Arabic version: بريسبان لاينز تؤمن المركز الرابع بفوز ساحق بفارق 90 نقطة على إيسندون
Brisbane Lions moved into fourth on the live ladder after a dominant 22.17 (149) to 8.11 (59) win over Essendon in round 18. The Lions led by 95 points at three-quarter time and, despite a late surge from the Bombers, sealed a 90-point victory with late goals from Conor McKenna, Sam Draper and two by Will Ashcroft.
According to ABC News, Melbourne consolidated a top-six spot with a 46-point win over Richmond, Jacob van Rooyen kicking a career-best six goals and Max Gawn adding two in his 264th game. The Western Bulldogs began the round with a 16-point victory over West Coast, Aaron Naughton booting five goals while Jobe Shanahan led the Eagles with two. Off the field, Port Adelaide received bad injury news: midfielder Zak Butters will require surgery for a syndesmosis high-ankle injury sustained in the loss to St Kilda.
The result matters because ladder positions are tightly packed with six rounds remaining: Brisbane leapfrogged Adelaide into fourth by just 0.2 percentage, and the coverage noted that big injuries across the weekend could significantly affect how the season unfolds. With the top four, six and 10 still unsettled, small margins and player availability will be decisive as clubs chase finals positions.
Match-level details underlined Brisbane’s superiority: Dayne Zorko returned from injury to collect 32 disposals, Lachie Neale amassed 40 touches and Will Ashcroft finished with 33 disposals and three goals. Sam Draper dummied and curled a banana kick through for a goal against his former club, Kai Lohmann kicked three majors, and Darcy Wilmot collected 23 possessions in his 100th game. The Bombers had kicked just one goal and amassed 15 points at three-quarter time to trail by 95, before slotting seven majors in the final term — their highest-scoring quarter of the season — to avoid setting unwanted records. Peter Wright kicked 3.4 for the visitors while Archie Roberts had a team-high 23 disposals.
What happens next: Round 19 starts in four days; Geelong will host St Kilda at Kardinia Park to kick it off.
Related sections: Australia/استراليا | Queensland | Victoria | South Australia
