Brisbane didn’t just lose control of this game. They lost it in a 20-minute storm they couldn’t steady. They had it on their terms. Then they lost it in a burst they couldn’t stop.
The Brisbane Lion’s VFL side controlled the early shape of their Round 2 clash at Brighton Homes Arena, but when the Southport Sharks lifted, the response just wasn’t there.
A 10-goal third quarter turned a tight contest into a chase, with the Sharks running out 19.8 (122) to 15.11 (101) winners in the Lions’ opening home-and-away match of the 2026 Smithy’s VFL Premiership season.
Final Score
Brisbane 15.11 (101)
Southport 19.8 (122)
Fast Start, Real Intent
The Lions looked sharp early. Not perfect, but purposeful.
Five first-quarter goals set the platform, with Dylan Smith announcing himself immediately on debut with two majors. Sam Marshall, Jake Fazldeen and Curtis McCarthy added to the pressure, and Brisbane carried a 10-point lead into the first break.
The ball movement had intent. The forward entries weren’t always clean, but they were repeatable. For a quarter, Brisbane dictated terms.
Arm Wrestle Turns
The second term tightened.
Southport adjusted around the contest and started to control territory, forcing Brisbane into a more reactive game. The Lions managed just two goals for the quarter through Charlie Hewitt and Cody Curtain, and what had been early control slipped into a grind.
By half-time, the Sharks had edged in front by two points. Not decisive, but telling.
Marshall kept working through traffic and pressure, finishing with 26 disposals, eight marks and two goals in a performance that held Brisbane in the fight when the game narrowed.
The Quarter That Broke It
Then came the third.
Brisbane briefly reclaimed the lead through Reece Torrent just after the main break, but that was the last time they were in front. What followed was a surge that decided the match.
Southport slammed on 10 of the next 11 goals, owning clearance, territory and scoreboard pressure all at once. The Lions’ structure held in patches, but the volume of entries and repeat contests eventually broke through.
By three-quarter time, the margin had blown out to 43 points. Game, effectively, gone.
Late Push, Too Late
To their credit, Brisbane didn’t fold.
Three quick goals to Tahj Abberley, Curtis McCarthy and Fergus McFadyen gave the Lions a pulse. Marshall added another, and Shadeau Brain’s late goal kept the margin within reach long enough to ask a question.
But Southport had already done enough. One steadying goal in the final term shut the door on any genuine comeback.
The Positives That Matter
There was enough here to suggest Brisbane won’t be far off.
McCarthy’s three goals gave a consistent forward target. Brain provided drive from the back half with 16 disposals and five marks, while Charlie Offermans and Torrent worked hard through the middle all day.
Tom Doedee’s return added composure behind the ball, and Koby Evans showed glimpses in his first outing in Lions colours.
The issue wasn’t effort. It was absorption. When Southport lifted, Brisbane couldn’t slow the game enough to reset.
Momentum Swings
Round 2 doesn’t define a season, but it exposes where you’re vulnerable.
At this level, momentum isn’t gradual. It’s violent. And once it turns, you either slow it or you get buried by it.
Brisbane couldn’t find that circuit breaker in the third quarter. That’s the immediate fix.
They now turn to a Good Friday clash against Sandringham. The response will matter more than the result.
Goals
McCarthy 3, Smith 2, Marshall 2, Torrent, McFadyen, Hewitt, Fazldeen, Evans, Curtain, Brain, Abberley
Best
Offermans, Brain, McCarthy, Lloyd, Torrent, Marshall
Published 29-March-2026
