Round 7
	V
Brisbane 19.15 (129)		Port Adelaide 11.6 (72)

Port Adelaide left the Gabba beaten, battered and bruised as reigning AFL premiers Brisbane rendered their heavyweight showdown a no contest within 15 minutes.

That was all it took for the Lions to yet again prove they are clearly the best side in the competition as the main challengers to their title were emphatically swept aside 19.15 (129) to 11.6 (72).

The match was over as a contest after just 15 minutes as the Lions booted the first five goals of the game as the pre-season premiers of the last two seasons wilted in the fierce Brisbane heat.Even worse for Port than a thorough beating from the team that also beat them in last year's qualifying final at the Gabba were injuries to skipper Matthew Primus, back-up ruckman Brendon Lade and 2000 best and fairest winner Brett Montgomery.

Primus' injury was the most serious with the inspirational ruckman carried around the boundary line on a stretcher after copping a nasty knock in the back from young Lions ruckman Jamie Charman.The injury was so severe that Primus was feeling related pain up his spine and was forced to come off when he could not even put his right leg to the ground after taking a mark shortly after his clash with Charman.

Lade, who has already suffered two broken legs in his career, badly twisted his left ankle while Montgomery, who was one of the Power's few good players, suffered lateral ligament damage to his knee.Adding to Port's injury toll was the report on centre half-back Darren Mead. Mead was booked by field umpire Scott McLaren in the third term for allegedly striking Brisbane forward Luke Power.

While Port wilted in the final term in the 26-degree heat and with no fresh legs on the bench, the Lions' rampant midfield finished the game full of running.

A surprisingly quiet game from Simon Black did not even stop the Lions' midfield juggernaut as reigning Brownlow Medalist Jason Akermanis, skipper Michael Voss and Nigel Lappin destroyed Port Adelaide with their non-stop running and brilliant use of the ball.Even some of the Lions' lesser lights such as Craig Bolton, Brad Scott, Charman and veteran Martin Pike had more of an influence on the game than some of Port's stars.

The Power's much-vaunted attack fell apart under the constant pressure of a superb Lions' defence, led by Justin Leppitsch and Chris Johnson, with Chad Cornes and Che Cockatoo-Collins in particular turning in shockers.

Port was really only able to match the Lions in a dour third quarter when they kicked two goals to one but they never looked a winning chance after the home side's blistering opening - which was inspired by excitement machine Akermanis.

The Lions also had winners in attack in Daniel Bradshaw and Alastair Lynch, who kicked three each, as they hardly missed Jonathan Brown, who spent most of the game on the bench after having recently battled tonsilitis, and Darryl White, who was a late withdrawal following the death of his father.

In contrast Port relied almost solely on Warren Tredrea in attack and with their spearhead well beaten by Leppitsch, it was left to rover Jarrad Schofield to be the team's leading goalkicker with three goals.The Lions remain a game clear at the top of the ladder and two games clear of their main rivals in Essendon and Port although veteran Pike said the team is not getting carried away at this early stage of their premiership defence."We're a good team but we have still got Essendon to come at their home ground and Port Power at their home ground later in the year and then we will find out how good we are," he said.

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