Heated moment Joe Daniher PUNCHES Eric Hipwood in the chest during dramatic win over Melbourne after the Lions star blew up his teammate in a wild display in front of goal
- Daniher broke out on his teammate in the 11-point win
- He was gesturing angrily just before the crash
- Game interrupted when lights went out.
Lions star Joe Daniher’s team appeared to be cruising to victory over the Demons in the third quarter of their dramatic clash on Friday night, but that didn’t stop the all-around forward from gesturing wildly at his teammate. Eric Hipwood before punching him in the chest to make a point seconds later.
Brisbane were up 26 points with just over two minutes left in the period when Daniher was seen waving angrily at Hipwood as he stood on goal, obviously desperate for the ball to be passed to him so he could extend the lead.
The 29-year-old looked furious as he pointed repeatedly towards his front pocket before throwing his hands up in exasperation as Melbourne’s Judd McVee marked him off.
Daniher (left) was being guarded by the much shorter Judd McVee when he desperately called for the ball, only for Hipwood to line up a shot on goal.
Seconds later, a fiery Daniher slammed his hand into his teammate’s chest as he yelled instructions during a break in the game.
‘This is what happens when you get a 201 centimeter [player] against a 185. Do it fast,” said Luke Hodge in a commentary for Channel Seven.
‘Hipwood went back for the shot, Joey Daniher was not happy. Fuming, Richo, you’d be doing the same, I think,” he continued, referring to co-caster and former Tigers senior Matthew Richardson.
Seconds later, as the Lions rallied during a break in play, Daniher physically made his point as he yelled instructions in a huddle, slamming his right hand into Hipwood’s chest as he eyed the front pocket.
The harsh exchange showed how desperate the veteran was to change the team’s attitude after Brisbane’s loss to the Power in the first round.
After the game, which was halted for more than 30 minutes under dramatic circumstances when a power outage plunged Gabba into darkness, Lions boss Chris Fagan said the change in mentality was one of the keys to victory. .
Brisbane allowed five unanswered goals after the lights went out, but the manager was still a happy man.
The all-round forward’s display of anger showed the Lions were in a completely different mindset than in the first round, when they were crushed by Port
Lions coach Chris Fagan hailed his team’s improved attitude in the win over the Dees, hailing rookie Will Ashcroft (pictured) after he played a starring role.
“Last week we went in full of confidence and Port went in full of hunger and you can see what happens when the mentality is a bit different,” he said.
“I didn’t think it was his ability last week, I just thought our mentality wasn’t that strong.”
“It actually helped us out this week, and I think it was great that we were playing a really good team in Melbourne, who looked pretty unbeatable.”
“The lads have learned a valuable lesson about the mindset you need to show up at an AFL game.”
Will Ashcroft was very impressive in just his second AFL game and Fagan singled it out as a compliment.
The 18-year-old had a team-high 31 turnovers, with nine clearances, one goal and 15 possessions contested without taking a single mark.
“He’s a good young footballer,” Fagan said.
‘He can find the ball and he can set things up for us. If he can get close to that most weeks, that would be an excellent result for a first-year player, but he has a long way to go in the season.”