The Brisbane Lions may have started the season a little slowly, but they have now found their rhythm, and after a win against the Saints in Round Three, they backed it up with a decisive win over the Magpies at the Gabba.
The Pies were dealt a savage blow, when their best player was ruled out before the first bounce, and it immediately made the teams feel like Brisbane possessed a team of stars up against the Collingwood supporting cast.
That is not a good sign for the Pies.
Brisbane seemed to have players on top all over the park, but as the Pies looked for someone to step up and fill the void, the reality hit hard – there was nobody capable. Or worse, nobody willing.
Not so for the Lions. Will Ashcroft did as he pleased as he ran around finding the footy at will, whilst the three-headed half-back monster of Dayne Zorko, Keidean Coleman, and Jaspa Fletcher, collected the footy for fun. Brisbane had too much class, were cleaner with the footy, and even without the best defender in the competition to prop up their back half, denied the Pies easy entries inside 50.
So, here we are – two weeks ago, some started to question Brisbane. Some openly wondered whether this group would have the drive to put together another big season.
I think we got our answer in this one…
… but what questions does it raise about the Pies?
Well, I reckon we could jump into The Mongrel’s Big Questions from this one, and we’ll explore.
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Oh… a Mongrel paywall… the worst of all paywalls. We’re all in on the 2026 AFL season. Player articles, stats, awards, game coverage. Dump the mainstream lip service and dive into articles like this – you will never look back. If you don’t want to, that’s fine. I consider it your loss as we get into the grind of the season, and you’re stuck with the stuff that’s frustrated you for years.
