2025 Round 10: A Familiar Fadeout at the Gabba

Brisbane Lions 13.10 (88) lost to Naarm (Melbourne Demons) 14.15 (99) at The Gabba.

For once in what feels like months, it didn’t rain in Brisbane. The sun came out, the Gabba turf dried up, and the Lions had a golden opportunity to notch a statement win against a vulnerable Demons outfit, who have definitely underperformed this season.

I wasn’t there. Instead, I stayed home, mowed the lawn, and chipped away at the mountain of laundry that had steadily grown over the last few wet weeks. I even offloaded my tickets to a Melbourne-supporting friend, a decision that, in hindsight, feels like a spiritual own goal.

But any fear of missing out evaporated by full time. The Lions lost — not just on the scoreboard, but in conviction. For the second week running, Brisbane built a lead only to dismantle it themselves. Unlike the North Melbourne draw, there was no last-minute reprieve this time. Just a slow bleed, as Melbourne overran a side that once again looked unsure of how to finish what it started.

Which is frustrating, because for stretches of the game, Brisbane looked sharp. Ball movement was quick and direct, the corridor was open, and younger players were prominent. The issue wasn’t getting the ball forward, it was doing anything useful once it got there. Our small and medium forwards had negligible impact, while the tall forwards including part-time spearhead Darcy Gardiner competed and contributed greatly.

It seriously looked like the team got to a suitable lead they thought they could defend, and then switched off. Maybe the 'premiership hangover' had just been delayed?

So here we are. Another game that got away. Time to look at who stood up, and who went missing.

Fletcher and Bailey: Lone Bright Spots

Despite the broader struggles, Jaspa Fletcher produced arguably his most complete game at AFL level. He topped the team with 18.7 player rating points, built not on raw volume but on clean, efficient impact: 22 disposals, six intercepts, 10 contested possessions, and a goal. His positioning and composure stood out in a match where Brisbane often looked rushed.

Zac Bailey wasn’t far behind on 18.6. player rating , which was surprising to me, given that I did not really feel his impact. But his stats don't lie, he actually played pretty well in his 150th match for the club. Bailey had a more traditional midfield-forward game — 27 touches, a goal, 10 score involvements, and over 400 metres gained. Importantly, his possessions weren’t empty. He moved the ball forward with intent and helped connect the midfield to something resembling a forward line.

Low Volume, High Return

A couple of defenders found themselves highly rated despite minimal ball. Darcy Gardiner, deployed as a forward, somehow notched 13.0 rating points from just 13 disposals and no tackles. The official sheet credits him with four goals, which tells us plenty about how strange this match was. He may not repeat that stat line again this season, or ever.

Ryan Lester also punched above his numbers: 14.0 rating points, 16 disposals, and just two contested possessions, but his 5 tackles and 6 score involvements suggest smart positioning and solid decision-making. A reminder that doing the basics well still matters.

Where It Fell Apart

If the top end of the list offered a few positives, the bottom end told a more familiar story of late

Kai Lohmann returned the lowest rating of the match — 1.3 — on a night where he managed just five disposals, two marks, and a single tackle. Minimal forward pressure, limited involvement, and not much else. You'd think if McCarthy was fit, Lohmann would not be in the team based off numbers like this.

Lions smalls have to apply pressure to make up for the relative understrength of our tall forwards, and by not being able to lay multiple tackles as well as not impacting the scoreboard, it's tough to mention any positives. Perhaps he's still injured, which might be the case. And if so, the Lions selectors shouldn't be picking him.

Anyway, he was substituted off eventually, but far too late in my view. More on that in a second.

Noah Answerth didn’t fare much better than Lohmann. His 11 disposals came at a troubling 54.5% efficiency, and he recorded six turnovers and five clangers. Despite a couple of intercepts, his ball use continually placed the team under pressure, particularly when Melbourne lifted in the second half.

Eric Hipwood, meanwhile, played poorly. One goal from 9 disposals, 4 turnovers, and just 1 tackle tells you most of what you need to know. He did some frustrating things, despite his breathtaking huge major from outside 50, such as his bone-headed decision to ignore the whistle and give away a 50 metre penalty early in the game. His influence faded as the game wore on — not for the first time this year.

Perhaps most disappointing was Harris Andrews. Brisbane’s defensive general had only a muted say in proceedings: 10 disposals, 5 intercepts, and 8.8 rating points. While he wasn’t error-prone, he wasn’t able to impose himself when Melbourne began to surge and in a game decided in transition and aerial contests, that absence was noticeable. He was well tagged by Demon's forward defensive master, Jake Melksham, and it makes me wonder why opposition don't target Andrews more.

I don't know why we're so poor with our subs

I don't have any charts (yet) to show this, but our selection, particularly around substitutes has been baffling of late. It was quite clear early on that some of our small/medium forwards were struggling. I suspect both Lohmann and Cal Ah Chee may be carrying injuries, as they're both underperforming.

Why then, with the game balance quickly turning in the fourth, did we wait until the final 10 minutes to activate the substitute? I'm unsure. Conor McKenna, who actually excels in this role and has generally played pretty well when he's come into the seniors this week, was limited to 10 minutes in the last quarter when the game was basically already lost.

While he did manage to score from pretty much his only touch of the game to keep the Lions notionally in it, the game was already slipping away, and thus his substitution on to the field was pretty much ineffective.

This is in stark contrast to the end of the last season, particularly during the finals, when we were actually usually forced into using substitutes mostly early due to injury - and these usually turned out to be a inadvertent masterstroke.

I still get the senses that the coaches, replete with so much talent coming back into the squad, are still trying to figure out the best arrangement. Unfortunately, it probably cost us today.

If that's what they're trying to do, I just hope they figure it out soon. We've got the Hawks next week in Victoria. I really hope we're up for what will be a difficult challenge from an actual contender.