2025 Round 5: Eric the Red-Hot: Hipwood’s Heroics in a Gather Round Epic

Round 5, 2025: Brisbane Lions 18.10 118 defeated Western Bulldogs 14.13 97 at Norwood Oval, Adelaide

I started writing this match review around midway through the second quarter. At that stage, the Lions were around 39 points down to a rampaging Bulldogs side, led from the front by the rising talent of Sam Darcy.

Nothing was working, and the Lions seemed unable to take a mark inside their forward fifty. I was resigned to the fact that our perfect run of Gather Round wins looked doomed to fall at Norwood Oval.

But ye of little faith, behold the slayer of Bulldogs: Eric Hipwood. From absolute rock bottom in the first half (1 possession) to All-Australian form in the second, Eric took multiple contested marks, crashed packs, and booted five goals in one half of footy.

Our other medium forwards, Zac Bailey and Cam Rayner, also heavily contributed as the Lions overhauled yet another seemingly impossible half-time deficit to somehow run out 21-point winners — a turnaround of 60 points! (Interesting aside: we scored the exact same as the previous round against Richmond!)

Yet another incredible performance from this incredible team, and suddenly the Lions are 5-0 to start the season, having now gone unbeaten since the second-last round of the 2024 season.

I’m not surprised Eric Hipwood ended up topping the Lions' player rating statistics! Here they are for Round 5 vs the Bulldogs:

Tall responds after a few weeks in the doldrums

While Eric Hipwood’s first half was one to forget, his second half was elite. He was clean and high-impact with flawless goal-kicking, finishing with 5 goals straight. He also had 9 score involvements and contributed 6 inside 50s — an outstanding effort for a forward often maligned by parts of the fanbase. Let’s hope this is his true emergence from the shadow of the retired Joe Daniher.

Elsewhere, Zac Bailey was once again outstanding. He delivered a truly dynamic and all-round performance with 3 goals, 20 disposals, nearly 500 metres gained, and 9 score involvements — combining polish, pressure, and scoreboard impact in another standout outing. Bailey has well and truly cast off the bad form of 2024 and has emerged as a vital cog in the ever-evolving Lions forward line.

Logan Morris also posted his highest-ever rating with 19 — his 3 goals proving vital in getting the team over the line.

The unassuming Hugh McCluggage continued his strong claim to being the Lions’ most important midfielder this season, with 32 disposals, 10 contested possessions, 6 tackles, and 6 clearances. He also made a big impact on the scoreboard with 2 goal assists and 7 score involvements, helping dismantle the Bulldogs' defence and creating space for the tall forwards to shine.

Bonus rating: Levi Ashcroft continues to rapidly improve. His 12.8 rating points mark the best of his short career to date. Great things are coming from the rookie.

The other side of the coin

On the other end of the ledger, Charlie Cameron had a day to forget with a -4.3 rating. He unfortunately underperformed on the scoreboard, converting just 3 behinds, gaining only 75 metres, and registering just 1 contested possession. While he seemed OK on the eye test, the player rating metrics were far less forgiving.

It was a similar story for Sam Day, who is still searching for his first major in Lions colours. While I personally thought he was a lot better than in previous outings, his raw statistical output wasn’t much to write home about.

He had just 7 uncontested possessions and no goal assists, indicating a lack of connection with his fellow forwards. That said, he did lay 3 tackles, take 6 marks, and gain 219 metres — possibly a sign of more defensive-forward work. However, these contributions are less likely to be rewarded in the player ratings algorithms.

This was an amazing victory

Despite a few negative player ratings, we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that this was yet another incredible victory for the Lions.

While we continue to buck the odds — seemingly grasping victory from the jaws of defeat — what I see in doing these ratings each week is that we have so many different contributors. The team always finds a way and doesn’t rely on one or two superstars.

Lions fans will be stoked and super pumped for the Easter holiday clash against Collingwood on April 17. I know I will be.

Thanks again for reading, and if you’d prefer to get these posts automatically in your inbox, feel free to subscribe to the free newsletter version of the blog. I’ll also be sharing some general AFL analysis and insights over the next few weeks for readers who aren’t necessarily Lions fans — and I really appreciate your readership!