Setanta stars but Blues lose

SETANTA O hAilpín’s red-hot start to the new Aussie Rules season continued unabated yesterday, but it wasn’t enough to give him victory in his grudge match with bad boy Brendan Fevola.

The Carlton Blues forward – who scored a superb hat trick in last week’s season opener at the MCG – followed it up here at The Gabba last night with another scintillating display as his side succumbed late on to the much-fancied Brisbane Lions.

But not before O hAilpín went one better than last week, hitting a stellar four goals – and three behinds to boot – as his emergence from the fringes to become a genuine, bona fide AFL star continued.

The Easter showdown had been billed as a grudge clash between the league’s villain Fevola and the team he left behind. The forward – who infamously was kicked off the Australian International Rules team in 2006 after an incident with a barman after the first test in Galway – had a notoriously fractious relationship with O hAilpín.

Perhaps that explained the Corkman’s exuberant celebrations after his early opener. O hAilpín was clearly fired up for the encounter and latched onto a loose ball just four minutes in and before any of the Lions defence could react, sent a superb effort from fully 32 metres through the posts.

He added another two behinds to his tally before the break but it was a quick-fire brace in the third quarter that had the away support in the 36,780 crowd chanting his name.

The first, a free from close range, was followed by a superb mark and finish that secured back-to-back hat tricks as he gave his marker Daniel Merrett a night to forget.

O hAilpín – dubbed ‘the new Fevola’ by one Australian newspaper after last week’s superb return to the spotlight – was then temporarily moved down the field as his influence continued to grow.

However the home side roared back in the last quarter and O hAilpín’s final goal of the game – and by far his most impressive effort – was merely a consolation.

Meanwhile the Lions’ Irish duo of Niall McKeever and Pearce Hanley continued to impress coach Michael Voss by helping the Lions’ reserves to an overwhelming victory in the curtain-raiser.

McKeever – a star in Antrim’s charge to the Ulster final last season – looked at ease in the cut and thrust of the QAFL playing in the full back line, a mere four months after taking up the oval ball game.

Ballaghaderreen native Hanley meantime was rock steady at half back as his side pulverised Mount Gravatt, and another elevation to the senior team – where he has impressed in his previous two seasons – looks to be only a matter of time.