The Brisbane Lions VFL have gone down to Sandringham in a thrilling encounter at Brighton Homes Arena on Friday afternoon.
Trailing by 38 points at half time, the Lions clawed their way back to almost snatch victory before a late Zebras goal sealed the game with final score 15.8 (98) to 13.13 (92).
The Lions burst out of the blocks thanks to Charlie Offermans and Luke Beecken before the contest descended into an arm wrestle with both side trading goals to close out the opening term.
Majors to Jake Fazldeen and Fergus McFayden had scores locked at the first break.
Will McLachlan enjoyed a strong return to football, booting two goals from his 20 disposals and taking 13 marks while Sam Marshall collected 26 touches and six marks for the day.
A seven goal second term from the Zebras saw the game flip on its head, Fazldeen’s second brought the margin briefly back to three goals mid-way through the quarter.
Harry Arnold, in his 50th VFL outing was impressive in defence, grabbing 13 marks, an equal high for the game, to go along with his 23 possessions.
Trailing by 38 points at the main break, the Lions set about turning momentum after half-time.
Three of the first four goals went a long way to wrestling back the scoreboard as McFadyen booted his second along with McLachlan, Tai Hayes and Reece Torrent.
Torrent’s second brought the margin back to 19 points but five behinds to close out the quarter meant the Lions were left with a 14-point deficit at the final break.
Zane Zakostelsky toiled hard in the ruck with 28 hitouts, four clearances and 17 disposals.
The Zebras booted the first major but the Lions answered with the next three to bring the game to life.
Two goals from Curtis McCarthy and McLachlan’s second saw the Lions roar back into the contest.
Four behinds in the final 10 minutes of the game were not enough for the Lions to regain scoreboard control with the Zebras booting one final goal after the siren to confirm the result.
The Lions will now have a week off, thanks to the League wide bye, before travelling to Melbourne to play Casey in Round 4 of the Smithy’s VFL.
Final Score
Brisbane 13.13 (91) def by Sandringham 15.8 (98)
Goals: Torrent 2, McLachlan 2, McFadyen 2, McCarthy 2, Fazldeen 2, Offermans, Hayes, Beecken
Best: Torrent, McLachlan, Arnold, McFadyen, McCarthy, Marshall
