A MERCILESS first 45 minutes saw Brisbane Lions pile on 17 unanswered scoring shots to pile up a 62-point lead before the Gold Coast Suns had even had a chance to respond. The premiership contenders were ruthless both offensively and defensively, as they scored 9.8 to 0.0 until the Suns finally broke through for a score – a goal – 12 minutes into the third term. Brisbane coach Craig Starcevich said he was pleased with his team’s effort.

“We’ve got standards we need to uphold,” he said. “Our pressure was super and that’s the foundation of what we do. If that’s in good order, then normally we can control the ball after that. I was very pleased with the energy and application and the pressure.”

Coming off a long night watching the Lions’ men’s side win through to a preliminary final, Starcevich praised the Melbourne-based Brisbane fans who made the MCG incredible. The AFLW players who watched the game took that energy into the match against the Suns at The Gabba.

“I hope they (the players) got some sleep, obviously they ran the game out okay, but it was an amazing night a great night for the footy club,” Starcevich said.

Reigning W-Medalist Emily Bates added an extra medal to her collection, taking out the Q-Clash Cup Medal for 21 disposals, 11 tackles, five marks and three clearances in the wing. Starcevich said her ability to impact both offensively and defensively consistently was what got her over the line, but said the likes of Ally Anderson (28 disposals, eight marks, seven tackles, six clearances and a goal) and Cathy Svarc (20 disposals, seven clearances and eight tackles) were also impressive.

“Yeah Ally was busy, Cath was busy. I think with Batesy what you always get with her is the offence and the defence, that probably seals it,” Starcevich said. “She had some ridiculously high number of pressure acts and 11 tackles with her 20-something possessions. “She’s contributing both ways all the time. So her work rate’s quite phenomenal.”

With the game done and dusted in the first half, the Lions were able to try out combinations later in the game, which included livewire small forward Courtney Hodder rotated into the midfield. When asked whether the move was something that might be done more regularly, Starcevich said it was all about having backup plans.

“We’ve got a few things that we just need to keep mixing up just to have a look at how our team functions best,” he said. “They’re not all going to have great days every week, so you’ve got to have some other options I guess. Courtney’s always a good one to throw in there with a bit of energy, and spark and life. There will be others at different times, Greta (Bodey) and so forth. Nice to get her in there.”

Next week Brisbane heads down to Casey Fields where the Lions will face the Demons in a huge top three clash. Starcevich said he was feeling good about how the club had prepared for the huge contest, but admitted that the Demons were going to be another step up in difficulty.

“The opposition that we’ve had in the last three weeks are probably going to be not necessarily right at the pointy end, but you can only play who you can play I think our form generally has been good enough certainly offensively to challenge anyone,” Starcevich said. “Really happy tonight that the pressure around the contest is enough to keep us in games and give us a chance when we do go forward.”