Blues v Lions, snippets

TURNING POINT: There was no single turning point, but lots of points all turning Brisbane's way in the first term. Jamie Charman's eight centre circle hitouts to Carlton's two was a factor. So was Simon Black's 12 possessions for the term as well as Brisbane's 21 inside-50s and Jonathan Brown's three goals.

CLASSIC GRAB: Brendan Fevola was probably fortunate to be awarded this one, but his big pack grab at the 18 minute mark of the second term, when he was fifth in line at the Coventry End, was the best of the night. Purists would argue that Fevola probably didn’t hang on to it for long enough, but more importantly, he was able to split the middle with his set shot from 40 for the first of his five for the match.

STAR MAN: Was it Marc Murphy for his 32 touches and 10 inside-50s? Was it Travis Johnstone for his 32 and three goals? Or was it Brendan Fevola whose match stats were not dissimilar to last week's which earned him the Allan Aylett Medal for being best-afield in the Hall of Fame Tribute match? No, for his presence, his leadership and six goals which opened a gap the Blues were never able to bridge, Jonathan Brown was this week's star.

ABSOLUTE SHOCKER: Leigh Matthews was nonplussed by the new interchange procedures, which he described as a "complicated system to get a simple end result". As long as there are only a maximum of 18 players on the field at any one time, Matthews pondered aloud, why should it matter who replaces who? "I think the people on the interchange bench will be on stress leave very quickly," he said.

WHAT A GOAL! The Blues were always battling to stay in the contest after quarter-time, but Marc Murphy's goal on the run after three bounces following a dish-off from Eddie Betts 60 out midway through the third quarter brought the crowd at Telstra Dome to its feet.

UNSUNG HERO: Michael Jamison's name appears at the very bottom of Carlton's stats sheet with just five disposals and two marks. But the second-year defender had been the Blues' best player, according to coach Brett Ratten, before injuring his shoulder late in the third quarter, for his outstanding job in keeping Brisbane forward Daniel Bradshaw goal-less to that point.