The Brisbane Lions took a retro theme into their match against the Gold Coast Suns at the Gabba on Sunday night. The team rolled out in the original Brisbane Bears strip from 1987. The cute and cuddly Carrara Koala roared at diehard fans from the LED scoreboard – an unsubtle reminder of the days when the club played its “home” games a full 80 kilometres down the M1. Other relics from the past (cheerleaders; Mike Brady’s original club song) would have been better left there. Warwick Capper was a no-show. Christopher Skase was unavailable.
See how far we’ve come? was the message to the home crowd. The purpose was to pay tribute to those who had done the hard yards to raise the profile of the indigenous code north of the Tweed River. Nearly 40 years later, fresh off their fourth premiership, the Lions still battle for respect from parts of the Victorian media who mourn the development of the national competition. As for the Gold Coast Suns – based at the Bears’ old Carrara home – they’re still battling, full stop, after 14 years in the AFL without a finals appearance.
In the short history between these two clubs, the 28th “QClash” (other informal names: the Sunshine Stoush, Pineapple Grapple, Banana Bash, etc) carried more weight than most. Entering round eight, the Lions sat second on the ladder. The Suns were third, with a game in hand. They’d notched a series of impressive wins, notwithstanding some paltry opposition. They’d also inexplicably coughed up a game to Richmond. This was statement time, on a significant night for the code in Queensland, in front of a packed house.
The Lions’ longer history in the AFL has gifted them some additional blasts from the past. The Ashcroft boys (sons of Marcus, who played 318 games for the Bears and Lions 1989–2003) collected 39 possessions between them in the first half. Levi is more nuggety than his older brother Will, but he’s just as creative and clean and, at 18, looks like he’s been playing at this level for years. Jaspa Fletcher (son of Adrian, 107 games 1993–1997) has been one of the Lions’s first-picked players all year.
The Suns haven’t been around long enough for that. What they do have is one of the strongest junior academies in the competition that will nurture the club (and its grassroots) for many years to come. Of course, they’ve also had endless concessions from the AFL – not least another fixture that seems designed to ensure they can’t possibly fail this time. But on a wet, greasy night at the Gabba, a 17-point loss to the reigning premiers felt like a lot more, exposing a deep gap in maturity and mental preparedness between the Suns and the top echelon.
On countless occasions, the Suns approached the forward 50 arc and bombed the ball on to their forwards’ heads when the situation called for a bit of patience and craft. They have big forward targets – Ben King is one of the best, while academy prospect Jed Walter is still learning – but collectively, the Suns had just four marks inside 50 for the night. Territory is supposed to be everything in the modern game, but if you can’t hit a target or secure the ball in your half of the ground, not so much. They barely stuck a tackle in attack.
In the end, Will Ashcroft (a Norm Smith and premiership medallist in just his 31st game last year) accepted the Marcus Ashcroft medal for best on ground from his dad. It completed the circle between the Lions and the Bears nicely. But really, you could have thrown a blanket over the Lions’ better players on the night. They smashed the Suns around the ball: the Ashcrofts, Lachie Neale and Hugh McCluggage had 30 clearances between them. Sun Matt Rowell, one of the biggest inside midfield bulls in the competition, was limited to just one – a free kick.
Thus the Lions succeeded in taking away the Suns’ key strengths, while maximising their own. Questions will continue to be asked of the Suns, but as coach Damien Hardwick reflected later, they were hardly given a chance to shine by a mature team that is ready to go again. “We had a down week today, in a part of the game we’re normally very strong at,” he said. “But there’s a reason this side [the Lions] was holding up the premiership cup nine rounds ago. They’re pretty good.”
