Lions upset by bottom side Melbourne

Brisbane’s campaign for a top-four AFL finish suffered a massive blow in an incident-packed, one-point loss to bottom side Melbourne today.

After a dire season on and off the field, it would have been soul-destroying had the Demons lost again.

They had led for the vast majority of the match but looked gone when Daniel Bradshaw put the Lions ahead by 11 points with only a few minutes to play at the MCG.

But there was just enough time left for Cameron Bruce and Brad Miller to goal at the other end and Melbourne won 14.9 (93) to 13.14 (92).

Their second win of the season means they are now just percentage behind second-bottom West Coast and Fremantle.

The Dockers suffered yet another close loss late this afternoon, going down to Essendon by four points at Subiaco.

Essendon scored their third-straight win, 14.11 (95) to 13.13 (91).

While the Demons try to rise off the bottom, of more significance is what the loss means to the Lions, who will slip to seventh if Collingwood beat Sydney next weekend in the second half of the split round.

And if the Swans win, Brisbane will be two-and-a-half games outside the top four with eight rounds to go.

But as poorly as the Lions played today, three separate incidents that each cost a point could well have been the difference between winning and losing.

They conceded a free kick and 50m penalty to Demon Paul Wheatley in the second quarter after Luke Power came off the interchange bench too quickly to replace Simon Black.

In the third term, a goal umpire incorrectly ruled that a curling shot for goal from Bradshaw had gone out of bounds on the full, even though it was clearly a point.

And in the final quarter, the Brisbane physiotherapist gifted Melbourne another 50m penalty when he mistakenly ran across the mark as Demons midfielder Lynden Dunn was about to take his kick.

“They were our mistakes and that’s the rules,” said Brisbane coach Leigh Matthews.

“But you have an interchange (and concede a) shot at goal and the physio runs across the mark and you have two free kicks against you.

“It’s a bit of an indication of the type of day that’s been had.”

The Power-Black incident was the second if its kind in less than 24 hours, after Saints Luke Ball and Andrew McQualter made the same mistake in last night’s 15-point win over North Melbourne.

“The penalty is maybe too severe, but the penalty is to stop you having 19 blokes on the field,” said Matthews.

“The fact is every player in the competition should know that they can’t go on until their interchange player has come off.”

In other results during the split round 14, Richmond’s centenary celebrations became a nightmare as Carlton beat them by 30 points at the MCG, 17.16 (118) to 12.16 (88).

But all that became meaningless later in the night when Richmond defender Graham Polak suffered brain damage when he was hit by a tram.

Polak remains in a medically-induced coma and the next few days will be critical for his long-term prognosis.

Western Bulldogs took top spot, at least for this week, when they beat Port Adelaide 20.15 (135) to 11.15 (81) last night in Darwin.

Geelong will regain first place if they beat Adelaide next Friday night at AAMI Stadium.

The Saints overcame their costly interchange mistake in the last term.

Their 12.12 (84) to 9.15 (69) win also meant the Saints returned to the top eight at North’s expense.

Hawthorn broke clear of West Coast in the final term on Friday night to win by 57 points, 18.18 (126) to 9.15 (69).

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