Fevola inspires Lions past Bulldogs
Brendan Fevola put a tumultuous week behind him to inspire the undefeated Brisbane Lions to a magnificent 22-point victory over the Western Bulldogs in their AFL Round Four clash in Brisbane on Saturday night.
Fevola who admitted he had a gambling problem late in the week booted four goals, all in the third quarter as the Lions overcame a four-goal halftime deficit to record a 13.23 (101) to 12.7 (79) victory over the Bulldogs in front of 33,323 at the GABBA.
The Lions whose wayward kicking cost them dearly in the first half took advantage of key Bulldog defender Tom Williams being off the ground in the third quarter as Fevola booted four goals in a six-goal term for the Lions.
Williams who was stretched off the ground for what appeared to be a neck injury re-appeared in the final term but by then all the damage had been done as the Lions (4-0) continued their impressive start to the season.
Lions senior coach Michael Voss paid special tribute to Fevola who has a long list off off-field troubles but is starting to find his feet at his new club.
To be able to come out and show that resilience is pretty tough, Voss said at his after match media conference. In that third quarter he certainly lifted.
Fevolas partner in crime in Jonathan Brown could only manage two majors and like many of his teammates just could not find the big sticks as he also booted three behinds.
However Brown who also amassed 19 possessions and took nine marks sealed the win for the Lions with his second late in the final term.
The pair had many supporters with another veteran in Luke Power (31 touches), Michael Rischitelli (28 disposals) and arguably best on ground Jared Brennan (25 possessions and seven marks) were all classy.
It was a different story in the first half though as the Bulldogs (2-2) at one stage lead by as many as 30 points following booting eight straight majors four of them to Barry Hall as the visitors were dominating all over the field.
Hall booted all his four majors in the Bulldogs seven goal second quarter before he was kept goalless in the second half by Lions defender Daniel Merrett who had an interesting duel with the former Saint and Swan.
As a team contribution, it was a very big tick for us, commented Voss.
I feel like we have taken a little bit of a step, there are big games because of the team you are playing and they (the Bulldogs) are very tough opponents.
Following a brilliant opening half the Dogs lost their run and momentum after the break and Williams absence seemed to inspire the Lions forwards, especially Fevola to take the game by the scruff of the neck.
The former Carlton spearheads fourth goal of the match put the Lions in front on the three-quarter-time siren and the home side was never headed as Brisbane avenged their semi final defeat to the Bulldogs last year.
Once again the Bulldogs were lead by midfielders Matthew Boyd (27 touches), Ryan Griffen (26 possessions) and 2008 Brownlow Medallist Adam Cooney (23 disposals) but their contributions, especially in the second half was few and far between.
Western Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade was less than pleased with his sides performance, especially in the second half as one of the favourites for the flag lost their second game this year to a final eight team from last year.
Theres some worrying signs there for maybe a bit of the team but certainly some individuals, Eade said post game.
It was across the board, it was a mixture of experienced players and some younger players as well.
Maybe weve just got to give it a jolt a bit and … find some people who are just going to work consistently.
Brisbane Lions 2.5 4.11 10.18 13.23 (101)
Western Bulldogs 2.4 9.5 11.6 12.7 (89)