There was no greater example of the disparity between the top four and the bottom three teams in the 2014 AFL Cairns premiership than at Holloway's Beach Sporting Complex on Saturday.
When Croc Tom Clough curled a goal from the boundary line right on three-quarter time it capped a disastrous 30-minute period for finals aspirants Cairns City Lions.
Entering the half-time break just three goals down, the home side had every right to think an upset may be on the cards.
However, eight unanswered goals from the visitors cemented their position in the top four.
In fact the Lions didn't add another major in the second half while the Crocs plied on a whopping 17 to ensure they enter this Saturday's clash with Centrals full of confidence.
An eight-goal haul from Antony Sercombe led the way for the Crocs forwards who were engaging in target practice in the final quarter. Daniel Cross, Kaine Freyling and Michael Klein-Boonschate also stood out for the Crocs.
Lions coach Marc Harbrow said that the half-time score line flattered the home side and set the scene for the lop-sided result.
"We set ourselves up for a big challenge and we did that to ourselves in the last half.
"On top of Port playing very well, we just couldn't get back on track.
"We started making wrong decisions, we couldn't hit targets, our skills were atrocious and we only had a handful that stuck their hand up to play.
"It's one of those things where the scoreboard can't tell the story."
The home side wasn't helped by its ill-discipline, with the Crocs benefiting from four 50m penalties during the course of the game.
"We also copped three or four yellow cards, which means we were down a player each time," Harbrow said.
After such a disappointing result,the Lions coach was keen to accentuate the positives ahead of next weekend's clash with Saints.
"For any team during a season, you need a real wake-up call and I'm hoping this is the one," he said.
"We came off a two-week bye and that was always going to be challenging.
"Either you train hard and work hard in the period where you're not playing or you choose to relax and I think it's clear what the majority of my players did.
"Saints are always a challenge....they play four quarters of structured footy."
Harbrow highlighted the efforts of Cameron Adam, midfielder Duncan Seden and the hardworking backman Thomas Keygan as the Lions standouts.
In other results, Manunda continued their mid-season renaissance with a 30-point win over North Cairns on Friday night, while Paul Smith kicked 12 as South Cairns kept their season humming with a 58-point win against Centrals
Last Modified on 06/11/2014 14:35