While 27,200 fans at the Gabba rejoiced in a brutal final quarter attack on the club record books on Saturday night a stone-faced Chris Fagan showed little outward emotion. But, sitting quietly in the dugout as the crowd slipped into full party mode, Fagan would have been beaming inwardly.
Not just because the Lions beat Richmond 26-7 (163) to 6-8 (44) to post the third-biggest win and the 11th triple-figure win in the club’s 845-game history, but because of what it all means.
The Lions’ percentage jumped from 100.3 to 116.6. And if they are going to turn an 0-3 and 2-5 start into a finals berth it is a factor that will be a critical ally.
The history books give two perfect examples of how 100-point Gabba wins in the last home-and-away game in 2000 and 2004 were exactly that, helping the Lions to claim a significant home ground finals advantage.
In 2000 they beat Fremantle by 107 points and took 6th spot and home ground advantage for the first final against the Western Bulldogs after a three-way tie with Bulldogs and Hawthorn for 6th-7th-8th.
And in 2004 it was the same story when they booked a first final at the Gabba against St. Kilda courtesy of a 113-point win over North Melbourne after Brisbane and St. Kilda finished equal 2nd.
This season’s Round 9 draw with Adelaide means, as it stands now, percentage will only be a factor if Brisbane finish level on points with Adelaide or Essendon or Collingwood, who have also played a draw.
But its importance will grow if there is another draw involving other teams in the finals race.
In the meantime, the historians have been hard at work identifying where the club’s biggest win in 56 games against the Tigers sits overall, and what else it means.
Biggest Wins
The 119-point margin sits behind only the Bears’ 162-point win over Sydney at the Gabba in 1993, when they posted the club’s highest score of 33-21 (219), and the Lions’ 141-point win over Adelaide at the Gabba in 2004, when the home side kicked 26-7 (163).
It gave coach Fagan the biggest win of his career, surpassing a 108-point Gabba win over North Melbourne in 2022, and it ensured Josh Dunkley will remember fondly his 150th game, just as ex-Brisbane players Roger Merrett and Mal Michael did on the same milestone in 1993 and 2004 respectively, and ex-coach Leigh Matthews did in his 300th game as coach against his old club Hawthorn in 2002. All were 100-point wins.
And, it gave Dunkley a little family solace after his father Andrew, a 217-game player with Sydney, had played in defence in the Swans side that copped the 162-point hiding from the Bears in 1993.
Highest Scores
The Lions score on Saturday night sits equal 11th on a club list of 31 scores in excess of 150, headed by the 219-point megablitz against Sydney and Dunkley Snr in 1993 when Roger Merrett and Michael Murphy each kicked eight goals and Nathan Buckley received three Brownlow Medal votes for 28 possessions and two goals in his 8th game.
Interestingly, but not especially surprising, 21 of the 31 scores of 150-plus have been at the Gabba. The club’s highest ‘away’ score, 2nd overall, was on a day of mixed emotions in Round 20 1996 when the Bears kicked 29-13 (187) to Fitzroy’s 14-16 (100) at Princes Park in Melbourne in the third-last game all-time for the ‘original’ Lions.
100-Point Wins
Saturday night was the 11th 100-point win in club history – and the 11th at the Gabba. The list is:-
162 v Sydney 1993
141 v Adelaide 2004
119 v Richmond 2024
117 v Carlton 2007
114 v Fremantle 1999
113 v North Melb 2004
109 v Fitzroy 1996
108 v North Melb 2022
107 v Fremantle 2000
102 v Hawthorn 2002
1000 v West Coast 1999.
Most 100-Point Wins
Michael Voss and Nigel Lappin played in eight 100-point wins for the club to head the list from Justin Leppitsch and Chris Scott (7), Jason Akermanis, Marcus Ashcroft, Shaun Hart, Chris Johnson, Alastair Lynch, Tim Notting, Luke Power and Darryl White (6), Simon Black and Craig McRae (5).
Saturday night’s blowout against the Tigers was the first 100-point win for Ryan Lester, Eric Hipwood, Conor McKenna, Jack Payne, Darcy Wilmot, Jaspa Fletcher, Kai Lohman, Bruce Reville, Logan Morris and Shadeau Brain, and the second for Dayne Zorko, Harris Andrews, Joe Daniher, Hugh McCluggage, Oscar McInerney, Cam Rayner, Callum AhChee and Noah Answerth.
It’s the first in Brisbane colours for Josh Dunkley and his third overall after he had 30 possessions in two triple-figure wins for the Bulldogs when he polled in the Brownlow Medal each time.
It’s the second in Brisbane colours and the third overall for Lachie Neale, and the second in Brisbane colours and the fifth overall for Charlie Cameron, who twice played in 100-point wins for Adelaide over Brisbane in 2014 in his fifth game in Adelaide and 2016 in his 44th game at the Gabba.
Sharp’s second 100-point win in his 13th game on Saturday night made him the second-quickest in two 100-point wins.
In another freakish twist in the 100-point story, the quickest is 2002 premiership player Des Headland. He played for Brisbane in 100-point wins over Fremantle in his third and 10th games in 1999 and 2000 before going to play with Fremantle in 2003.
The Mystery Question
Shadeau Brisbane, the second Brisbane player in history to debut in a draw last week, has put together a unique beginning to his AFL career with Saturday night’s big win. But he’s not the quickest to savour a triple-figure triumph.
That distinction still sits with 2010 Merrett/Murray Medallist Michael Rischitelli, who debuted in a 141-point drubbing of Adelaide at the Gabba in 2004, when Alastair Lynch kicked six goals and Jason Akermanis had 35 possessions and four goals for three Brownlow votes.
Brain is second-quickest, followed by nine players who had a 100-point win in the third-game, including Bruce Reville and Logan Morris. Others have been premiership players Jamie Charman, Ash McGrath and Des Headland, Matthew Leuenberger, Will Hamill and Fabian Francis, step-father to Port Adelaide’s Matthew Horne-Francis.
Fabian Francis had played one game for Melbourne before joining Brisbane and kicked three goals in the 162-point win over Sydney in 1993 in his second game in Brisbane colours.
Among other Brisbane imports, Danny Craven and Darcy Fort played in a draw in their third Brisbane game, ex-Fitzroy star Brendan McCormack in his fourth, Paul Spargo, father of Melbourne’s Charlie Spargo, in his fifth , and Dion Scott in his sixth.
Michael Murphy was in just his seventh game for Brisbane when he kicked eight goals against Sydney in 1993, while Jaspa Fletcher’s father Adrian enjoyed the first of two 100-point wins for Brisbane in his eighth game for the club after playing in two 100-point wins for Geelong against Brisbane – including a 129-point triumph on debut at Kardinia Park in 1989, and a 102-point win in 1991, when Bill Brownless kicked 11 goals in the club’s first game ever at the Gabba.
Ten Goals in a Row
The Lions’ blistering 10-goal first-quarter on Saturday night is the second-most consecutive goals without reply to open a game in club history. But it’s a long way behind the all-time leader.
That was in the 1993 Gabba slaughter of the Swans, when the then Bears led 19-10 to 0-4 at halftime in what at the time was the biggest halftime score in AFL history.
That mark was overtaken by the new-look Lions in 1999 when, just starting to emerge as a real force, they kicked 21-5 (126) in the first half on their way to a 114-point win over Fremantle at the Gabba. Jarrod Molloy kicked five goals to head 14 different goal-kickers.
Sweet Conversion
In a season of inconsistent goal-kicking, coach Chris Fagan would have been over-joyed by his side’s 26-8 conversion (78.8%) against the Tigers. In games of more than 20 scoring shots it’s the best in club history, surpassing the 21-6 (77.8%) against Gold Coast at Carrara in 2022.
Five Goals for Lohmann
Kai Lohmann became the 50th different player to kick five or more goals in a game for the club. Of those 26 were imports, but of the other 24 only six were quicker to a ‘handful’ than Lohmann, whose breakout performance of 14 possessions (6 contested), five marks came in his 18th game. Daniel Bradshaw did so in his fifth game to head the list from John Hutton (6th), Mitch Clark (7th), Laurence Schache (8th), Tim Notting (13th) and Clark Keating (16th). Lohmann also had nine score involvements – equal with ex-skipper Dayne Zorko and behind only Lachie Neale (11) and Joe Daniher (10).
Another 30 for Zorko
As he does every time he has a 30-possession game these days, ageless ex-skipper Dayne Zorko extended again his standing as the oldest member of the 30-Plus Club.
Having gone past Luke Hodge to become the club’s third-oldest player all-time in the draw against Adelaide in Round 9, he posted his 28th game of 30-plus at 35 years 99 days.
Simon Black is next oldest – he 34 years 81 days when he had last 30-possession game in 2013.
Only Roger Merrett (36/155) and Alastair Lynch (36/98) sit above Zorko on the ‘Golden Oldies’ list, and given his recent form across half back it’s hard to a retirement this year.
Zorko now sits sixth on the list of 30-possession games for the club behind Black (59), Tom Rockliff (58), Lachie Neale (46), Nigel Lappin (35) and Luke Power (30), having slipped one ahead of Dayne Beams (27).
