This was published 3 years ago
That’s all I have for you tonight after the Lions beat St Kilda and, earlier, Fremantle defeated Hawthorn in Perth.
Thanks again for the comments and interactions today and tonight.
Please have a lovely evening and we will be back with a live blog for the Queen’s Birthday clash between Melbourne and Collingwood on Monday afternoon.
Bye for now.
Lions star Hugh McCluggage spoke to Channel Seven post game.
It is great to hear the supporters up and about. It has been a shaky couple of weeks, how important was the win tonight?
Huge. We fought it out to the end and it was close all night, but we played our brand, it was low scoring and really pleasing.
What do you mean by playing your brand?
Brisbane Lions outlasted St Kilda in a battle of attrition for both clubs tonight.
The Lions weren’t safe until the final minutes when Joe Daniher (three goals for the night) and then Lincoln McCarthy kicked goals despite the Saints being down to one player on the bench and with Mason Wood playing through an ankle injury.
Mitch Owens and Daniel McKenzie were both ruled out with concussions while Zak Jones went off in the third term with hamstring and groin soreness.
The Lions didn’t avoid injuries either with Dayne Zorko (hamstring) and Darcy Gardiner (back) both leaving the game.
Joe Daniher waited at the back of the pack and ended up with the easiest goal of the night.
The ball sailed over the flying players and all Daniher had to do was catch it and put it on his boot.
The Lions should go on and win this.
Lions 68, Saints 56 with nine mins to go.
Saints flyer Dan Butler has snapped a goal to keep his club in this match despite being down three players.
King drew in players to a high ball and Butler picked up the crumbs and snapped the goal.
Lions 60, Saints 55 with 14 mins to go.
Hugh McCluggage has made some surgical runs into the forward line in this second half and it has again resulted in a goal as he bolted forward and kicked his second goal.
The Lions need to take their chances and not give this Saints’ team any chance to come back late.
Lions 60, Saints 49 with 17 mins to go.
Zak Jones has joined the injury list for the Saints with hamstring/groin soreness forcing him to the bench joining Daniel McKenzie (concussion) and Mitch Owens (concussion).
Saints chief operating officer Simon Lethlean said his side had to ‘dig deep’.
“They’re working out who to put in the midfield. Either way, the boys have to dig deep and have a crack this quarter,” Lethlean told Channel Seven.
Lions 54, Saints 49 with 18 mins to go.
It’s far from pretty but the Lions and Saints look set to go down to the wire in this last term after a hotly contested but messy third term.
The Lions led by 10 points until Jade Gresham’s late goal and the Saints has chances to take the lead in the final minute but couldn’t turn their forward possessions into a goal.
The Saints have used their medical sub and also lost Daniel McKenzie to concussion while the Lions look to have lost Dayne Zorko to a hamstring injury and have Darcy Gardiner on the bench receiving treatment as the third term ended.
Medical-sub Darcy Fort looks certain to come on but his side could be down a man as well if both Zorko and Gardiner can’t return.
St Kilda midfielder Jade Gresham has kicked another goal from the 50m line and punched the air in delight.
The Saints needed that goal so much.
Lions 52, Saints 48 with three mins to go in Q3.
Lions star Dayne Zorko grabbed at his hamstring and has left the field.
He has ice being strapped to his injury and looks done for tonight.
Darcy Fort is warming up and likely to come into the game either soon or in the final term.
Lions 52, Saints 42 with four mins to go in Q3.