Brisbane and Adelaide have both been left to rue crucial missed opportunities to win the game in the dying stages of their epic AFL draw.
In front of a deafening crowd at Adelaide Oval on Sunday night, the two sides both squandered massive chances to win the game before the siren sounded with the score locked at 13.12 (90) each.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Brisbane and Adelaide play out epic AFL draw.
Stream analysis, local footy and the biggest moments free on 7plus
Crows skipper Jordan Dawson was under immense pressure when his potentially match-winning shot at goal was sprayed to the right, which levelled the scores at 90 apiece.
The Lions then needed to go from one end of the ground to the other from their kick-in with under 90 seconds to go.
With big man Joe Daniher sitting in a pocket of space at centre half back, and Harris Andrews running over to provide help, the Lions looked perfectly set up to take the game-breaking risk of going straight down the middle of the ground in an attempt to win the game.
But Lions star Dayne Zorko made the defensive decision of kicking to Callum Ah Chee in the pocket, who kicked long towards the boundary line.
The ball eventually went out of bounds as the clock ticked down, making it very hard for either side to win the game.
“I think if Brisbane were to review that game, and it was a genuine ‘win the game’ play, that kick-in had to go down the middle of the ground,” Jordan Lewis said after the thriller finished.
“Harris Andrews was running there, I think (Oscar) McInerney was there — so all the tall timbre that they needed was there.
“They (will) learn from that. You hope if they were in that same moment again — the good sides of the competition who know how to win, who go into scenario-based stuff — it would have been down the middle of the ground.”
Jack Riewoldt agreed that Brisbane needed to take the risk to win the game — but it could have cost them a loss.
“That moment there, you kick it into a really, really dangerous spot, so there is the risk to win the game, but there’s also the risk to lose the game. Are you brave enough, at that point in time, to take the risk to win? ‘Cause you could lose,” he said.
Brisbane held a game-high 18-point advantage midway through the last quarter but with Darcy Fogarty slotting two of his four goals for the night, Adelaide edged six points clear with around five minutes left.
The Lions’ Ah Chee levelled scores with his fourth goal, followed by a Harry Sharp behind which gave the visitors a one-point buffer.
But Dawson’s 35-metre shot on the run, which only narrowly missed, ensured the clubs shared the premiership points.
Both the Crows and Lions have three wins, a draw and five losses to sit 12th and 13th spot on the ladder respectively.
Ah Chee’s scoring was pivotal for the Lions while second-gamer Logan Morris kicked two majors.
Brisbane stalwarts Hugh McCluggage (31 disposals, one goal), Jarrod Berry (30, one goal) and Dayne Zorko (26 touches) were standouts.
Adelaide livewire Izak Rankine was superb with three goals and 24 possessions, Fogarty was an attacking force, and Taylor Walker and Elliott Himmelberg kicked two goals each.
The Lions edged their hosts by three points in the first term before the Crows scored three goals to two in the second for a two-point advantage at halftime, 6.9 to 6.7.
At the break, Adelaide substituted defender Daniel Curtin, who endured a horror second game with Lions opponents kicking four goals on him.
But seven minutes into the third quarter, the tactical substitution backfired when Curtin’s fellow backman Josh Worrell suffered a suspected broken left wrist and was ruled out of the remainder of the game.
Despite Worrell’s loss, the Crows went on a run of three consecutive goals and when Rankine snapped his second major, the home side held a 12-point advantage — their largest of the game.
With 90 seconds remaining in the quarter, the Lions scored two valuable goals, before Fogarty missed a set shot on the siren, leaving his side one-point up at the last change, 9.11 to 9.10.
Brisbane then made a move with Berry, Ah Chee and Josh Dunkley all goaling to create an 18-point break.
But just when the Crows appeared down and out, the hosts kicked four goals in 11 minutes to create a six-point buffer.
Brisbane’s Ah Chee then struck again to again tie the scores with three minutes 35 seconds remaining before the respective late behinds from both clubs finalised the draw.
– With AAP
