The bye curse has continued as Brisbane obliterated Richmond to the tune of 81 points on Thursday night at the Gabba.
A five goal to zero second term set the Lions on their way in front of a near sold out home crowd, increasing their percentage and delivering a devastating performance as they continue to put pressure on Collingwood and Port Adelaide in the race for a top two spot.
Joe Daniher kicked a game-high five goals, while Hugh McCluggage (34 disposals) delivered a season-best performance to remind the rest of the competition why he remains such a highly rated player.
Facing off against each other for the first time since last September’s memorable elimination final, Thursday night’s affair landed up being a Brisbane midfield and inside 50 domination right from the outset.
“Richmond really need to lift through the midfield,” Kane Cornes said on AFL Nation.
“It’s a real issue for them. It's a procession of clearances, they are getting wiped."
Leon Cameron also noted on AFL Nation that Richmond seemed flat return to action after a week off, becoming the ninth team to lose facing off against a side who hadn’t had a bye the week before.
"It's like they're coming off a bye, there's been three or four clear fumbles,” he said.
Charlie Cameron copped an errant head knock just a few seconds into the game but passed a concussion test and returned to kick his 250th AFL goal in the second quarter.
He was a constant presence which saw Brisbane four of the first five goals to take a handy 21-point lead into quarter time.
The Lions kept things rolling after the first change, continuing to take complete control in the middle and a result was able to take an even eight-goal lead into the main change and from there Chris Fagan’s side never looked back.
After kicking Richmond’s only first half goal, a hamstring injury saw Jayden Short subbed out early in the second term as things went from bad to worse for Andrew McQualter’s side.
All is not lost for the Tigers, who will look ahead to their favourable draw with optimism, despite Thursday night’s humbling at the hands of Brisbane.
With games against West Coast, North Melbourne and Hawthorn to come, they remain as good a chance as any of playing finals.
Such was the ease in which Brisbane dismantled Richmond on Thursday night, they were afford the luxury of subbing our star midfielder Josh Dunkley and giving him a breather with a quarter to play.
It was that sort of night for the Lions, where everything they touched turned to gold.
FULL SCORE
Brisbane: 4.6, 9.7, 15.13, 20.14 (134)
Richmond: 1.3, 1.7, 4.7, 7.11 (53)
GOALS
Brisbane: Daniher 5, McCarthy 3, Bailey 2, Cameron 2, Hipwood 2, Neale 2, Ah Chee, Berry, McKenna, Wilmot
Richmond: Hopper 2, Clarke, Cumberland, Rioli, Ross, Short
BEST
Brisbane: Daniher, Neale, McCluggage, Ashcroft, McCarthy, Hipwood
Richmond: Broad, Balta, Hopper, Cumberland
INJURIES
Brisbane: N/A
Richmond: Jayden Short (hamstring), subbed out for Hugo Ralphsmith
Crowd: 30,032 at the Gabba.
More in AFL
“This time next year…”: Cornes’ bold pick for his next AFL head coach in waiting
“I think he is the most ready head coach in waiting.”
Why Brereton has Collingwood as a top-two seed ahead of the 2025 season
“I think the Magpies are probably my number one or two seed for the season.”
The captains and leadership groups for all 18 AFL clubs in 2025
Which players are leading your club in 2025?