AFL round 8: Melbourne Demons toppled by Brisbane Lions in thriller
Early errors and inaccurate kicks cost the Melbourne Demons, who suffered a narrow defeat to an underwhelming Brisbane Lions squad.
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The Brisbane Lions have recorded their sixth victory of the season after securing a nailbiting four-point win over the Melbourne Demons on the Gold Coast.
Although they played some classy football in the first and fourth quarter, simple errors and inaccurate kicking cost the Demons a chance at a late comeback at Metricon Stadium.
Melbourne briefly took the lead when captain Max Gawn set up Bayley Fritsch early in the second quarter following a 50m penalty.
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“It was Dustin Martin like from the big fella,” former Western Bulldogs star Adam Cooney said on AFL Nation.
Gawn ended the match with 13 disposals, five tackles and three marks, but despite a stellar performance from the skipper, three-time All-Australian Gerard Healy delivered a scathing assessment of Melbourne’s performance as the Lions edged ahead in the second quarter.
“They just have to find a different method,” Healy told Fox Footy.
“They have Max Gawn, arguably the best ruckman in the game — best capped ruckman anyway — and yet they’re getting belted at clearances. They’re getting belted at contested ball, they’re getting belted in territory.
“So it’s a real test of credibility for Melbourne in this half … if they’re going anywhere, they’ve got to be close at the end of this match.”
Brisbane comfortably led the tally for clearances, marks, tackles and territory at halftime.
AFL fans were left in awe of Lions midfielder Cam Rayner after he almost snatched a contender for mark of the year. Jumping onto the shoulders of the 208cm Gawn, Rayner sadly fumbled the chance to cement a spot in the AFL’s highlights reel.
That was a really good game but I couldn't enjoy it because I'm still furious at Cam Rayner for dropping this https://t.co/feAvmCyN5P
— Dean Bilton (@Dean_Bilton) July 26, 2020
Half-time, and Rayner has just landed back on the ground. What a leap 😠#AFLDeesLions
— Oliver Caffrey (@ollycaffrey) July 26, 2020
Rayner just sat on Max's head! #afldeeslions
— Tim Michell (@tim_michell) July 26, 2020
To make matters worse for Melbourne, they were trailing by 14 points when forward Harley Bennell botched a certain goal from five metres out. Demons coach Simon Goodwin was spotted venting his frustration in the coach’s box.
“Oh dear,” Fox Footy commentator Anthony Hudson muttered.
“How frustrating was that?”
Healy agreed: “That’s a soda.”
When the Lions resorted to a defensive mindset in the fourth quarter, Melbourne slowly closed the gap on the scoreboard, threatening a comeback.
“Brisbane are playing to save the game, Melbourne are playing to win,” AFL great Brad Hardie told 3AW.
This has been a terrible quarter of football from the Lions. Absolutely bottling it #afl
— Mark Gottlieb (@MarkGottlieb) July 26, 2020
Boy that was a frustrating final qtr, but reckon it’ll be a critical one for the @brisbanelions later in the season. Learn a bit winning in situations like that. #HearTheRoar #AFLDeesLions
— Michael Atkinson (@kinson88) July 26, 2020
With two minutes left on the clock, a Score Review was called when Melbourne defender Jake Lever claimed a mark directly between the posts.
Some viewers believed the delay was unnecessary, and gave Brisbane and opportunity to reset for Melbourne’s final attack at goal. As pointed out by Herald Sun reporter Mark Robinson, the Score Review also denied the Demons a chance to move down the fat side.
“Looking forward to Goodwin’s comment about the goal review with two mins to play,” Robinson tweeted.
“Robbed Melb of a chance to move down fat side. Didn’t lose the game, of course, but am still interested.”
That score review has utterly screwed Melbourne. That said, Fritsch, what the holy hell?! #AFLDeesLions
— Jack Hudson (@jhudson_10) July 26, 2020
Ridiculous score review. #AFLDeesLions
— Titus O'Reily (@TitusOReily) July 26, 2020
Although they showed some fight in the final 16 minutes, Melbourne were unable to close the gap, narrowly losing the contest 7.11 (53) to 7.7 (49).
“Really pleasing the last 90 seconds of the game. Credit to Melbourne they just kept coming and it would have been nice to kick a goal late, but we’re glad to get the four points,” Lions midfielder Dayne Zorko told ABC Grandstand.
“There were a couple of moments in the last quarter where we executed really well. It would have been nice to have a bit more composure and hold the game up, but there were plenty of positives and plenty of growth.
“Well it’s evolved over time but it’s a department we want to be strong in. We want fresh legs on the ball as much as we can have it and there’s about 9 or 10 of us that can make up the midfield at any point.”
Jake Melksham scored a match-high three goals, while Brisbane star Lachie Neale managed 33 disposals and six marks in a standout performance.
Melbourne have a short turnaround before the next fixture against Port Adelaide on Thursday, while the Lions will take on Essendon on Friday.
Originally published as AFL round 8: Melbourne Demons toppled by Brisbane Lions in thriller