Brisbane have handed themselves a September advantage with a 63-point percentage boosting win against Magpies at the MCG on Friday night.

Star midfielder Lachie Neale was at his very best against the team he is heavily linked to join for 2027, racking up constant centre clearances, while key-forward Logan Morris was a continuous threat up forward with a career-best eight goals.

The win puts Brisbane in pole position to nab third place heading into the finals after a 2.2 per cent percentage boost, with Hawthorn needing a win in their away trip against West Coast, on top of a massive 4.4 per cent boost in order to take third.

The third place would give them an almost ideal path to the Grand Final and a possible three-peat, with the potential finish setting them up for an away qualifying final against a gutted Swans side amid their alleged sexual assault scandal.

The only dampener on the Lions’ win was potential MRO trouble for Ty Gallop, after he slammed Charlie West’s head into the ground on the stroke of three quarter-time resulting in a dangerous tackle free-kick.

Collingwood’s loss was compounded by an injury to veteran midfielder Scott Pendlebury, who left the ground in the first-half with a reported knee bursa issue, casting an injury cloud over his availability for their away wildcard final next weekend.

MCKENNA MAGIC

The Lions entered the major break with a handy 22-point lead off the back of some magic from two of their Irish small-forward Conor McKenna.

McKenna had just two touches in the first quarter but the Irishman got full bang for buck.

He gave Brisbane the early lead which they held for the entire night, breaking the deadlock at the nine-minute mark.

The Irishman then channelled his Gaelic touch for a strong goal of the year contender, swiping the ball off Sam Swadling while tight in the pocket, then throwing a boot at it from an impossible angle which incredibly floated over the goal umpire’s hat.

“That is ridiculous, that is a contender for goal of the year,” Dwayne Russell told SEN

He gave himself another chance at the lucrative forward’s award in the third quarter, snapping the ball off a step from 45m out against all odds.

“It’s Hollywood footy from the Lions at the moment, this is Harlem Globetrotters stuff,” Russell said.

WRAPPED IT UP

Despite the demoralising loss, Collingwood star Nick Daicos looked a chance to have polled even more Brownlow votes in what is expected to be a record breaking season for Collingwood’s champion.

The experts have tipped this year’s Brownlow Medal as a one-horse race, with some even expecting Daicos to break the 45-vote record or even crack the 50 mark.

The crowd noise hiked to its peak for the evening on the stroke of quarter time, when Daicos found himself on the arc of the 50 on the break, with an open goal square staring him down.

The Brownlow favourite launched the ball straight through the middle of the goals, igniting the Collingwood home crowd into a commanding roar.

“Still would have been a goal, if the posts were four inches apart,” Russell told SEN.

Collingwood Magpies: 3.3 6.5 8.6 15.6 (96)

Brisbane Lions: 5.3 10.3 16.7 25.9 (159)

GOALS

Magpies: 3 West, 3 Anderson, 2 Membrey, 2 De Goey, Houston, Allan, Harrison, Daicos, Swadling

Lions: 8 Morris, 4 McKenna, 4 Allen, 3 Hipwood, 2 Cameron, Rayner, Draper, Ashcroft, Bailey

BEST

Magpies: N Daicos, De Goey, Swadling, West

Lions: Neale, McKenna, Morris, Ashcroft, Dunkley, Allen

INJURIES:

Magpies: Pendlebury (knee)

Lions: N/A

CROWD

66,846

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

3 L Neale

2 C McKenna

1 N Daicos

McRae praises potential recruit

Collingwood coach Craig McRae has applauded Lachie Neale’s Friday night performance against his side as the Pies look to lure the star south.

Neale dominated against Collingwood at the MCG with 16 clearances and 35 disposals as the Lions walked to a 63-point win to lock in a qualifying final in their bid for a three-peat.

Neale admitted post game that it will be hard to leave the Lions.

When asked about exiting the side, Neale laughed it off and said “I know, I know, tell me about it”.

“I’ve been here nine years and I think this is the ninth year in a row we will play finals footy and I don’t take it for granted and I can’t wait to see what we can do,” Neale told Fox Footy.

“It’s an exciting time to be a Lion.”

Neale toured the Pies’ state of the art facilities earlier this month, with Collingwood widely reported as his most likely suitor.

When McRae was asked post-game if his side was missing a “Neale-type player” after the midfielder’s monster performance, the coach joked it was a “pointed question”.

“I think he’s a great player,” McRae said.

“Everyone can see that on the night.

“They (Brisbane) got many threats, that’s why they’re going to be really hard to beat from here on out.”

“We’ll take the lessons learned in history and try not to repeat them twice.”

McRae’s side await Saturday’s results to find out their opponent for next weekend’s inaugural wildcard round, with the Pies heavily tipped to play their fixture on the Friday night.

‘Head scratcher’; Fagan on Swans scandal

Brisbane head coach Chris Fagan has labelled Sydney’s alleged sexual assault incident “a bit of a head scratcher” when asked about the matter post-game on Friday night.

The Lions put themselves in pole position to claim third place after a big 63-point win against Collingwood.

The third place would give them an almost ideal path to the Grand Final and a possible three-peat, with the potential finish setting Fagan’s side up for an away qualifying final against a gutted Swans side, who are missing five key players amid their alleged scandal.

Fagan said he didn’t have a preferred opponent for their qualifying final, claiming the scandal could actually “galvanise” the remaining Swans.

“It’s really unfortunate for Sydney because they have been such a terrific club in that regard for a long long time,” Fagan said.

“It’s just a bit of a head scratcher, isn’t it?

“You just wonder what was going through people’s heads for that to occur.

“But with the guys that do get to play just might go that much harder and be that much more difficult to beat.”

Fagan’s side awaits Sunday’s West Coast v Hawthorn result to find out their week one finals opponent, with the Hawks requiring a 90 to 100 point win in Perth to jump Brisbane and swipe third.

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