2025 Round 9: Draw FC Claims the Chocolates in Hobart

Darragh Murray

11 May 2025 — 5 min read

Brisbane Lions 10.11 (71) drew with North Melbourne Kangaroos 10.11 (71)

I always feel Brisbane can fall victim to hubris.

Whenever the Lions face a supposedly weaker opponent, we somehow find a way to make the contest far closer than it should be. It's already happened twice this season, with narrow, unconvincing wins over the struggling West Coast Eagles and Richmond Tigers.

So, as we lined up against the underperforming North Melbourne Kangaroos in Hobart, I couldn’t shake the feeling we were in for another grinding, frustrating match.

That feeling proved to be spot on. The Kangaroos clawed back from a halftime deficit to level the match, and frankly, they’ll be the more disappointed side having outplayed Brisbane for long stretches.

These are exactly the kinds of games where the Lions often look disjointed. Maybe it’s the curse of the white shorts?

Figure 1: 2025 average team player ratings by round.

Looking at the team average player ratings, we were slightly worse than last week on average (7.8 v 8.6) but the difference here is that North Melbourne actually played substantially better than Gold Coast Suns, hence why the result ended up as it did. Christian Xerri absolutely dominated the Lions, and was comfortably best on ground.

When Berry went off injured late in the first quarter, I questioned the decision to name Darcy Gardiner as the sub especially with both Fort and Big O already in the lineup. Gardiner can be serviceable, but he wasn’t exactly effective last week. McKenna — who had a quietly useful game in the previous round—or even Tunstill would’ve made more sense.

While I’m not a professional footy coach or team boss (by any stretch of the means), this does feel like an error, particularly considering how the match played out and considering our opponent had a longer break and didn’t have to travel as far.

And we always seem to play terribly in Tasmania.

It’s hard to single out any standout performances. Zorko was solid. Hipwood, maybe. Rayner certainly put in the effort. But there were far more disappointing outings. Neale struggled, Gardiner and Morris were poor, and Lohmann had minimal impact. In fairness, for the latter two, an inconsistent season so far probably didn’t set them up well for a high-pressure match like this.

But while inconsistency might be expected from a team with a threadbare list or mounting injuries, Brisbane’s squad is healthy with many great talents to choose from. And that makes this kind of result hard to excuse.

We know Fagan places a premium on trust and loyalty but perhaps it's OK to think a bit more strategically about how best to utilise this deep, talented squad. Even against a team like North Melbourne.

Figure 2: Brisbane Lions ratings points v North Melbourne, 11 May 2025

Our aging ex-captain Dayne Zorko (18.3) can hold his head up somewhat high. Zorko managed 39 disposals and drove the team forward with his work off halfback, collecting 781 metres gained. He was the standout and pinged in some excellent inside 50s that resulted in scoreboard pressure.

Elsewhere, Josh Dunkley (16.8) got quite a bit of ball (27 disposals), but also managed 8 tackles and 10 clearances, he was definitely our best midfielder in the centre square.

While Hugh McCluggage (12.1) and Will Ashcroft (11.9) were serviceable without being outstanding, Lachie Neale (8.8) had a bit of a game to forget with 17 disposals, 4 clearances, and only 107 metres gained. He’s had a few off games this year, unfortunately.

One player who did relatively well compared to their long-term statistical averages was Noah Answerth (11.5), who did a pretty good job with 8 intercepts and 404 metres gained. He made a few errors in the first half, but otherwise was solid.

But it was a bit dire at the other end of the ledger with many of our forwards having poor afternoons out (hence the relatively low score for a team that is usually able to score heavily).

Callum Ah Chee (0.4) did manage a goal but had very minimal impact with just 91 metres gained. Kai Lohmann (2.3), returning from injury, looked rusty – managing 8 disposals and 3 tackles but no direct impact on the scoreboard, meaning his influence was limited.

Charlie Cameron (2.7), after a huge day out versus the Suns last week, returned to poor form – managing only 1 tackle and 9 disposals, despite kicking a screamer from the boundary. The frustrating thing for many Lions fans is that, as spectacular as these goals are, he really needs to convert the arguably easier set shots closer to goal.

I’m beginning to wonder if Logan Morris (3.0)'s place in the team is under threat. He has been quiet for a number of weeks now. While he was converting goals earlier in the season, we’re seeing those dry up, and his lack of involvement is becoming a concern. He managed just 3 disposals and 31 metres gained in this match.

Figure 3: Brisbane Lions ratings points differentials v North Melbourne, 11 May 2025.

But, somehow we remain top of the table after 9 rounds. A spot many other teams would be highly envious of. But our relatively low percentage, the worst in the top 8, is something of a concern and our inability to put away teams who we should expect to easily beat may come to bite when September rolls around.

Next up is the Demons at the Gabba. Let’s hope we can shift back into top gear.

Addendum

Interestingly, as noted by a fan by the name of Pearman Wade and publicised by the great Useless AFL Stats, this was a true draw in many sense of the word, with the scores exactly the same - but also how the scores occurred being also the exact same. Look at the scoring breakdown for the match and you'll see what I mean.