Tom Rockliff ... celebrates the Brisbane Lions come from behind win over GWS. Source: Darren England / News Limited
The Brisbane Lions have come from behind to win by three points against a spirited Greater Western Sydney outfit to put themselves in the box seat for a pre-season Cup grand final berth, while Carlton have dominated Fremantle by 70 points.
| 0.3.2 (20) | Q1 | 1.2.2 (23) |
| 1.8.3 (60) | Q2 | 1.5.7 (46) |
| 1.10.7 (76) | Q3 | 1.9.12 (75) |
| 2.12.7 (97) | Q4 | 1.12.19 (100) |
| Sam Frost 2 | Aaron Cornelius 5 |
| Jonathan Giles 2 | Marco Paparone 2 |
| Adam Treloar 2 | Patrick Karnezis 1 |
| Jeremy Cameron 1 | Ryan Lester 1 |
| Toby Greene 1 | Sam Michael 1 |
| Anthony Miles 1 | Tom Rockliff 1 |
| Jonathon Patton 1 | Dayne Zorko 1 |
| Devon Smith 1 | |
| Liam Sumner 1 | |
| Callan Ward 1 |
The topsy-turvy battle in front of a crowd of 7,068 at Robertson Oval, Wagga, saw the lead change hands several times in the second half, with Brisbane eventually winning 1.2.19 (100) to 2.12.7 (97).
The Lions blew several golden opportunities late in the final quarter, before a composed Sam Michael kicked the winning goal late in the match.
Aaron Cornelius went a long way to nailing down a permanent spot in the Lions line-up, scoring five goals and providing a reliable target up front despite the absence of co-captain Jonathan Brown.
Jed Adcock was solid as ever in his first game as captain for the Lions, however it was Patrick Karnezis (26 possessions) who was the big impress or for the Brisbane side.
Claye Beams (21 possessions) and Jack Redden (20 possessions) would have also given coach Michael Voss plenty to smile about.
Meanwhile Callan Ward and Lachie Whitfield were the best for the Giants, while Adam Treloar, Sam Frost and Jonathan Giles led the goal scoring for the Lions with two goals apiece.
The Giants bounced back from a narrow deficit at quarter time to lead by 14 points at the half time break courtesy of a Jeremy Cameron super-goal.
But the Lions bounced back immediately, scoring three goals within five minutes after the break.
The Lions had a golden opportunity to snatch a the lead late in the match, but Josh Green shanked the ball from right in front of the sticks.
It was looking like it would cost Brisbane the match until Michael got a last minute opportunity to redeem the visiting side.
The Giants 2011 No.1 draft pick Jonathon Patton kicked his only goal of the match in the second minute of the game before hobbling off the field with a bad cork to the right leg midway through the second quarter.peThere were no reported injuries for the Lions.
The Giants travel to Canberra's Manuka Oval next Friday for a pre season Cup clash against Essendon while the Lions travel to Etihad stadium to take on Collingwood on Saturday night.
| 0.6.5 (41) | Q1 | 0.1.1 (7) |
| 0.12.7 (79) | Q2 | 1.1.3 (18) |
| 0.14.12 (96) | Q3 | 1.5.7 (46) |
| 0.18.16 (124) | Q4 | 1.6.9 (54) |
| Eddie Betts 4 | Matthew De Boer 2 |
| Jefferey Garlett 3 | David Mundy 2 |
| Bryce Gibbs 2 | Hayden Crozier 1 |
| Mitch Robinson 2 | Jonathon Griffin 1 |
| Andrew Carrazzo 1 | Garrick Ibbotson 1 |
| Levi Casboult 1 | |
| Michael Jamison 1 | |
| Matthew Kreuzer 1 | |
| Marc Murphy 1 | |
| Andrew Walker 1 | |
| Simon White 1 |
Meanwhile Carlton have dominated their second-round pre-season Cup match against Fremantle, winning by 70 points at Etihad Stadium.
The Blues were never really challenged and won the match 0.18.16 (124) to Fremantle's 1.6.9.54.
Matthew Kruezer, working in combination Sam Rowe and Matthew Warnock, dominated the ruck and consistently gave their midfield control of the ball.
The Blues, under the influence of new coach Mick Malthouse, were kicking long into the forward line where they just had too many options for a stale Fremantle defence.
By the end of the match, Carlton had 11 goal kickers compared to just four for the Dockers.
Small forward Eddie Betts showed excellent early forming, kicking four early goals to help build Carlton's match-winning lead.
In a new role for Betts, Malthouse threw him into the midfield at times giving the Blues even more speed across the centre of the ground.
Jeff Garlett was also creative in the forward line, ending the night with three goals.
Levi Casboult was also impressive, showing himself to be a worthy marking target in the midfield.
When he didn't mark the ball, he put plenty of pressure on the defenders and brought it to the ground for the small forwards.
While the Blues looked sharp for a March hit-out, the Dockers looked underdone.
They made plenty of errors and coughed up the ball under pressure. Their decision-making was sloppy, often handballing to men under pressure and turning over the ball to their opponents.
The only real highlight for the Dockers was a super-goal from Garrick Ibbotson during the second quarter.
Both sides were without several of their most important stars for the pre-season match. Carlton was without former captain Chris Judd, Jarrad Waite, Brock McLean, Heath Scotland and Shaun Hampson.
Meanwhile, Fremantle captain Matthew Pavlich, the injured ruckman Aaron Sandilands,Michael Barlow, Chris Mayne and Alex Silvagni were all out for the Dockers.
Still the Blues were getting were able to find run thought the likes of Mark Murphy, Bryce Gibbs and Mitch Robinson.
By contrast, the bigger names of the Dockers, players like Hayden Ballantyne, Luke McPharlin and Nathan Fyfe could not get into the game.
New Docker and former Port Adelaide forward Danyle Pearce was a positive for his new club, one of the few Dockers to use the ball well through the match.
