At that point, there was the whiff of an upset in the air. The Lions had the yips: Daniher, Eric Hipwood, Dayne Zorko and Lincoln McCarthy all missed set shots in a goalless second quarter for the home side.
And around the stoppages – minus Darcy Parish – the Bombers held the edge, ruckman Sam Draper helping them to an advantage in clearances at the break, and to an unexpected 10-point lead after Jye Menzie brought down Brandon Starcevich in a tackle.
But they couldn’t sustain it. The Lions made their move, kicking five unanswered goals in a lethal third-term burst, the first two of them to Daniher. No one was booing by that point. Daniher’s struggles early in the season seem a distant memory.
Fellow talls Hipwood and Oscar McInerney also hit the scoreboard as the Bombers’ defence began to break down. When Langford kicked his second against the run of play, his reaction was subdued. There was only 17 points in it, but his team was already out of gas.
In worse news for Essendon, Dylan Shiel hobbled off early in the third quarter with an ankle injury, continuing a horror injury run for the Bombers that will stretch them when they come up against a resurgent Richmond in the Dreamtime game next week.
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The Lions, meanwhile, move to second on the ladder, behind Melbourne and pending Collingwood’s match against Greater Western Sydney on Sunday. They face the Gold Coast Suns at home next week. Their season is building beautifully.
Brisbane Lions 2.2 2.7 7.11 12.15 (87)
Essendon 1.3 4.5 5.6 6.9 (45)
Goals
Brisbane Lions: Daniher 6, Bailey 2, McInerney, Hipwood, McCarthy, Rayner.
Essendon: Langford 2, Perkins, Stringer, Menzie, McDonald-Tipungwuti.
Best
Brisbane Lions: Daniher, Neale, Andrews, Ashcroft, Dunkley, Coleman.
Essendon: Redman, McGrath, Merrett, Hobbs, Setterfield, Hind.
Injuries
Brisbane Lions: Nil.
Essendon: Shiel (ankle).
Umpires: Power, Hosking. Meredith. Findlay.
Crowd: 31,898 at the Gabba.