The Brisbane Lions created a slice of history in Darwin on Saturday night when they notched a first ever win at TIO Stadium by 26 points over NT Thunder.
The Lions controlled the contest for most of the night, and stood tall when the home side rallied in the second half to produce a stirring 15.11 (101) to 11.9 (75) victory.
Brisbane’s only other win in Darwin was the 2012 NEAFL Second Semi-Final at Northline Oval in Palmerston, two weeks before they beat NT Thunder in the Grand Final at Yeronga.
That was also the last time the Lions had beaten Thunder, losing their past six contests over the last four seasons.
Fielding 19 AFL-listed players, the Lions wasted no time setting the tone in the first quarter, booting the first three goals before the home side could respond.
The margin remained at 18 points at quarter-time, and NT Thunder managed to reduce the gap to 14 at the main break in a tight second term.
The trend continued in the third when an arm wrestle ensured, with Archie Smith breaking the deadlock with the first goal of the quarter at the 11-minute mark.
Thunder responded with two in a row to Hugo Drogemuller and Cameron Ilett to get within eight points.
But the Lions found the answers through best-on-ground Ryan Bastinac and captain Matt Hammelmann to open up some breathing space heading into the last term.
They had NT Thunder on the ropes with the first two goals in three minutes through Sam Copland and Jono Freeman – the latter coming from a 50m penalty in a rare act of undisciplined play from NT.
Ewing snapped his fourth to give Thunder a chance of an unlikely comeback, but when they gave away another 50m penalty resulting in a goal to ruckman Oscar McInerney at the eight-minute mark, their hard work was undone.
Brisbane coach Mitch Hahn said it was a terrific team effort to get over the line, but still sees a lot of growth in their side going forward.
“They (NT Thunder) had a good win against Aspley last week and they are always a tougher opponent up here (Darwin), so for us to come up and get the win was really pleasing,” he said.
“Our ability around the contest was good, but we didn’t want to get into a turnover game with them because we knew they were able to out-score us on turnovers, so that’s where we still have an area to work on.
“We feel like, even though we got the win and it was hard-fought win, which is an important part of our development, we’ve also got a lot of things we need to work on.”
Bastinac was superb through the midfield and was the catalyst for victory alongside Marco Paparone and Hammelmann (three goals), while Cedric Cox and Lions Academy product Sam Copland (three goals) were lively.
Defender Daniel Weetra battled hard all night against the height and experience of the Lions’ forwards, with Ilett also playing an important defensive role for his side.
Ewing finished with five goals to put himself at the top of the NEAFL Goalkicking Leaderboard.
NT Thunder will have a bye next week while Brisbane – who are undefeated after the first two rounds – will host Southport at South Pine Sports Complex.
NT Thunder v Brisbane Lions at TIO Stadium
Brisbane 6.1 8.4 11.7 15.11 (101)
NT Thunder 3.1 6.2 8.5 11.9 (75)
GOALS Brisbane: M Hammelmann 3 S Copland 3 R Dadds 2 J Freeman 2 M Close A Smith C Beams O McInerney R Bastinac. NT Thunder: D Ewing 5 H Drogemuller C Ilett L Collihole A Sambono.
BEST Brisbane: R Bastinac M Paparone M Hammelmann C Cox S Copland C Beams. NT Thunder: D Weetra C Ilett S Rioli B McLean N Yarran R Smith.
