NOT since the days of Daniel Bradshaw and Jonathan Brown have the Brisbane Lions had two such potent forwards on one afternoon.
But against GWS at the Gabba on Sunday, Brown and converted forward Daniel Merrett brought back memories of yesteryear with a one-two punch that left the Giants clutching at straws.
The statistics alone were incredible.
Merrett had 23 disposals, 12 marks and seven goals. Brown had 23 disposals, 16 marks and five goals.
Not only did they kick a bagful each, but the pair often looked for each other deep in the Lions' forward 50 to keep the scoreboard ticking over.
Twice in the first quarter Brown spotted the red-hot Merrett with precision passes that led directly to goals.
Merrett could hardly believe his luck, adding to a career tally of just 24 goals in 120 matches with one glorious afternoon in the warm Brisbane sun.
His previous best tally for one game was three goals, kicked against Collingwood at the Gabba in round 15, 2005.
"I've been doing some work on (my kicking)," Merrett said.
"It was coming off the boot pretty well so I thought I'd make the most of it. I was lucky to get on the end of a few today and take my chances."
The Lions' vice-captain now has 14 goals for the season after being moved from his regular full-back position by coach Michael Voss.
He came to the Lions in 2002 as a forward and kicked "a couple of 10s" in the reserves but was successfully shifted to the backline before going back to the future this season.
Merrett was also on the end of some silky delivery from Simon Black and Jed Adcock in his rampant first quarter and paid tribute to his midfield.
"I always say it starts and ends with the midfield, so they gave us a lot of delivery today," he said.
"Their defence, that's what it started with. They put a lot of pressure on GWS and I thought they were very composed coming inside 50 and we put scoreboard pressure on them and got the momentum going our way."
A big part of that momentum was Brown's contribution.
With limited supply for most of the season he had just eight goals in five matches before playing the Giants, but filled his boots against Phil Davis.
Brown's 16 marks were just one shy of his career highs against Hawthorn in 2004 and Essendon in 2006.
Merrett had an ominous warning ahead of next Sunday's visit to take on North Melbourne.
"I can't wait to get back out there," he said.
Michael Whiting covers Brisbane Lions news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_mikewhiting
