MOMENT #5: Brown's 500th goal

It’s probably safe to say that Jonathan Brown’s 500th goal was a long time coming…

Brown’s career goal tally sat at 498 for almost eight months after he suffered a serious facial injury during the Lions’ Round 17 match against Geelong in 2011, which ended his season.

The inspirational big man then set his sights on achieving the milestone in Round 1 of 2012, before another injury setback during the pre-season further delayed his on-field return.

Brown was held goalless in his much-anticipated on-field return against Fremantle in Round 3, leaving him still two goals shy of the mark and wondering whether he was destined never to reach 500 goals.

He remained stranded on 498 goals at half-time of the Lions’ Round 4 clash against Gold Coast, with Suns full-back Matthew Warnock doing everything in his power to ensure the celebrations were held-off for another week.

But an early second half goal helped edge Brown closer to 500, before the elusive opportunity finally presented itself in the dying seconds of the third term when he received a free kick after being obstructed from marking a typically precise Simon Black left-foot pass.

The resultant set shot sailed through the big sticks at post height, sparking Brown’s teammates to seek out their Captain and congratulate him on becoming just the fourth player in Club history (Fitzroy and Bears included) to achieve the milestone.

In the words of commentator Anthony Hudson, they truly were “500 of the best”.

Watch the video of Jonathan Brown's 500th goal on LIONS TV


MOMENT #6: Three smothers in-a-row against Richmond

Football’s ‘one-percenters’ often don’t get the recognition they deserve, but it’s hard to overlook the series of smothers that saved a certain goal against Richmond in Round 19 at the Gabba.

After turning the ball over inside their defensive 50m, the Lions’ defence threw their bodies on the line (literally) to ensure the initial error didn’t prove too costly.

Ryan Harwood set the tone with a brilliant diving smother, which was followed by a magnificent contest from Joel Patfull in the opposition goal square.

Just when it looked as though the Tigers finally had a clear shot on goal, full-back Daniel Merrett appeared from nowhere to restrict yet another scoring chance.

The passage of play was topped off when Jed Adcock tackled Richmond ruckman Ivan Maric, which forced his kick to travel out of bounds.

It was an all-round terrific team effort.

Watch the video of the series of smothers on LIONS TV 


COMPETITION WINNERS!

Wednesday's winners of a personally signed mini Sherrin were Haydn Shaw (VIC) and Dean Henderson (VIC). Both winners will be contacted by the Club soon via email with further details surrounding their prize

Keep posted to lions.com.au on Tuesday when we reveal Moments #4 and #3.


MOMENT #7: Daniel Merrett’s 7-goal haul against GWS

It was the Lions’ first outing against new kids on the block GWS, and big man Daniel Merrett still hadn’t totally convinced fans and commentators that he belonged in the forward line.

With a respectable average of one goal per game in each of the team’s seven outings leading into the GWS clash, Merrett doubled his season total against the Giants, and left no-one in doubt of his goal-kicking ability.

He opened his account with three in the first minutes of the game - one on the run and two from set shots - before taking his first-quarter total to a whopping five, courtesy of set-ups from Daniel Rich and Jonathan Brown.

He snuck inside 50 and kicked his sixth at the end of the third, before capping off a superb performance with a leap off the back of Jonathan Giles in the fourth quarter to mark in front of goal and split the big sticks for the seventh time that day.

It was a career-high for Merrett, and a team-high for season 2012.

Watch the video of Merrett’s goals on LIONS TV


MOMENT #8: Zorko’s goal to seal the win against Port

He’s the 176cm dynamo who took the AFL world by storm in 2012 with his attack, his grunt, his footy smarts, and of course, his interesting surname.

Among Dayne Zorko’s highlights for the year was his brilliant display in Round 22 against Port Adelaide, where he exhibited another outstanding example of lifting his team and dragging them over the line.

With four minutes to go, the Lions had clawed back the lead on a rainy and windy day at AAMI Stadium, but with just a six-point margin, it was far from over. The Lions needed a clincher to seal the win.

Enter Zorko. He picked up the scraps from a stoppage just outside 50m and booted it long to claim victory for the Lions. Equal credit must go to James Polkinghorne for his beautiful tap under pressure - but as commentator Gerard Healy said: “Polkinghorne the magician doesn’t sound quite as good as Zorko the magician.”

Watch the video of Zorko’s sealer on LIONS TV


COMPETITION WINNERS!

Tuesday’s winners of a personally signed mini Sherrin were Kyle Jack (QLD) and Samantha Wilkinson (QLD). Both winners will be contacted by the Club soon via email with further details surrounding their prize 


MOMENT #9: Josh Green’s goal against Port Adelaide in Round 22

Wet weather conditions generally aren’t conducive to clean passages of play - but Josh Green’s second of three goals against Port Adelaide in Round 21 at a rain-soaked AAMI Stadium proved an exception.

James Polkinghorne set the scoring opportunity up midway through the second term, by evading three Port Adelaide players before placing the ball in front of his teammate with a perfectly waited left-foot pass.

Using his speed to advantage, Green immediately played on after marking the ball on the 50m line and gained an extra 20 metres before slotting the goal from a tight angle in the left pocket.

The classy finish was particularly impressive considering Green was on the run, under pressure from his opponent, and had to contend with a slippery football.

Watch the video of Green’s goal on LIONS TV


MOMENT #10: Pearce Hanley’s goal against Melbourne in Round 1

Irishman Pearce Hanley paid tribute to fellow countryman Jim Stynes’ AFL legacy with a stunning performance in the Lions’ 2012 season-opener against Melbourne at the MCG.

Fuelled by the emotion surrounding Stynes’ passing, Hanley collected 23 disposals, took nine marks and kicked two goals to be among the best in the Lions’ first-up win.

Hanley’s second - and most memorable - goal came 18 minutes into the third term, when he sold two dummies before kicking truly from the right forward pocket.

The degree of difficulty was incredibly high, and even prompted one of the AFL’s greatest all-time goalkickers, Jason Dunstall, to label it as a ‘spectacular goal’.

It was the team’s sixth unanswered goal after half-time, and gave the Lions a seven-goal advantage nearing three-quarter time.

Watch the video of Hanley’s goal on LIONS TV


COMPETITION WINNERS!

Monday’s winners of a personally signed mini Sherrin were James Brown (VIC) and Andrew Daly (QLD). Both winners will be contacted by the Club soon via email with further details surrounding their prize.