2025 Round 7: Neale Leads the Way as the Lions Smash the Saints

Round 7, 2025: Brisbane Lions 17.16 118 defeated by St Kilda 11.7 73 at Marvel Stadium, Melbourne

While I’m pretty sure that wasn’t the greatest game of footy I’ve ever watched, it was great to see the Lions shake off the demons of last round’s loss to the Pies with a dominant win over the Saints.

While some might rue the wasted chances in front of goal that would have really boosted our percentage, the team was pretty solid all round — though the Saints didn’t exactly play well. I don’t think anyone will object to me calling this a pedestrian win for the Brisbane Lions.

You can see from the first figure that the team had a relatively high average rating points — somewhat similar to the Bulldogs performance — but definitely a whole lot better than last round. Guess we really needed that nine day break, right?

There were some great individual performances that deserve a shout out. Let’s take a quick look at the AFL Player Ratings for the Lions to get a feel for who was good and whatnot.

Standouts:

Lachie Neale was back to his imperious best, easily taking the #1 player rating for the Lions. It's fair to say he hasn’t quite been at his peak this year, and I wondered if we were finally seeing the start of an age-related decline. But he was brilliant against the Saints, racking up 31 disposals, 12 score involvements, nearly 500 metres gained, and — crucially — three goals. A classic Neale performance that will surely see him hoover up Brownlow votes.

Zac Bailey continued his strong form, kicking three goals, grabbing 24 touches, and laying five tackles. He did miss a few, including one that would’ve been a contender for goal of the week, but it’s really good to see Bailey back playing close to his best in 2025 after a pretty dire 2024.

Will Ashcroft also bounced back well after his poor showing versus the Pies. He was a constant threat in the contest, distributing the ball and driving the team forward, picking up 35 disposals and eight score involvements. Superb stuff from the third-year player.

Also in the top five were Darcy Wilmot and Dayne Zorko, both of whom had strong games, with Zorko racking up a massive 656 metres gained.

Other notable performances:

While not in the top five for player ratings, I thought Eric Hipwood was good once again, and his rating of 13.8 was nearly eight points higher than his season average. Sam Day had a good day out too, putting in perhaps his most solid performance of the season — managing some influence in the ruck, grabbing four clearances and getting involved in four scoring chains.

Players Who Struggled:

It wasn’t all smooth sailing though. Charlie Cameron had another tough outing. I did feel a bit sorry for him — he got chances but only converted four behinds. While he did apply pressure in the forward half, he managed just one tackle, meaning his player rating was well below his usual high standards.

It was also a bit of a shame that Callum Ah Chee had a relatively quiet game for his 150th AFL appearance, though he did snag a goal in the fourth quarter. To my eye, Ah Chee looks like he’s playing a bit sore — maybe he’d benefit from a rest soon.

Elsewhere, Jaspa Fletcher was a little down compared to usual, and Darcy Gardiner also didn’t rate well — perhaps understandable given he’s been away from the first team for quite some time.

That said, it’s hard to be too critical of anyone when the Lions won fairly convincingly.

Looking Ahead:

While I don’t think it’s a game I’ll be rewatching anytime soon, it’s great to grab another W. Roll on to the Q Clash — which is guaranteed to be a spicy affair, given the recent red-hot form of the emergent Gold Coast Suns.

Thanks again for reading!