairing the scoreboard inaccuracy to make it six unanswered goals after quarter-time, while the red and black could only muster two behinds after quarter-time to bow out of a potential first-up finals appearance.

Belle Dawes (18 disposals, 10 tackles) was superb for Brisbane and consistently gave her side plenty of energy through her lively movement, while Ally Anderson’s class (32 disposals, eight clearances) and Ruby Svarc’s spark were prominent across the day to guide their side to five wins on the bounce.

But the Bombers’ inside grunt work and tackling, led in particular by Georgia Nanscawen (22 disposals) and Maddy Prespakis (26), kept them well and truly in the hunt in contrast to their opposition’s outside spread, even holding a slim lead at quarter-time despite the sheer weight of forward entries against them.

Brisbane’s bounce out of half-back and slick handball chains which allowed the runners of Ruby Svarc and Lily Postlethwaite to drive into attack left the Bombers chasing tail early, however it was just the last possession which counted most — the one in front of goal — which let the otherwise eye-catching Lions down.

Neasa Dooley got the Lions on the board early and again steadied the ship late in the second in-between a myriad of squandered chances, which proved more than enough to keep the Bombers in the game and their own faint finals hopes alive.

Conversely, Essendon ensured their rare forays forward counted, despite being generally unclean in their own possessions throughout the afternoon. A wild snap from Daria Bannister in the shadows of quarter-time from well outside-50 bounced multiple times at all sorts of angles to scurry through untouched, with that little bit of luck spurring the Bombers towards another through Grace Booker mere moments later to seize the lead.

The Lions again had all the ascendancy in the second term with 17 inside-50s against Essendon’s two — one of which was an after-the-siren torpedo — but again were left to rue several missed chances as the lack of composure firing into attack became more prevalent, albeit inching their way back in front via Dooley and Taylor Smith.

Their errant entries certainly did little to dull the efforts of Essendon’s defence, who stood up the task — led by Amy Gaylor  — against the tidal wave of pressure. But even as the engine room continued to scrap and put in the hard yards, the reward didn’t come in the form of the scoreboard.

It was much the same after half-time, with the Bombers continuing to hold the line but weren’t able to chip away at the deficit, which grew by another goal through Dakota Davidson.

After a series of hard-hitting moments and crunching tackles, Bannister — who was arguably the Bombers’ best player — was taken down to the rooms midway through the third term for a concussion test after a bruising marking clash with Shannon Campbell. 

Although returning early in the fourth term, the Lions’ composure at last re-emerged and allowed them to at last break clear and put the foot down; the majors off the boot of Charlie Mullins, Anderson and Orla O’Dwyer putting a line through Essendon’s hopes of another finals campaign.

Hod off the press!
A debutant most likely wasn’t on the cards for Brisbane this week, especially coming in place of its best player for the season, Courtney Hodder. Less than an hour before the bounce, it was confirmed that the 25-year-old All-Australian contender was pulled from the contest due to quad soreness, with Claudia Wright stepping in for her first game at the highest level. The Lions shuffled the magnets with Wright nestling into defence, with the 18-year-old not looking at all out of place to finish with six touches and a job well done down back. The Lions were already without last week’s 100-gamer Bre Koenen (injured), replaced in the line-up by Ruby Svarc, who filled the void of Hodder’s dynamism with 14 disposals.

The race for the top four heats up
With an important four points in the bag, the Lions are another step closer — but aren’t guaranteed — to cementing a sixth consecutive spot in the top-four. Sitting with a 7-3 ledger in fourth with a percentage of 165.8, Brisbane still have a few plucky contenders beneath them who could knock them out the race to secure a coveted chance come finals. St Kilda’s win over Carlton last night has them level on points but well down in percentage (109.1), while a brace of victories to contenders West Coast, Adelaide or Carlton — all sitting on 6-4 tallies — could be just as damaging for the Lions. Barring any extraordinary runs into November from the teams below them, one more win against either Melbourne or Collingwood should just about lock it away.

ESSENDON     2.2     2.2     2.3      2.4 (16)
BRISBANE      1.5     3.9     4.10    7.12 (54)

GOALS
Essendon: Bannister, Booker
Brisbane: Dooley 2, Smith, Davidson, Mullins, Anderson, O’Dwyer

BEST
Essendon: Gaylor, Nanscawen, Prespakis, Bannister, Cain
Brisbane: Dawes, Anderson, R.Svarc, Postlethwaite, O’Dwyer, Hickie

INJURIES
Essendon: Nil
Brisbane: Nil

LATE CHANGES
Essendon: Nil
Brisbane: Courtney Hodder (quad soreness) replaced in the selected side by Claudia Wright

Crowd: TBC at Windy Hill