HoneyBlond
09-27-2003, 04:12 AM
http://lions.com.au/default.asp?pg=news&sp...rticleid=122111 (http://lions.com.au/default.asp?pg=news&spg=display&articleid=122111)
It’s official. The Brisbane Lions of 2001-2003 are the greatest team in the history of Australian Rules football after becoming the first team in the modern era to win three successive AFL premierships on Saturday.
The Lions and coach Leigh Matthews gained immortal status by completing their hat-trick in style – thrashing Collingwood 20.14 (134) to 12.12 (84) at the MCG.
And now they will have the chance of equalling Collingwood’s record of being the only club to win four premierships in a row – from 1927-30 – next season.
But for the Magpies this capitulation revives their grand final hoodoo with the Pies now having lost 10 and drawn one of 12 grand finals they have contested since 1958 with the one exception being the 1990 premiership win.
The Lions are the first team to achieve the hat-trick of premierships since Melbourne in 1957 but the first to do in the days of salary caps and drafts – which were supposed to even up the competition and make it impossible to achieve what the Lions have done.
But no-one told that to the Lions’ ‘fab four’ midfield of skipper Michael Voss, fellow Brownlow Medalists Simon Black and Jason Akermanis and Nigel Lappin, who simply destroyed an outclassed Collingwood on Saturday.
Add to that the amazing longevity of players such as 35-year-old spearhead Alastair Lynch, who kicked four goals on Saturday, and midfielder Shaun Hart and it all adds up to one fantastic football team.
Voss and Lappin defied their injury-hit preparations to dominate on Saturday, despite carrying knee and rib injuries respectively into the game, while Akermanis kicked five match-winning goals and Black deservedly won the Norm Smith Medal for best afield after helping himself to 39 possessions.
That magnificent quartet are among 16 Lions players to feature in all three premiership sides while for the incredible Martin Pike this was his fourth premiership medallion after also playing in the Kangaroos’ 1999 premiership win.
But make no mistake about it this was the Lions’ greatest premiership win of the three – surpassing the breakthrough triumph against Essendon in 2001 and last year’s nail-biting win over Collingwood.
And for coach Leigh Matthews this victory continues his perfect record in grand finals as coach – four premierships from four grand finals including what is still the Magpies’ last premiership win of 1990.
Unlike last year when Brisbane scraped in by nine points when going in as hot favourites against a Collingwood side given little chance – this grand final was over as a contest by half-time when the Lions led by six goals.
And this despite the fact the Lions came into the game as underdogs this year in the eyes of many, given the Pies had enjoyed the week off during the finals series after beating Brisbane in the qualifying final just three weeks ago.
That meant that Brisbane had to qualify for this grand final the hard way – by playing during every week of the finals series as well as having to win the preliminary final away from the Gabba.
This led many people to believe the younger Magpies would be the fresher side come grand final day but instead it was experience that proved the deciding factor.
From the moment Lynch goaled in the first 90 seconds – after Jonathan Brown had been sensationally cleaned up by Scott Burns at the opening bounce – there was only going to be one winner in this game.
The Lions led by 14 points at the first change and it should have been more but they put the issue beyond doubt in the second term as the Pies – badly missing the suspended Anthony Rocca in attack – fell apart.
And it was the Pies most inexperienced players who let them down the most.
After Rocca’s replacement – Tristen Walker – had set up a goal for Blake Caracella, who now has a premiership medallion with Brisbane to go with the one he won with Essendon in 2000, in the first quarter by palming the ball directly to him at a ruck contest – two more dreadful mistakes by Magpie youngsters effectively ended the game in the second term.
The first saw Richard Cole basically step out of the path of the oncoming Luke Power which allowed the Lions to get the ball to Lynch for a goal while minutes later another Magpie youngster in Rhyce Shaw let grand final pressure get the better of him when he dropped the ball at half-back, when on his own, allowing Lynch to kick yet another goal.
That gave the Lions a six goal lead at half-time and after the Pies gave themselves a glimmer of hope by kicking the first two goals of the third term, the Lions finished off the Magpies, fittingly through a move involving Voss, Black and Akermanis.
It ended with a goal from Akermanis, which restored the lead back to 39 points at the 12 minute mark of the third term and after that it was all one-way traffic as the Lions – with their defence led by Mal Michael and Chris Johnson impenetrable – did as they pleased in the final term slamming on six goals.
At one stage Brisbane led by 69 points before the Magpies at least managed to kick the last three goals of the game.
But this was a dreadful performance by a Collingwood side that was brutally exposed as not having enough top-line players that premiership sides need and it hardly helped that one of their best players – in Rocca - was sitting in the grandstand as a result of his errant elbow in last week’s preliminary final.
In fact only five Magpie players could be proud of their performance on grand final day this year in ruckman Josh Fraser, skipper Nathan Buckley, the gutsy Burns and Paul Licuria and young defender Ben Johnson.
The rest, including star forward Chris Tarrant who again disappointed as he did in the 2002 grand final, were simply humiliated but at least they were humiliated by the greatest Australian Rules football team in history.
BRISBANE LIONS: 5.5, 11.7, 14.12, 20.14 (134)
COLLINGWOOD: 3.3, 4.7, 9.7, 12.12 (84)
GOALS: Brisbane Lions: Akermanis 5, Lynch 4, Caracella, Brown 2, McRae, Pike, Hadley, Black, Leppitsch, Hart, Bradshaw 1.
Collingwood: Didak 3, Burns 2, Davis, Woewodin, Buckley, Licuria, Tarrant, Fraser, Scotland.
BEST: Brisbane Lions: Black, Akermanis, Voss, Lappin, Hart, Michael, Pike, Power.
Collingwood: Fraser, Burns, Buckley, Johnson, Licuria.
INJURIES: None.
CHANGES: None.
REPORTS: None.
UMPIRES: McBurney, Kennedy, Allen
CROWD: 79,451 at the MCG
It’s official. The Brisbane Lions of 2001-2003 are the greatest team in the history of Australian Rules football after becoming the first team in the modern era to win three successive AFL premierships on Saturday.
The Lions and coach Leigh Matthews gained immortal status by completing their hat-trick in style – thrashing Collingwood 20.14 (134) to 12.12 (84) at the MCG.
And now they will have the chance of equalling Collingwood’s record of being the only club to win four premierships in a row – from 1927-30 – next season.
But for the Magpies this capitulation revives their grand final hoodoo with the Pies now having lost 10 and drawn one of 12 grand finals they have contested since 1958 with the one exception being the 1990 premiership win.
The Lions are the first team to achieve the hat-trick of premierships since Melbourne in 1957 but the first to do in the days of salary caps and drafts – which were supposed to even up the competition and make it impossible to achieve what the Lions have done.
But no-one told that to the Lions’ ‘fab four’ midfield of skipper Michael Voss, fellow Brownlow Medalists Simon Black and Jason Akermanis and Nigel Lappin, who simply destroyed an outclassed Collingwood on Saturday.
Add to that the amazing longevity of players such as 35-year-old spearhead Alastair Lynch, who kicked four goals on Saturday, and midfielder Shaun Hart and it all adds up to one fantastic football team.
Voss and Lappin defied their injury-hit preparations to dominate on Saturday, despite carrying knee and rib injuries respectively into the game, while Akermanis kicked five match-winning goals and Black deservedly won the Norm Smith Medal for best afield after helping himself to 39 possessions.
That magnificent quartet are among 16 Lions players to feature in all three premiership sides while for the incredible Martin Pike this was his fourth premiership medallion after also playing in the Kangaroos’ 1999 premiership win.
But make no mistake about it this was the Lions’ greatest premiership win of the three – surpassing the breakthrough triumph against Essendon in 2001 and last year’s nail-biting win over Collingwood.
And for coach Leigh Matthews this victory continues his perfect record in grand finals as coach – four premierships from four grand finals including what is still the Magpies’ last premiership win of 1990.
Unlike last year when Brisbane scraped in by nine points when going in as hot favourites against a Collingwood side given little chance – this grand final was over as a contest by half-time when the Lions led by six goals.
And this despite the fact the Lions came into the game as underdogs this year in the eyes of many, given the Pies had enjoyed the week off during the finals series after beating Brisbane in the qualifying final just three weeks ago.
That meant that Brisbane had to qualify for this grand final the hard way – by playing during every week of the finals series as well as having to win the preliminary final away from the Gabba.
This led many people to believe the younger Magpies would be the fresher side come grand final day but instead it was experience that proved the deciding factor.
From the moment Lynch goaled in the first 90 seconds – after Jonathan Brown had been sensationally cleaned up by Scott Burns at the opening bounce – there was only going to be one winner in this game.
The Lions led by 14 points at the first change and it should have been more but they put the issue beyond doubt in the second term as the Pies – badly missing the suspended Anthony Rocca in attack – fell apart.
And it was the Pies most inexperienced players who let them down the most.
After Rocca’s replacement – Tristen Walker – had set up a goal for Blake Caracella, who now has a premiership medallion with Brisbane to go with the one he won with Essendon in 2000, in the first quarter by palming the ball directly to him at a ruck contest – two more dreadful mistakes by Magpie youngsters effectively ended the game in the second term.
The first saw Richard Cole basically step out of the path of the oncoming Luke Power which allowed the Lions to get the ball to Lynch for a goal while minutes later another Magpie youngster in Rhyce Shaw let grand final pressure get the better of him when he dropped the ball at half-back, when on his own, allowing Lynch to kick yet another goal.
That gave the Lions a six goal lead at half-time and after the Pies gave themselves a glimmer of hope by kicking the first two goals of the third term, the Lions finished off the Magpies, fittingly through a move involving Voss, Black and Akermanis.
It ended with a goal from Akermanis, which restored the lead back to 39 points at the 12 minute mark of the third term and after that it was all one-way traffic as the Lions – with their defence led by Mal Michael and Chris Johnson impenetrable – did as they pleased in the final term slamming on six goals.
At one stage Brisbane led by 69 points before the Magpies at least managed to kick the last three goals of the game.
But this was a dreadful performance by a Collingwood side that was brutally exposed as not having enough top-line players that premiership sides need and it hardly helped that one of their best players – in Rocca - was sitting in the grandstand as a result of his errant elbow in last week’s preliminary final.
In fact only five Magpie players could be proud of their performance on grand final day this year in ruckman Josh Fraser, skipper Nathan Buckley, the gutsy Burns and Paul Licuria and young defender Ben Johnson.
The rest, including star forward Chris Tarrant who again disappointed as he did in the 2002 grand final, were simply humiliated but at least they were humiliated by the greatest Australian Rules football team in history.
BRISBANE LIONS: 5.5, 11.7, 14.12, 20.14 (134)
COLLINGWOOD: 3.3, 4.7, 9.7, 12.12 (84)
GOALS: Brisbane Lions: Akermanis 5, Lynch 4, Caracella, Brown 2, McRae, Pike, Hadley, Black, Leppitsch, Hart, Bradshaw 1.
Collingwood: Didak 3, Burns 2, Davis, Woewodin, Buckley, Licuria, Tarrant, Fraser, Scotland.
BEST: Brisbane Lions: Black, Akermanis, Voss, Lappin, Hart, Michael, Pike, Power.
Collingwood: Fraser, Burns, Buckley, Johnson, Licuria.
INJURIES: None.
CHANGES: None.
REPORTS: None.
UMPIRES: McBurney, Kennedy, Allen
CROWD: 79,451 at the MCG