For the first time all season, Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan felt compelled to single out a specific group of players and make absolutely clear their performances had fallen well below standard. The target was his small forward line — and the response they delivered in a 53-point semi-final thrashing of the Adelaide Crows at the Gabba was as emphatic as any coach could hope for.
Cam Rayner described the week under Fagan as "nasty" — a word that tells its own story about the intensity of the coach's message following the Lions' deflating loss to a heavily disrupted Sydney Swans side the previous week. In that game, the quartet of Rayner, Charlie Cameron, Kai Lohmann and Zac Bailey all went goalless, leaving Fagan with little choice but to front them directly.
Fagan pulls a lever he hadn't touched all year
"They hardly contributed in that game — our talls were actually all OK, and our small forwards didn't get on the scoreboard," Fagan said after the win. "I reminded them of how good they were when we played Adelaide in round seven and probed and prodded them a bit on the performance last week."
The coach was candid about just how unusual the move was, given Brisbane's otherwise consistent 2025 campaign. "This is the first time this year I've had to pull that lever," he said. "I know there's been some games this year where we haven't played all that well, but this was the first time this year where it was a pretty fierce week."
The proof that the message landed came within the opening half-minute of the match. Lohmann kicked the first goal just 29 seconds in, triggering a devastating five-goal burst in the opening seven-and-a-half minutes. His second arrived less than 50 seconds into the third quarter, helping Brisbane maintain their stranglehold on the contest. His 18 disposals for the evening were the equal-second most of his career, behind only a five-goal, 24-disposal performance against Hawthorn — the Lions' upcoming preliminary final opponents.
"It was an extraordinary start — I was standing there with my mouth open going, 'This is unbelievable'," Fagan said. "It was a very prompt response to a disappointing game last week. We needed to make a statement."
Cameron bags five, Bailey delivers poetic performance
Charlie Cameron had the Gabba crowd roaring, kicking five goals — his first bag of that size since round 10 of 2024 — sending the stands into repeated chorus. Rayner chipped in with two goals and three goal assists, and was equally damaging with his ability to break tackles throughout the contest.
But perhaps the most compelling story of the night belonged to Zac Bailey, who earlier in the week had signed an eight-year contract extension to remain at the Lions until the end of 2034. The deal came after he reportedly turned down a $10 million offer from the very team Brisbane had just dismantled — Adelaide. Teammate Dayne Zorko had spoken with barely-concealed amazement during the week about the club's success in retaining Bailey given the scale of the rival interest.
Bailey, 26, finished the night with three goals, 23 disposals, three clearances and three goal assists, roaming the contest relentlessly and capitalising on loose-ball situations. There was one moment he would want back — a shanked set shot when completely unattended — but it barely registered amid an otherwise electric display. Fittingly, it had been against these same Crows in round seven that Bailey had previously produced one of his best all-round performances, also collecting three goals and 29 disposals.
Adelaide threatened briefly before the Lions surged clear
The match wasn't entirely without tension. After Brisbane surged to a 31-point lead, the Crows clawed back with four consecutive goals — including two in quick succession to Darcy Fogarty — reducing the margin to fewer than two goals and raising brief concerns that the defensive lapses that had cost the Lions against Sydney were resurfacing.
But Brisbane steadied decisively either side of the main break, kicking the next seven goals and demonstrating a mature ability to manage the tempo — pressing hard when the moment called for it, then deliberately slowing the game down to deny Adelaide any sustained momentum. It was a display of finals composure that will concern whichever team lines up against them in the preliminary final.
Hawthorn awaits — and Brisbane's small forwards are firing
With Hawthorn now on the horizon, the Lions head into their preliminary final with their most dangerous attacking unit fully firing. The fact that Fagan needed only one fierce week to unlock this kind of output from his small forwards — and that his players responded so completely — speaks to both the trust within the group and the depth of Brisbane's finals readiness.
The Lions' new long-term investments, like Bailey's landmark deal, are being matched by performances that suggest the premiership window is very much open. For the Crows, it was a brutal exit. For Brisbane, it was a statement that their stumble against Sydney was an aberration, not a warning sign.
