Fagan hails 'most amazing and courageous win' as injured Lions beat rival Suns

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Match report: Injury carnage not enough to keep the Lions from big win

The Brisbane Lions' injury crisis has deepened but their AFL plight has improved after the hosts dominated a flat Gold Coast in front of a record QClash crowd at the Gabba.

The Lions' 10.19 (79) to 6.9 (45) Sunday night victory came with just two men on the bench for almost three quarters after potentially serious knee injuries to Lincoln McCarthy and Darcy Gardiner.

Brandon Starcevich (calf) was injured in the warm-up while Noah Answerth (concussion) was another early loss, with teenaged emergency Logan Morris promoted for a debut just hours after playing a full game in the Lions' VFL team.

Victory was the Lions' first from four games at home this season, crucially improving them to 3-5 and taking the wind out of the Suns' (4-4) sails.

If Gardiner and McCarthy's injuries are anterior cruciate ligament tears, as feared, it would bring to five the number of Lions currently sidelined by the injury.

Will Ashcroft, Keidean Coleman and Tom Doedee are all in various stages of ACL rehabilitation while Zac Bailey (ankle) and Cal Ah Chee (hamstring) are also sidelined.

All that commotion didn't stop the Lions' first-half clinic, with Dayne Zorko (career-high 39 disposals, including 35 kicks) engineering the performance from half-back.

Zorko's prolific and accurate service sliced the Suns up through the corridor to earn him his first Marcus Ashcroft Medal.

Matt Rowell (16 disposals, two clearances) was quietened by Josh Dunkley as the Suns lacked forward thrust.

Brisbane led by 40 point at halftime with Zorko and Lachie Neale (34 disposals) leading the way.

Oscar McInernery's return from concussion was influential, keeping a lid on Suns rival Jarrod Witts, while Hugh McCluggage (31 touches) was also damaging.

Not even 11 consecutive Lions behinds, and some complete misses, could bring the Suns back into it as the visitors squandered some golden opportunities of their own.

Ben King (three goals) kicked the Suns' first two majors but they were cancelled out by a rare Gardiner double.

The recalled Harry Sharp kicked a superb check-side snap to begin the second quarter and Joe Daniher got in on the action with a goal soon after he had played on, but then missed another chance from directly in front.

Morris's last-minute promotion came on the same night Bruce Reville made his Lions debut, the latter a clear favourite of the 30,285-strong crowd that was almost 3,000 greater than any other derby figure.

The 18-year-old Morris capped a whirlwind day with a second-quarter goal, but could have had a swag if not for two set-shot misses and another snap that sailed just wide.

His was the Lions' last before Charlie Cameron walked into an open goal and ended a run of 10-straight behinds late in the final quarter.

That, and Brisbane's tired legs, kept it closer than it should have been in an anti-climactic evening for a Suns side that had entered with high hopes.

AAP

Goodnight and thanks for joining us

Alright, that's me packing up my reusable plastic bags and wandering off into the Brisbane night.

What a beautiful weekend of footy it was and I enjoyed being here with you throughout. The real blogging professionals will be back on deck for the rest of the season and I'll go back to lurking in the shadows.

But while I've got you, thank you for supporting ABC Sport online content. We've got some great people here and we want you to enjoy reading what we do as much as we enjoy writing it.

Have a great night and I'll see you at the footy.

Key Event

Beveridge on Liberatore concerns

Meanwhile, some interesting comments in the post-match press conference after the Hawks and Bulldogs.

Dogs coach Luke Beveridge was asked about Tom Liberatore, who came off with blood pouring from his head having copped a stray boot stud in a tackle.

Before he was helped by trainers though, he tried to stand up, then collapsed back down.

This comes a few weeks after his unexplained collapse in another match.

"I actually saw him stumble in the middle of the ground and that's concerning," Beveridge said.

"For it to happen again ... it's a bigger concern than just a one-game issue."

What I saw was a lot of blood and I imagine he was in a lot of pain, but for the coach to voice his concern is something to take note of. We'll have to watch how that plays out.

Key Event

FT: The Lions defeat the Suns by 34 points in one of the stranger games I've seen

That was a real Sunday evening at the Gabba before the Queensland Labour Day long weekend kind of game.

And if you don't know what I mean by that, don't worry, neither do I. Because that was an odd one.

The Lions lost Brandon Starcevich in the warm up 15 minutes before the game with a calf injury and brought Logan Morris in to play his first game, just hours after playing a full VFL match.

They then lost Lincoln McCarthy to a knee injury, Noah Answerth to concussion, and Darcy Gardiner to a knee.

All the while the Suns looked uninspired in the first half.

At one stage, the Lions had 11-straight behinds, and while the Suns looked a little bit better in the second half, they never truly looked in the game.

Very strange areas. Entertaining. But odd.

The win gives the Lions their first of the season at home and moves them into 13th, equal on points with the Bulldogs, Crows and Saints, with a crucial trip to Adelaide next week.

Meanwhile, the Suns sit in 10th, half a game behind Collingwood, and face North Melbourne at home next week in a game they'll be hoping to bounce back in big time.

The wave is rolling around the Gabba

This I like less as a proper footy curmudgeon, but it's nice to see the Brisbane crowd up and about before they head to their long weekends, doing whatever traditional Labour Day activities they do with their families.

I'll likely spend mine admiring the Story Bridge and drinking a Wimmers soft drink.

Dunkley adds to the pain

Josh Dunkley nails Ben Ainsworth in a cracking tackle and pings him for holding the ball.

With disposal 27, Dunkley puts it through the middle and we're back out to 35 points.

The Lions have looked rightfully tired at times in this last quarter, but these last few moments have shown the class of the outfit.

They are still firmly in premiership contention this year.

Charlie Cameron pounces!

That's got to be it!

Cam Rayner kicks a casual ball into the F50 just hoping something will happen, and it spills out the back of the pack to Cameron who runs into an open goal.

Country roads, take me home rings out around the Gabba and I have to be honest here ... I love it. It's become a genuine spine-tingler at the ground.

The Suns finally get one!

Ben Ainsworth snaps one close to the goals, and would you believe that's four goals in a row for the Suns!?

They're still 23 points behind and don't look likely, but there's 10 minutes left and it feels like anything could happen tonight.

The Suns have caught the yips now too

It's ugly footy. Noah Anderson throws one on the boot and it dribbles out of bounds. Lukosius has a go and misses.

The conditions are genuinely perfect out there.

The crowd is 30,285

That's 30,285 people who have just watched the Lions kick 10-straight behinds.

Jed Walter kicks the first of the last and there's life!

Walter gets the free kick right on the 50m arc after Harris Andrews gets him high.

He doesn't realise it's his ball, but the free kick is there and he takes the ball while ever so slightly confused.

But his confusion turns to elation as he bombs it straight through the middle, and we're back to 30 points.

We're back underway in the last

If there's not much to write about this quarter, please enjoy this photo of Roger Merrett instead.

Key Event

3QT: Lions miss their chance and lead the Suns by 35

I got horrible flashbacks to the second quarter of last night's Melbourne and Geelong clash just then.

As my great uncle* used to say, bad kicking is bad football, and the Lions kicked nine behinds in that quarter to the Gold Coast's 2.1.

The Suns looked better, but it's not going to be enough if the status quo remans.

Zokro has 31 touches and Neale has 29. Flanders leads the Suns with 24, while Anderson and Rowell - usually prolific - have 15 and 14 respectively.

(*I don't think I've ever met a great uncle)

The kicking this quarter has been awful

The Lions have kicked five behinds and missed a couple completely. They could have buried this game by now but have missed several chances.

Dunkley is the most recent after receiving a free for a head high hit - he could be a candidate for a concussion test too ...

And the Suns get the second goal as well!

Long has an impact again with a clever tap on the wing, breaking open the play as Nick Holman eventually gets the ball with a ton of space.

And he uses it well, spotting up Ben King in the F50.

King kicks it, and we're back to 28 points.

Long makes an immediate impact

He gets on the end of a lovely touch kick from Jack Lukosius and the Suns have the first goal of the second half.

He needed that, Long, after giving away a silly 50m penalty on Dayne Zorko that resulted in nothing for the Lions.

The Suns are looking much better right now than they did in the first.

Ben Long is into the game

Long comes in to provide a bit of run, with Ethan Read taking the sub vest.

Likely tactical, I haven't heard Read has any injury concerns.

We're back for the second half

If Brisbane keep losing players they might have to call on the Workers Club Lions of pub footy fame to come in and have a run.

And honestly, with the way the Suns have played so far I'd give the Workers Club a chance.

Here's hoping for a more competitive second half for the Gold Coast's sake.

Key Event

HT: Lions lead the Suns by 40 points after injury carnage

If we're going back to theme before the game, the Lions have 99 problems but the scoreboard ain't one.

This has been domination and the Suns just don't look like they're in this at all.

Even with just two on the bench and no sub, I can't see the Suns getting back into this one based on what they've dished up so far.

Lachie Neale has the ball on a string with 24 touches, Dayne Zorko has touched the ball the same amount of times, and everything is just clicking for the guys that are fit and playing.

The Suns meanwhile ... Touk Miller looks like just about the only guy out there that wants to be there.

Big call, tough call, can't back it up call, but I reckon the Lions would win this one with nobody left on the bench if we see the same sort of footy from the Gold Coast in the second half.