Lions coach calls out ‘unfair advantage’, AFL responds to Gabba blackout

The AFL has addressed the elephant in the room after Brisbane’s coach claimed his side was disadvantaged by the blackout at The Gabba.

Chris Fagan wasn't too happy with the delay. Photos: Getty Images

The AFL says its pleased with how Friday night’s extraordinary mid-game blackout was handled, but Brisbane’s coach believes Melbourne were given an “unfair advantage” before the game restarted.

The Lions defeated the Demons 14.9 (93) to 13.4 (82) victory, which would have been far more comfortable if not for the floodlights at The Gabba going out during the fourth quarter.

With the field in pitch black, the game stopped as players and fans looked on in amusement.

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A globe in one of the floodlights was flickering with a flame, suggesting it had exploded and triggered the power outage in a loud bang.

Play eventually resumed after a 38-minute delay, which proved to be a serious momentum shifter. The last quarter went for 69 minutes — the longest term in V/AFL history.

The Demons were lacklustre for most of the game but kicked five straight goals to finish the game, trimming the margin from 40 to 11 points.

Lions coach Chris Fagan said the delay was “way too long” and wasn’t happy the Demons got more time to warm up on the field before play resumed.

A blackout delayed the game between Brisbane and Melbourne. (Photo by Albert Perez/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

The Dees walk off the field in the dark. (Photo by Albert Perez/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Power goes out on the floodlights at The Gabba. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

“The other thing that happened was, we were told to stay in the rooms, and Melbourne were warming up on the ground for five minutes. That was an unfair advantage,” Fagan said.

“It was an unheard of situation, really.”

AFL general manager of competition management Laura Kane said the league was generally happy with the handling of the blackout given the circumstances.

“It’s not the first time we’ve had something happen,” Kane told SEN.

“And to be honest, after a couple of years of Covid I think we’re as flexible as we’ve ever been, and we’re able to navigate the situation quite well. So, we will debrief, but I was really pleased with how last night rolled out,” she said.

“We’re seeing some exceptional football, the competition’s close, and it must be our priority both for the clubs and to the fans at home to make sure we complete play every game.”

Brisbane held on for a deserved win, avoiding what would have been an unmitigated disaster had Melbourne snatched victory after the blackout.

The Lions effectively lost 13 for-and-against percentage points once play resumed, which could well have an impact on where they finish on the ladder come the end of the season.

“It felt wrong on Brisbane’s behalf,” commentator Gerard Whateley said on SEN.

Hawthorn legend Dermott Brereton added: “Brisbane had done the hard work and it’s fair enough for them to say ‘we’ve done the hard work, we don’t need to get injured … I thought it was pretty unfair on Brisbane.”

Chris Fagan wasn't too happy with the delay. Photos: Getty Images

Kane said: “I think if you’re a Melbourne supporter, you would take every one of the five goals they kicked when the play resumed because that could be the difference between top four, it could be the difference between top eight.

“We know that it goes down to the wire with percentage, so that for us was, you know, notwithstanding the venue and play being safe to proceed, which was obviously the first priority, the second is to get those 12 minutes of the game done.”

The farcical scenes sent AFL fans into hysterics and evoked memories of a similar circumstance when the floodlights went out in the 1996 match between St Kilda and Essendon at Waverley Park.

Hope that $2.7bn Gabba rebuild comes with a few back up batteries in case of blackouts. https://t.co/4mFbz4cZpf

— Madura McCormack (@MaduraMcCormack) March 24, 2023

This is actually a big story at the Gabba. Supposed to be primary stadium for Olympics. Lights gone on a Friday night footy match isn’t a good sign.

— Simon Love (@SimoLove) March 24, 2023

And this city is going to host the Olympics #AFLLionsDees#Gabba

— Paul Johnson (@pjohnson_sports) March 24, 2023

Not going to be a whole lot of sadness when they take the bulldozer to the Gabba on a few years is there? #afllionsdees

— Ashley Browne (@hashbrowne) March 24, 2023

A Big Bash League cricket game in 2019 was abandoned at The Gabba after the lights went off due to a Brisbane power failure.

The Gabba reportedly doesn’t have a back-up power supply for its floodlights — something that will surely be addressed as part of a $2.7 billion redevelopment for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.

That upgrade will only add 14,000 seats to the venue, but a super battery must now be on the agenda to avoid a blackout during the opening ceremony of the Olympics.