The Brisbane Lions injury woes continue to rise with four stars ruled out of the QClash before the half-time whistle.
The Lions were seeking to avoid a three-game losing streak, with rival opponents the Gold Coast Suns previously coming away with a shock 41-point win the last time the teams met.
Brisbane’s injury tally kicked off before the team had made their first bounce, with Brandon Starcevich ruled out of the QClash after suffering a calf injury during the side’s warm-up run.
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A late call-up for Lions debutant Logan Morris saw the 18-year-old lifted to the bench, with the teen sensation substituted onto the field to make his AFL debut as Lincoln McCarthy went down with a knee injury.
“It looks like he has hurt that right knee,” said Jonathan Brown on Fox Footy’s commentary.
“He grabbed for it and went down very easy. This is not a good sign for Linc McCarthy,” Dwyane Russell replied.
Brisbane’s bench was reduced to three when Noah Answerth suffered a knee to the head in a marking contest and was ruled out of the remainder of the game after failing his concussion assessment.
Early in the second quarter veteran forward Darcy Gardiner suffered a suspected knee injury. The 30-year-old landed awkwardly after a one-on-one contest at the outer wing, falling to the ground after he twisted his knee.
“The pictures are pretty graphic, they’re so graphic we’re not showing you. He is in a lot of pain,” Russell replied.
Despite an extensive injury list, the Lions had a stronger start to the match, kicking four of the first five goals to take a 20-point lead in the first quarter.
Lions midfielder Harry Sharp booted an incredible goal to start the second term only 29 seconds after the first break.
Morris sliced a behind in late in the first quarter and then went on to make record his first AFL goal in the final minutes of the second quarter – with the youngster playing his second match of the day after competing in the VFL on Sunday afternoon.
“After a really promising start, the Suns have been really disappointing. They just haven’t gone on with it,” Russell said.
Brisbane went on to win the game 10.19 (79) to 6.9 (45).