Brisbane Lions extinguish Euro-Yroke Saints to pile pressure on Hawthorn Hawks in $1m race

BRISBANE have made a statement ahead of the final, beating Euro-Yroke by 27 points on Sunday and piling pressure on Hawthorn in the race for second place and the McClelland Trophy.

It was a statement game from the reigning Prime Minister, with the score of 10.8 (68) to 6.5 (41) largely determined by short but devastating attacks on the RSEA Park deck.

SAINTS versus LIONS Full match coverage and statistics

But a late shoulder injury to key midfielder Sophie Conway soured the victory. The 2023 All-Australian landed heavily on her right shoulder late in the match and pounded the ground before being helped from the field.

Conway, a typical winger (27 disposals, two goals), worked largely through midfield during the match and paired beautifully with energizer Belle Dawes (20 disposals, nine tackles), with the latter often winning the hard ball and playing it out to a perfect positioned player. Conway on his way out of battle.

Ahead of an eighth finals series in nine seasons, and on the first trip to RSEA Park since last year’s shock loss, Brisbane were determined to come out and make a statement. It hit the Saints between the eyes in the first quarter, with the second highest ever opening quarter score in 90 games.

The swirling wind provided an advantage towards the South Road side of the ground, supporting the Lions’ early attack, and then contributed to the devastating six-goal third term which saw the gap widen on the scoreboard.

Brisbane temporarily occupied second place on the ladder throughout the match and threw a challenge Hawthorn’s way to regain home advantage in the final, but the Hawks just need a win over Richmond on Sunday to finish second and also to claim the McClelland Trophy and $1 million prize.

It was ferocious, but the Saints were equally physical as heavy goals proved the first half storyline.

Despite that pressure, the Lions did not hesitate, but nevertheless produced a neat handball game.

Nick Dal Santo chose to spend the entire match preparing for the future. Instead of limiting himself to direct opponents and forcing a stiff, difficult to see spectacle, he chose to send young people to the match. J’Noemi Anderson (11 disposals, four clearances) and Charlotte Simpson (12 disposals) played as pure midfielders for the match and faced the Lions’ star contingent.

Paige Trudgeon (five intercepted possessions, one goal) provided a challenging one-on-one match for Lions star Dakota Davidson (11 disposals, one goal), while at the other end of the pitch Jesse Wardlaw (19 disposals, two goals) Jennifer Dunne (six interceptions, 14 disposals) had to contend with.

The leading goalkeeper
After Geelong’s Aishling Moloney scored six goals in week nine to overtake Brisbane’s Taylor Smith at the top of the standings, the pressure fell back on the Lion to regain the title they had held for much of the season. It didn’t take long for Smith to fight back, with two goals in the first quarter, equaling Moloney’s 21 for the season. A point at absolute death seemed to offer the hope that Smith would get the chance to take the outright lead after the siren, but this was disallowed by the officials, resulting in a shared AFLW award for leading goalscorer for the second season on row.

The Trudgeon v Davidson subplot
Underrated Euro-Yroke recruit Paige Trudgeon was handed the role of Brisbane spearhead Dakota Davidson and provided an entertaining subplot to the game. Davidson moved forward in her aggressive style, scored a goal in the first quarter and looked ominous, but Trudgeon threw back a few of her own punches. A free-kick on the wing, with Davidson catching her high in a tackle, had some byplay and ultimately resulted in a 50-yard penalty for the Saint. From the forward arc, Trudgeon coolly – and quickly – returned to score her first ever AFLW goal.

A retired pioneer
At the end of the match, inaugural AFLW player Steph Chiocci was led from the ground and retired from the match. Although she was unable to miss a match this year due to an ACL injury, her impact on the AFLW cannot be diminished. Collingwood’s inaugural captain, who led the club out in its first ever AFLW match in 2017, Chiocci played 61 games in both the Pies and Euro-Yroke, joining the latter ahead of the 2023 NAB AFLW season.

Next
The Euro-Yroke season is over and the focus now shifts to the coming period of player movement, while Brisbane will set their sights on next week’s qualifying final, with the match to be announced later on Sunday.

EURO-YROKE 1.0 2.1 3.3 6.5 (41)
BRISBANE 4.5 4.7 10.8 10.8 (68)

OBJECTIVES
Euro-Yroke: Wardlaw 2, Trudgeon, Stuart, Richards, Exon
Brisbane: Smith 2, Conway 2, R.Svarc, C.Svarc, Lang, Hartill, Davidson, Anderson

BEST
Euro-Yroke: Lambert, Guttridge, Trudgeon, Smith, Wardlaw
Brisbane: Dawes, O’Dwyer, Koenen, Conway, Anderson, C. Svarc

INJURIES
Euro-Yroke: Nil
Brisbane: Conway (right shoulder)

Reports: Nil

Crowd: TB in RSEA Park