A third-quarter lapse cost the Sydney Swans reserves in their 33-point loss to the Brisbane Lions reserves in sunny conditions at Coorparoo on Saturday afternoon.

The Swans had the better of the opening term to take a narrow two-point lead to the first change, before the Lions hit back in the second term to gain an 11-point advantage at the main break.

The Lions reserves then piled on eight goals to two in the third quarter to blow the score line out to 48 points at the final change.

The Swans fought back hard in the last quarter and threw everything at the hosts, kicking three goals to nil, but it wasn’t enough to claw back the lead from the NEAFL Northern Conference leaders.

The Lions senior players caused the most damage during the match, with Patrick Karnezis and Stefan Martin kicking four goals each for the home side, while Aaron Cornelius finished with three goals and ten marks.

Mitch Morton, who announced this would be his last season of AFL football the day before the match, was the leading goalkicker on field, finishng the match with six majors, while Dean Towers provided another option inside 50 for the Swans and kicked three goals.

After missing one match with injury, Jake Lloyd bounced back to his best against the Lions and was named the Swans’ best player, while Tony Armstrong continued his consistent form off half-back.

Swans’ top-up player Jacob Dawes had another impressive game in the red and white, battling it out in the ruck against Lions’ senior listed players including Martin and Billy Longer.

The Swans reserves host UWS Giants at ANZ Stadium this Saturday afternoon as a curtain raiser to the Sydney Swans blockbuster clash with Collingwood.

With just two regular matches remaining, the Swans clash with UWS is an important match for the side in their bid to claim top place on the NEAFL Eastern Conference ladder, currently held by Canberra side Belconnen.

Sydney Swans reserves  4.5     8.6     10.7       13.8-86
Brisbane Lions reserves 4.3   9.11   17.13   17.17-119

Goal kickers: M. Morton 6, D. Towers 3, J. Weir 2, T. Membrey, M Dick
Best players: J. Lloyd, T. Armstrong, M. Morton, D. Towers, X. Richards, J. Dawes