Trademark Lions outmuscle Suns in Q Clash
Josh Dunkley and Will Ashcroft powered a midfield mauling and Charlie Cameron added the sizzle up front as a vintage Brisbane performance put the Suns in retrograde to take a 9.12 (66) to 7.7 (49) win in the first Q Clash of 2025.
The trio led the way in what was a fairly uninspiring contest, particularly Dunkley, who sat on Suns stud Matt Rowell all night while also providing plenty for the Gabba crowd to cheer about.
The veteran midfielder was prolific in keeping his direct opponent to a quiet 16 disposals and a measly lone clearance, while compiling 26 disposals and six tackles himself.
Ashcroft would go on to win the best afield medal named after his very own father, Marcus, as he skated around the wet ground collecting possessions at will to finish with 34 disposals and nine clearances.
Charlie Cameron nailed three goals in a return to form and could have had a couple more.
Most of the damage was done in the third term, as the Lions nailed five goals through Callum Ah Chee (who bagged three of his own, all in that term), Cameron and Darcy Gardiner.
But make no mistake, the reigning premiers were largely the better side across most of the four quarters as the Suns fell short in a litmus test.
The visitors looked competitive early on when David Swallow booted the first goal, while Joel Jeffrey and Mac Andrew won their share of contests in defence.
Brisbane was unable to kick a goal until after the quarter time siren, when a Bailey Humphrey brain fade allowed Jarrod Berry to convert.
After being caught holding the ball, and perhaps in a tribute to our federal politicians on election weekend, Humphrey decided to throw some mud (unlike our politicians, his was literal, not figurative) resulting in a 50m penalty that waltzed Jarrod Berry to the goal line.
The Lions found another gear after that, dominating clearance contests across the entire game, winning the final count 47-28 in a smashing.
Cameron set the crowd alight early in the second term, when he mesmerised Will Powell and Touk Miller to snap a fantastic goal. He would follow the feat with another one 90 seconds later, alleviating some of the pressure that had been building on the veteran small forward following a form slump.
The Suns continued to threaten to put together passages of play, mainly through Dan Rioli, but often fell short when entering forward 50m.
Young forward Jed Walter broke through eventually, but with star forward Ben King not touching the ball in the first half, things were always going to be tough.
It was a different looking Suns who came out of half time, though. Those threatening passages went up in smoke, as the Lions continually punished the Suns for either not being tough, or not being clean enough.
Will Ashcroft was joined in racking up the stats by brother Levi, who tallied 29 on the night to go with seven marks and three clearances.
Together, they continued to power the champs past their little brothers, and the Suns booting the final three goals on the night did little to affect the result.
In the end, the Lions were too big, too smart and too good, thoroughly outclassing a fairly disappointing Gold Coast.
The Lions will go into a Round 9 match with North feeling full of confidence next week, while the Gold Coast will host the Bulldogs in an important game for both sides.
This one was a good watch! Here are some of the things that caught my four eyes:
Other coaches wish they had Josh Dunkley sooooo badly
Seriously, what a performance from this impeccable footballer.
He took contested marks, he laid big tackles and most importantly, he somehow kept Matt Rowell to a single clearance. I mean, that’s like keeping Cheech and Chong to one puff!
Dunkley constantly put body pressure on Rowell, doing whatever he could to make sure the number one draft pick never got a clean run at the footy. It’s crazy to say a bloke with 26 touches sacrificed his own game, but he did.
The best thing about watching Dunkley is his no-nonsense approach to footy. He is ready to take on whatever job his coach gives him, and willing to do all the tough stuff.
Other coaches must watch on with envy when the Lions play, and Chris Fagan must gush with appreciation for his work.
It was a family affair at the Q Clash
Call them kissed, call them spoilt (I certainly do), call them whatever you like. The Lions are living the absolute dream through the Ashcroft boys.
Will and Levi combined for 63 disposals and 13 marks. They love to run around the ground touching the footy as much as they can, and the Gold Coast players had no problem letting them do exactly that tonight.
I thought we might see a tag applied to Will at half time, but Dimma made little change to his midfield plan and the Ashcroft train kept on chugging.
The brothers were bested by the Daicos lads a few weeks ago, but I reckon they’ll win their share of those clashes over the coming seasons.
On the father-sons, Jaspa Fletcher is pretty bloody handy as well. Talk about kissed!
Wet weather helped minimise the Lions’ weakness
I admit, I tipped the Suns to win this game. It was reckless, irresponsible, and I will ensure it does not happen again moving forward.
HOWEVER, like every good politician (another election weekend reference there for ya), I have an excuse.
I thought missing Logan Morris would seriously hurt the Lions in this game. On paper, I like the way the Suns’ backs stacked up against the Brisbane forwards.
The wet weather essentially made an absent key forward a non-factor, though, and even the loss of Sam Day in the first term didn’t really affect the game.
In fact, the lack of tall forwards allowed space for Ah Chee and Cameron to combine for six goals.
Mac Andrew is a rollercoaster
I think he was among the Suns’ best… I think.
Mac Andrew is a weird watch. He does things defensively that make me nod and say “nice” when he affects the contest. It’s fun to watch, and he had his share of contest wins in this game.
But he also has at least one brainfart per match. This week, it was a half-brainfart I suppose. A silent-but-almost-deadly, you could say.
It came when he took a mark and played on straight away, into the arms of Eric Hipwood who was on his hammer. That’s pretty stock-standard, but he was lucky to avoid giving away a 50m penalty when he overstepped the mark by five metres just to go remonstrate.
He’s lucky the umpire was oblivious to it tonight, but they won’t always look the other way.
Mac is making a habit of some pretty stupid shit, but like I said, I still think he was among their best.
And some quick hitters to finish up
- John Noble has been getting some deserved plaudits for a strong start to the year, but if you’re being objective, his disposal is pretty bloody horrific. Needs to fix up the delivery, particularly for that half back role he’s in.
- Harris Andrews… good at football.
- Not sure what the other Suns mids were doing when Rowell was getting sat on. Hardly ever did they go over to help and put a block on. Anderson, Miller… hello?
- Brisbane’s Bears jumper literally looks like the poo emoji, which is funny because tonight they’ll be as happy as pigs in excrement.
- That was one of the most dead-rubber fourth quarters you’ll see. The Suns were truly shut out of mustering a challenge.
- Cam Rayner took his angry pills this morning. I liked it.
Alright, it’s late on a Sunday, and I’ve typed the word “Ashcroft” out way too much for my liking. I’m off. Ta ta.
