Ten years of pain may have finally ended for Brisbane fans when they hosted Richmond in Saturday night’s AFL qualifying final.
But the Lions’ first finals game since 2009 wasn’t worth the wait as the hosts succumbed 18.4 (112) to 8.17 (65) to the Tigers in front of 37,478 – the biggest AFL crowd ever at the Gabba.
At least the Lions did receive a free lesson in what it takes to succeed in finals footy from a merciless Richmond before they get a second bite in next week’s semi-final, hosting Greater Western Sydney.
After waiting a decade to finally experience a play-off again, the Lions received a crash course from 2017 premiers Richmond led by Dustin Martin, who kicked a stunning six goals straight.
At first Brisbane looked like they were up for the occasion, leading at the first break by 12 points.
Then it all went pear-shaped.
Time and again Brisbane shanked set shots in front or squandered a scoring opportunity as the Tigers poured on the pressure.
In contrast, Richmond only needed half a sniff to convert a major as they piled on four unanswered second term goals.
In the end Tigers piled on nine straight before Hugh McCluggage stopped the rot when he finally kicked truly in the third quarter.
By then Richmond had skipped away to a 26-point lead.
Yet it only got worse for the hosts who lost their first ever final at the Gabba in their 13th play-off game in Brisbane.
The Tigers rolled on to snare their 14th straight win over Brisbane, a run that stretches back to 2009.
“Their efficiency is just outstanding. Their ability to make goals out of half chances is just remarkable,” Lions great Leigh Matthews told 3AW Radio.
“The (Brisbane) forward line has been poor. Mistakes have been made out of frustration and desperation, but that’s what Richmond can do to you.”
While Richmond gave them a wake-up call, Brisbane could also do worse than look at their next opponent GWS before having another crack at hosting a final next week.
The Giants hit the ground running then absorbed the counter punches to run out 68-point winners in Sydney over Western Bulldogs in their finals clash earlier on Saturday.
Brisbane may be this season’s feel-good story after turning around their 15th placing from last year to finish second in the 2019 regular season.
However, it remains to be seen if they can add another chapter this year if they don’t learn from just their second – yet arguably most painful – home loss of 2019.
