FOUR second-half goals from returning Lions captain Jonathan Brown has seen North Melbourne lose to the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba.

Brown stood head and shoulders above his teammates in his first match for eight weeks since suffering multiple facial fractures in round one against Fremantle.

He finished with 13 disposals, 11 marks (five contested) and four goals - all after the main break - to lead his team to a 10.13 (73) to 8.11 (59) victory.

It was the Lions' first win for 2011.

North Melbourne led by 13 points at half-time and five at three-quarter time but conceded three goals to none in the last quarter.

The match swung either side of the last break when Brown was the recipient of two 50m penalties - with infringements from Scott McMahon and Scott Thompson - to bring the scores level early in the last.

Todd Banfield then banged home a goal from 50m and Jack Redden sealed the win with five minutes remaining when he kicked truly.

It was a hard slog for both teams all night with a heavy downpour in the first half ensuring conditions were slippery the entire night.

North Melbourne dominated the first half, winning the contested possessions 25-9, but failed to capitalise on the scoreboard, kicking 4.6 in the second term.

Aaron Edwards (three goals) and Drew Petrie (two) were proving a handful for Lions defenders Joel Patfull and Daniel Merrett, but had little help.

First Quarter

BRISBANE Lions took a two-point lead into the first quarter, in which it took 15 minutes for the first goal to be kicked. North Melbourne captain Brent Harvey kicked his team’s first, although it was followed by a Mitch Clark goal. Bryce Retzlaff had one of the few highlights of the quarter with his first AFL goal, a creative soccer kick between two North Melbourne defenders.  Drew Petrie, who had taken a screamer earlier, only to kick it out on the full, made amends with a goal late in the term to make it 2.3 (15) to 2.1(13) to the Lions.

Second Quarter

The Kangaroos handled the steady rain better in the second quarter, although their lead could have been larger at half time. Goals to Aaron Edwards and Lindsay Thomas then made way for a barrage of North Melbourne behinds. Petrie was the main culprit, taking two marks within scoring range but spraying both shots. Luke Power kicked a goal against the play for the Lions before Edwards booted another two to take his second-quarter tally to three. The Lions rallied late with a goal to Sam Sheldon to make the half time score 6.7 (43) to 4.6 (30) to North Melbourne.

Third Quarter

Jonathan Brown, in his first game back from injury, opened the third quarter in a way Lions fans have dreamed about since he was injured in Round 1, taking a sliding chest mark and converting from 35m. North Melbourne then looked likely to run away with the match, following goals from Petrie and Thomas, but Brown took control, kicking the Lions’ only other two goals for the quarter to have them within reach of the Kangaroos at three quarter time. The score at the final change was 7.10 (52) to 8.9 (57) to North Melbourne.

Fourth Quarter

Brown’s fourth goal for the game was the spark his side needed. The goal levelled the scores and a tense struggle, in which the Lions kept the ball in their forward 50, finally paid off for the home side, when Todd Banfield kicking his first for the night, to give the Lions some breathing space. Jack Redden kicked his first goal of the game and sealed the Lion’s first win of the year not long after.

Influential players
On a night that was difficult for forwards, Petrie was a constant threat. He finished with 20 disposals, seven marks and two goals and gave in-form Lions fullback Daniel Merrett plenty of headaches. Despite some final quarter turnovers, Andrew Swallow (33 disposals, nine clearances) was excellent in the clinches.

While Brown was tremendous in the forward line, the Lions got plenty of drive from the back half. Vice captain Jed Adcock (26 disposals, 11 marks) and Pearce Hanley (21 disposals, five inside 50s) constantly ran forward to lead the Lions' attacking thrusts. Hanley's final quarter mark backing into an oncoming Drew Petrie was a highlight.


What it means
The Kangaroos missed a golden opportunity to string back-to-back wins together. They dominated the clearances (25-9) and went inside 50 more often (28-24) in the first half but could only manage a 13-point lead. The loss leaves them battling with the bottom five teams instead of pushing towards the brink of the top eight.

The next four
Sydney Swans (Etihad Stadium); Adelaide (Etihad Stadium); Gold Coast (Metricon Stadium); Essendon (Etihad Stadium).

Dream Team highlight
Drew Petrie showed what a steal he is at $297,000, racking up a mammoth 125 points - way above his season average of 81. Andrew Swallow (116) also did well, while ever-consistent Brent Harvey (100) was the third Kangaroo to crack the ton.

Turning points
On a night when goals were difficult to come by, Scott McMahon and Scott Thompson let their teammates down badly. Late in the third quarter with the Lions trailing by two goals, Brown took a mark 55m from goal. While covering the distance would have been tough on a wet night, it was made a certainty when McMahon took too long in returning the ball to Brown, resulting in a 50m penalty. Then early in the final term, Brown leveled the scores when Thompson ran over the mark to gift Brown another 50m and another goal. Brad Scott called the incidents "undisciplined".

New faces
Despite being handed the arduous task of standing Brown, Kangaroos debutant Luke Delaney could hold his head high. After being taken at no.26 in the 2008 Rookie Draft, the 194cm, 97kg Delaney showed he had plenty of promise as a key defender. Brown kicked four goals but was gifted two with 50m penalties that were no fault of Delaney. The strongly built defender contests against Brown with both balls in the air and at ground level.



Brisbane Lions        2.3      4.6      7.10    10.13 (73)
North Melbourne     2.1      6.7      8.9      8.11 (59)

GOALS
Brisbane Lions: Brown 4, Banfield, Clark, Retzlaff, Power, Redden, Sheldon
North Melbourne: Edwards 3, Thomas 2, Petrie 2, Harvey

BEST
Brisbane Lions: Brown, Adcock, Polkinghorne, Hanley, Banfield
North Melbourne: Rawlings, Swallow, Harvey, Edwards, Petrie

INJURIES
Brisbane Lions: Nil
North Melbourne: Nil

SUBSTITUTES
Brisbane Lions: Tom Rockliff replaced by Rohan Bewick in the third quarter
North Melbourne: Lachlan Hansen replaced by Cruize Garlett in the fourth quarter

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Kennedy, Schmitt, Hay

Official crowd: 18,404 at the Gabba

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily of the clubs or the AFL