Rampant Lions thrash dire Carlton in AFL

The Brisbane Lions have thrashed Carlton by 65 points to record back-to-back AFL wins for the first time in more than three years.

Eric Hipwood of the Lions celebrates scoring a goal during round 16.

Brisbane's Eric Hipwood notched up six goals in the Lions' win over Carlton at the Gabba. (AAP)

Brisbane has notched back-to-back AFL wins for the first time in more than three years with a 65-point demolition of Carlton.

The Lions did it easily, following up their surprise thumping of Fremantle last week with a commanding 18.12 (120) to 7.13 (55) result at the Gabba - their biggest victory since 2014.

It cements the bottom-placed Blues as this season's clear favourite for the wooden spoon.

A dire Carlton had no answers once Brisbane broke the game open in the second quarter and were beaten in every department.

By the final term, the Blues were flat-out uncompetitive.

Coach Brendan Bolton's side are now two wins off their nearest rival on the ladder.

That used to be the Lions but their third victory of the season lifts them into 16th position while also giving their percentage a healthy boost.

Dayne Beams led the way with a whopping 40 touches and eight clearances, while forward Eric Hipwood bagged six goals - the biggest haul of his young career.

Hipwood was one of six Lions players who were still in high school the last time Brisbane strung together consecutive wins, back in rounds six and seven of 2015.

The end of that long drought was lapped up by a 21,074-strong crowd, most of them long-suffering Lions fans who can now say they follow a team that is genuinely on the rise.

"I'm sure our players will get a bit of belief out of that," coach Chris Fagan said.

"After a bit of a tardy start we played extremely well and deserved our win."

The Blues, on the other hand, were coming off a stirring display last week against Port Adelaide, pushing the top-four fancies all the way.

But with Kade Simpson a late withdrawal on Saturday with a calf injury, normal service resumed.

And there were further injury woes for Bolton, with Andrew Phillips (hamstring), Alex Weitering (calf) and Caleb Marchbank all failing to finish the match.

Playing his first match since round six, Marchbank was taken to hospital after the match for a check on what Bolton said was a "raised heartbeat", although doctors did not suggest it was a cause for major concern.

"I think our supporters can understand the reality of where we're at just now," Bolton said.

"We have a lot of work to do. We've been impacted significantly, particularly down back with injuries. We're disappointed."


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Source: AAP



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