Brisbane monster disappointing Richmond
Led by Jonathan Brown, Brisbane's quality players further exposed Richmond as an AFL rabble with a 26-point win that turned Ben Cousins' comeback into another soul-searching exercise for the Tigers.
Brown booted four goals and Daniel Bradshaw three as the Lions cruised to a 15.7 (97) to 10.11 (71) win at the MCG on Saturday.
The victory was made even more meritorious by the fact Brisbane trailed by 25 points midway through the second quarter.
Forwards Brown and Bradshaw were pivotal in the Lions' resurgence, booting four goals between them in the second term as teammates Simon Black and Luke Power asserted their dominance in the midfield.
The Tigers looked magnificent in the first quarter, booting four goals to one to give themselves an ideal platform for just their second win of the year.
But they let themselves down with poor decision-making and turnovers for the remaining three terms - Joel Bowden and Jarrad Oakley-Nicholls particularly culpable as the rot set in during the second quarter.
While Richmond led by a point at halftime, they had nothing to offer except over-possession and football butchery in the second half, desperately lacking any forward target in the absence of injured Matthew Richardson.
They booted just three goals for the second half - all to Troy Simmonds, who finished with four for the match - and Tigers coach Terry Wallace was again left looking for answers.
"I reckon the blokes are having a crack, but that's the worst we've ever disrespected the ball by either our decision-making or ball use," Wallace said.
"They kicked 10 goals from our turnovers and that's the ball game.
"If you can't hang on to the ball in today's footy and you can't use it, you can't win."
The only bright spot for Richmond was Cousins surviving his second AFL match in almost two years unscathed.
While he had little influence on the match, the Brownlow Medallist had 22 possessions, kicked a goal and showed no signs of discomfort with his troublesome hamstrings.
The match was delayed for five minutes in the third quarter after a sickening head clash left Richmond's Alex Rance and Brisbane's Troy Selwood knocked out and needing medical attention.
While Selwood walked off the ground with two trainers and the Lions later cleared him of concussion, Rance left the ground in a neck brace on a medicab.
He was taken to hospital with a suspected fractured cheekbone and heavy concussion, though he had regained consciousness.
Brisbane now have a 4-3 win-loss record following back-to-back victories.
Lions coach Michael Voss praised his senior players Brown, Black, Bradshaw and Power.
"Today they really stood up. At quarter-time they were really positive in their messages they could turn it around and they really put the onus on themselves," Voss said.
"The guys you needed to be able to take some control of the game did, which for us was very pleasing."
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