Brown stars in Lions victory

Brisbane Lions 16.10 (106)  def.  Hawthorn 9.12 (66)

The Brisbane Lions have notched their second win of the season, snapping a four game losing streak against Hawthorn tonight by 41 points at Carrara, courtesy of an eight goal haul to powerhouse forward Jonathan Brown.

The Lions booted nine of thirteen goals in the first half of the game, during which Brown snagged five goals in an unstoppable performance.

The win came at a cost for the Lions, with Joel Macdonald coming off in the third quarter with a serious knee injury, while Ash McGrath suffered a suspected broken wrist in the latter stages of the final quarter. Jordan Lewis also succumbed to an ankle injury for the Hawks late in the match.

Simon Black finally hit his straps for 2006, garnering 31 possessions and laying seven tackles in what was a truly inspirational performance, while Brown (eight goals, 25 possessions, 16 marks) proved to be a very formidable target up forward.

Shining lights were a rarity for the Hawks tonight, with Sam Mitchell (26 possessions, eight tackles) and Mark Williams (five goals) being two players who were able to walk off the ground holding their heads high.

In slippery conditions for AFL, the game got off to a sloppy start with Brisbane controlling most of the possession, while Hawthorn flooded back.

It took eight minutes for the first goal of the game to be scored, with Brown pulling down a mark against the odds in a 3-on-1 contest. Brown slotted the goal before kicking the next major of the match, to send the Lions up by 12 points.

Jared Brennan and Mitchell Clark kicked two successive crumbing goals in the latter part of the term to send the Lions into the break 25 points up, with the Hawks being kept scoreless in a quarter for the first time since 2004 when they were pitted against the Lions at the MCG.

Brisbane began the second stanza proving that the first was no stroke of luck, booting the first three goals of the term in nine minutes through Brown (2) and Brennan, and in doing so, they raced out to a 46-point lead.

It wasn’t until the 12 minute mark of the term that Hawthorn snaffled it’s first score, with Mark Williams snapping a much needed goal for the boys from Waverley to cut the deficit back to 42 points.

Hawthorn took inspiration from this major, booting the next two goals of the term through Ben Dixon and Campbell Brown who launched one from the 50-arc to cut the margin back to 29 points.

Brown and livewire Harry Miller then exchanged majors for their respective sides, before Matthew Moody slotted a six-pointer in the shadows of half-time for the Lions to stretch the margin back out to 37 points at the long break.

Brisbane began the premiership term in the best possible fashion, with McGrath booting a goal early in the term to hand the Lions a 43-point lead.

Hawthorn hit back with the next two majors of the match through Williams and captain Richard Vandenberg, with the deficit being cut back to 31 points.

The Lions then piled on the last four goals of the quarter through Brown (2), Daniel Bradshaw, and Brennan to head into the final term with a seemingly unassailable lead of 50 points, with the Hawks squandering four genuine opportunities late in the quarter.

Brown kick-started the final term with his eighth goal of the night, and in doing so, handed the Lions a whopping 62-point lead.

Williams booted the final three majors of the match for the Hawks during "junk time", adding a touch of respectability to the scoreboard, with the final margin reading 40 points.

Next week sees the Hawks clash with the red-hot Demons on Friday night at the MCG, while Brisbane head to AAMI Stadium to take on Port Adelaide on Sunday afternoon.

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