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It was tight, frenetic and at times fiery football, but the Demons are now just one victory away from playing finals football for the first time in eleven years, after outlasting the Lions to claim a vital 13-point win.
Melbourne looked set to register a comfortable victory after opening a 32-point lead midway through the last quarter, but the 18th-ranked Lions refused to give in.
With one final charge, Brisbane threatened to cause a boil-over with four successive goals, but a clutch finish from Cam Pedersen steadied the Demons allowing them to escape with the win.
After breaking his collarbone in Round 19 against North Melbourne, the returning Jesse Hogan was inspirational.
Playing in his 50th game, the 22-year-old celebrated his milestone by bagging half a dozen goals, in an enthralling contest with Lions young-gun Harris Andrews.
Hogan was ably supported in the middle by captain Nathan Jones (32 disposals, seven tackles) and Michael Hibberd (23 disposals, 7 marks) who controlled the action from half back for Melbourne.
For the Lions, captain Dayne Beams (33 disposals, 3 goals) played a blinder for his team and was never far from the contest.
In his only low point for the match, Beams inexplicably gave away an easy goal to Jeff Garlett, after slamming the small forward to the ground.
Beams was in the wars again just minutes later, after being involved in a collision with Bernie Vince – a collision which is sure to draw the attention of the Match Review Panel.
The Demons needed all four quarters to shake a plucky Lions outfit, but now Melbourne are tantalizingly close to tasting September football, needing just a draw against rivals Collingwood to cement a spot in the top 8.
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