Match

Brisbane Lions vs Sydney Swans

Commentary / 09 Aug 2025

Pre Game

00:00
Sydney have outscored their last five opponents by an average of one goal per game from centre bounce clearance chains, the fourth best margin of any side from this source.

Quarter 1

00:00
Q1 is now underway.
02:05
SCORE GOAL - Lions (Josh Dunkley)
02:22
Brisbane score their first goal of the game from their second forward 50 stoppage clearance of the match. The Lions are the only team in the AFL that have recorded more than 100 forward 50 clearances in 2025 (110).
04:00
SCORE BEHIND - Swans (Braeden Campbell)
05:26
SCORE GOAL - Swans (Isaac Heeney)
05:31
Nick Blakey provides the first goal assist of the game for the Swans, and his 10th of the season. This ranks him third at the Swans and equal-fourth among general defenders in the AFL.
07:53
SCORE BEHIND - Lions (Josh Dunkley)
09:33
SCORE GOAL - Lions (Logan Morris)
09:34
Logan Morris gets his first goal of the game. Between Rounds 10-21 he has kicked 27 goals, ranked equal-fourth in the AFL.
09:40
Lions Interchange - Dayne Zorko off due to an injury.
13:22
SCORE BEHIND - Swans (Rushed)
15:12
SCORE GOAL - Swans (Braeden Campbell)
15:17
Sydney have already gained over 150 metres of territory by handball in today's game. The Swans average 143 metres gained per game by handball in 2025, ranked second-last in the AFL this year.
17:10
SCORE GOAL - Swans (Angus Sheldrick)
17:20
Three goals from four set shots to open the game for the Swans. Their season average of 54% goal accuracy from set shots ranked sixth in the AFL in 2025.
19:14
Lions Interchange - Henry Smith off due to an injury.
20:25
SCORE BEHIND - Lions (Callum Ah Chee)
23:01
SCORE BEHIND - Swans (Braeden Campbell)
24:49
SCORE GOAL - Swans (Jack Buller)
26:18
Sydney have generated an inside 50 from 75% of their possession chains launched out of their defensive half. Their season average of 28% conversion ranks them second in the AFL this year.
27:28
SCORE GOAL - Swans (Chad Warner)
30:17
SCORE GOAL - Lions (Darcy Wilmot)
33:02
SCORE BEHIND - Lions (Will Ashcroft)
33:05
Will Ashcroft's 12 disposals in the opening term is an equal career-best figure, equalling his fourth-quarter effort against Essendon in Round 12 this year.

Quarter 2

00:00
Q2 is now underway.
01:27
SCORE GOAL - Lions (Eric Hipwood)
02:28
Eric Hipwood opens the scoring in the second term. That is his 10th career goal against Sydney, his third-smallest goal tally against a single opponent among the other 17 sides in the AFL.
03:59
SCORE GOAL - Lions (Logan Morris)
04:37
Back-to-back goals for the Lions from forward half intercepts. Since Round 17 the Lions average 36 points per game from this source, ranked third in the AFL.
05:23
SCORE BEHIND - Swans (Isaac Heeney)
06:26
SCORE GOAL - Lions (Will McLachlan)
06:37
Brisbane lead the clearance count 3-1 early in the third term, off the back of leading pre-clearance contested possessions 5-0 for the quarter. The Lions average 53.6 pre-clearance contested possessions per game in 2025, ranked third in the AFL.
09:37
Sydney's 36 per cent kicking efficiency in the second quarter is letting the Lions back into the match. Unusually, their defensive half kicking efficiency rate (25 per cent) is lower than their forward half rate (40 per cent).
11:02
SCORE GOAL - Lions (Darcy Wilmot)
11:43
Darcy Wilmot kicks his second goal of the match, making this his first game with multiple goals in his 77th career match.
14:44
SCORE BEHIND - Swans (Tom Papley)
16:59
SCORE BEHIND - Lions (Dayne Zorko)
18:05
Brisbane's ability to move the ball from their back half into their forward 50 has lifted in the second term. Their inside 50 conversion rate from defensive half has gone from 30 to 50 per cent from quarter one to quarter two.
18:29
SCORE GOAL - Swans (Isaac Heeney)
19:30
Isaac Heeney gets Sydney on the board with their first goal of the second term. The second term has been their worst on the scoreboard in 2025, recording a for-against percentage of 82 per cent.
22:35
SCORE GOAL - Swans (Isaac Heeney)
25:02
SCORE BEHIND - Swans (Brodie Grundy)
25:33
Sydney has recorded five of the last six inside 50's. They have won the inside 50 count in just two of their last five matches.
28:46
SCORE BEHIND - Swans (Errol Gulden)
29:33
SCORE GOAL - Swans (Isaac Heeney)
29:39
Isaac Heeney becomes the first Swans player since Joel Amartey to kick four goals in a first half. Joel Amartey went on to register his career-best nine goals from that four-goal first half against Adelaide in Round 14 last year.
30:50
Sydney have retained possession from kicks entering their forward 50 zone at a rate of 65 per cent in the first half. Their best figure in this metric this season is 58 per cent in Round 0 against Hawthorn.

Quarter 3

00:00
Q3 is now underway.
00:53
SCORE BEHIND - Lions (Cam Rayner)
01:24
SCORE GOAL - Swans (Chad Warner)
03:48
SCORE GOAL - Swans (Isaac Heeney)
05:12
Isaac Heeney kicks the first two goals of the second half to equal his career-best tally of five goals, which he has recorded on six previous occasions.
11:01
Sydney have recorded a forward half pressure rating of 092 in their forward half this quarter. No team has recorded a forward half pressure factor below 100 in any quarter this year.
12:01
SCORE GOAL - Swans (Oliver Florent)
14:22
SCORE GOAL - Swans (James Rowbottom)
15:32
After conceding five goals in a row, the Swans have kicked the last seven consecutive goals. Despite allowing 13 inside 50's to the Lions since Brisbane's last goal, they have conceded just three behinds in that period.
17:27
SCORE BEHIND - Swans (Oliver Florent)
19:43
SCORE GOAL - Lions (Levi Ashcroft)
21:04
The Lions kick two quick goals to bring the margin back to 20 points. That goal came from the Lions sixth centre clearance chain of the quarter. The Swans have not won a centre clearance this term.
22:56
SCORE BEHIND - Swans (Hayden McLean)
25:35
Sydney are leading post-clearance contested possessions 22-14 in the third term. They have lost this count by an average of two per game in 2025, the fifth-largest deficit of any team in this category.
29:31
Errol Gulden has split his time 50-50 between the midfield and forward in today's match. This is significantly different from his 70-30 split since returning in Round 15.
30:11
SCORE BEHIND - Lions (Zac Bailey)
30:13
Sydney launched three of their four goals from defensive 50 in the third term. The Swans average 13.5 points per game from this zone in 2025, ranked 10th in the AFL.

Quarter 4

00:00
Q4 is now underway.
01:43
Nick Blakey leads all Swans with four intercept marks in today's match, including the first of the final term. That comes after he set a new career-best figure in this metric last round against Essendon (eight).
01:55
SCORE BEHIND - Swans (Nick Blakey)
02:50
SCORE BEHIND - Lions (Charlie Cameron)
04:38
SCORE BEHIND - Swans (Rushed)
04:43
The job Harry Cunningham has done on Charlie Cameron can't go unnoticed. In over 51 minutes matched up on the All-Australian forward, he has allowed him to record just two disposals and one behind.
05:27
SCORE GOAL - Swans (Brodie Grundy)
06:40
SCORE BEHIND - Lions (Zac Bailey)
06:48
Sydney have turned four intercepts into three scores early in the final term. The Swans have converted 20 per cent of their intercepts into scores since Round 17, ranked eighth in the AFL for conversion in this regard.
10:38
SCORE BEHIND - Lions (Callum Ah Chee)
11:25
Harris Andrews has taken seven intercept marks in today's match so far. This is his best figure in 2025, and the equal fifth-highest tally of his career.
13:14
SCORE BEHIND - Swans (Angus Sheldrick)
13:27
SCORE BEHIND - Swans (Caiden Cleary)
17:18
SCORE BEHIND - Lions (Logan Morris)
19:10
SCORE GOAL - Lions (Logan Morris)
19:24
Brisbane register their first score from a forward half intercept of the second half through Logan Morris after 12 previous attempts. The Lions have converted 31.5 per cent of their forward half intercepts into scores in 2025, the fourth-lowest conversion rate of any side this year.
21:10
SCORE BEHIND - Lions (Darcy Gardiner)
22:56
Swans Interchange - Brodie Grundy and is possibly out for the game.
26:56
SCORE GOAL - Lions (Zac Bailey)
27:50
Hugh McCluggage has registered his best single-season tally of inside 50's with his eighth of the match. He now sits on 125 for the season, eclipsing his 2024 tally of 124.
28:29
SCORE GOAL - Lions (Zac Bailey)
29:41
SCORE GOAL - Lions (Callum Ah Chee)
30:39
The Lions kick three goals in the last three minutes of the match but fall two points short of a miracle comeback. They turned four centre clearance chains into 2.1.13 in the final term but it was not enough to run the Swans down.