Melbourne
93
Match Complete
Brisbane Lions
60
| Fourth Quarter | ||||
| K. Pickett |  | 31:57 | ||
| 25:06 | | J. Prior | ||
| C. Petracca |  | 20:51 | ||
| C. Petracca | | 18:42 | ||
| M. Gawn | | 15:23 | ||
| A. Brayshaw | | 13:32 | ||
| 10:19 | | C. Cameron | ||
| B. Fritsch | | 6:55 | ||
| 4:36 | | L. McCarthy | ||
| B. Fritsch | | 1:50 | ||
| 9.12 (66) | Third Quarter [+] | 7.5 (47) | ||
| 19:34 | | H. McCluggage | ||
| 14:59 | | C. Cameron | ||
| 6:39 | | Z. Bailey | ||
| A. Neal-Bullen | | 3:03 | ||
| B. Brown | | 2:08 | ||
| 9.10 (64) | Second Quarter [+] | 5.4 (34) | ||
| 30:57 | | C. Cameron | ||
| B. Fritsch | | 25:04 | ||
| C. Petracca | | 24:02 | ||
| C. Petracca | | 23:09 | ||
| T. McDonald | | 22:01 | ||
| 20:29 | | J. Lyons | ||
| C. Spargo | | 18:51 | ||
| K. Pickett | | 14:34 | ||
| E. Langdon | | 12:33 | ||
| L. Jackson | | 11:00 | ||
| L. Jackson | | 9:56 | ||
| 6:40 | | J. Berry | ||
| B. Fritsch | | 3:47 | ||
| 5.4 (34) | First Quarter [+] | 4.2 (26) | ||
| Rushed | | 33:01 | ||
| E. Langdon | | 29:04 | ||
| 26:00 | | C. Cameron | ||
| C. Oliver | | 24:37 | ||
| C. Spargo | | 23:22 | ||
| 19:14 | | Z. Bailey | ||
| K. Pickett | | 16:39 | ||
| B. Fritsch | | 15:12 | ||
| 12:55 | | J. Daniher | ||
| T. Sparrow | | 10:14 | ||
| 8:49 | | C. Cameron | ||
| 4:48 | | C. Cameron | ||
| Rushed | | 3:04 | ||
| 2:20 | | Rushed | ||
| B. Brown | | 0:37 | ||
The Melbourne Demons and Brisbane Lions will face off in the First Qualifying Final tonight, looking to follow Port Adelaide’s lead into a home preliminary final. Tune into this clash from South Australia right here on The Roar with live scores and rolling coverage from 7:30pm (AEST).
Oddly, this is the first finals meeting between the Demons and Lions. Melbourne claimed the minor premiership in thrilling fashion thanks to a Max Gawn kick after the siren in Round 23; while Brisbane slipped into fourth in an equally exciting finish to grab the double chance.
Melbourne is on course to break a 57-year premiership drought and can book a preliminary final berth with a win over the Lions. It’s been a stellar season with 18 wins, plus cleaning up all the end of year football awards. Clayton Oliver took out the AFL Coaches Association Player of the Year, Luke Jackson was crowned the 2021 Rising Star, and Max Gawn was named captain of the All-Australian team, one of five Demons named.
The Demons come into this match having won their last four matches, while holding an 8-2 record against the top eight teams this year. The Lions have gone 7-3 in their last ten, and have started to hit their straps in recent weeks. Their last three wins were by impressive margins — 64 (Fremantle), 85 (Collingwood), and 38 (West Coast).
The last time these two clubs played each other was in June, with the Demons overcoming a sluggish first quarter to win by 22 points.
For the Lions, Charlie Cameron will play his 150th and Harris Andrews and Mitch Robinson come back into the team. The Demons are unchanged.
Prediction
Melbourne has had all the answers so far this season. Whenever they’ve been challenged, they have answered. They seem to have too many match-winners — Gawn, Oliver, Christian Petracca, Kysaiah Pickett and even Jackson, just to name a few — that will overwhelm the Lions when the game is up for grabs. It will be a tough encounter but Melbourne should get the job done by 19 points. There’s more at stake for them.
Catch all the action on The Roar‘s live coverage of this crunch clash from 7:30 pm (AEST), and don’t forget to leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
Game information
Opening bounce: 7:30pm (AEST)
Venue: Adelaide Oval
TV: Channel Seven, Fox Footy
Live stream: Kayo Sports, Foxtel Now, Foxtel Go
Betting: Demons $1.73, Lions $2.10 (odds via PlayUp)
Teams
Melbourne Demons
B: 24 Trent Rivers, 1 Steven May, 35 Harrison Petty
HB: 17 Jake Bowey, 8 Jake Lever, 3 Christian Salem
C: 10 Angus Brayshaw, 5 Christian Petracca, 15 Ed Langdon
HF: 7 Jack Viney, 25 Tom McDonald, 9 Charlie Spargo
F: 31 Bayley Fritsch, 50 Ben Brown, 30 Alex Neal-Bullen
FOL: 11 Max Gawn (c), 13 Clayton Oliver, 36 Kysaiah Pickett
I/C: 4 James Harmes, 6 Luke Jackson, 32 Tom Sparrow, 44 Joel Smith
EMG: 2 Nathan Jones, 14 Michael Hibberd, 18 Jake Melksham, 23 James Jordon
NO CHANGE
Brisbane Lions
B: 27 Darcy Gardiner, 31 Harris Andrews, 37 Brandon Starcevich
HB: 10 Daniel Rich, 24 Marcus Adams, 14 Grant Birchall
C: 7 Jarrod Berry, 33 Zac Bailey, 6 Hugh McCluggage
HF: 15 Dayne Zorko (c), 25 Daniel McStay, 11 Lincoln McCarthy
F: 23 Charlie Cameron, 3 Joe Daniher, 12 Nakia Cockatoo
FOL: 46 Oscar McInerney, 17 Jarryd Lyons, 9 Lachie Neale
I/C: 5 Mitch Robinson, 18 Keidean Coleman, 20 Jaxon Prior, 21 Tom Fullarton
EMG: 13 Tom Berry, 36 Rhys Mathieson, 38 Connor Ballenden, 40 Jack Payne
IN: Harris Andrews, Mitch Robinson
OUT: Callum Ah Chee, Ryan Lester
Copuchas
Roar Rookie
So apt that you share a surname with our esteemed former Governor General who provided that much needed stability during our 1975 constitutional crisis. I hope it's a constant reminder for you as will be the upcoming era of Demon dominance. Long may Carlton wallow in the cellar of the AFL!
Dave
Roar Rookie
Well that didn’t happen. Back to the drawing board mate, sry but the bombers suck at finals!
Cloak
Roar Rookie
You don't have to like every other club. But you also don't have to log on here after a Melbourne win to post that you don't like us, or that you'll "give the game away" if we win it. Just because you think it, doesn't mean you need to say it. NB: I say "log in", but I notice you're a "Guest", not a signed in member whose previous posts can be read.
Alchemist
Roar Rookie
Carlton's problem , which you seem to be ignoring, is that this board is typically Carlton. The Blues still haven't left the 80s. They still think they can just buy premierships and results should just come overnight. News flash, there's a lot more to footy now than brown paper bags. Pretty much everyone has clued on to this except the old dark navy blues.
Alchemist
Roar Rookie
No wonder he's jaded :laughing:
O M
Roar Rookie
You're spot on Nics....the Cats game-plan just doesn't work in a Finals environment. Seems strange that almost everyone else in the football world can see this except Scotty. The Cats need to change the game-plan or change the Coach.
O M
Roar Rookie
But I wouldn't say that 3121 is obnoxious though!
O M
Roar Rookie
Really mature attitude.....grow up and move on!
DarwinDee
Guest
They do this in finals a lot though I've noticed when the games effectively over. You watch, Essendon or the dogs will be spoken about the same way Melbourne and Port have been if either team gets a break in the last 7 or so mins
DarwinDee
Guest
He took a tall forward. Fritch kicked 4 as a result. Both Brown and McDonald did their jobs.
DarwinDee
Guest
Maybe you just know that if Melbourne win this year and you exclude the 3 franchise teams that have yet to claim a flag Carlton has only St Kilda ahead of them on the drought ladder... by the way I live in Darwin not Toorak. I'm a tradie not a lawyer. I drive a beat up Triton not a swish range rover that's only seen bitumen. I've been to the snow twice in 42 years despite growing up in the shadows of Mt Bulla. I flunked state high school and have never even seen the inside of a private school. I imajin you however are the epitome of a Carlton stereotype.
nics
Roar Rookie
Well look - the Dees are Premiership favourites, Richmond (!) have won 3 of the last 4 Premierships and the GF has left Victoria 2 years in a row. The end times are nigh. Having said that though Carlton are still a burning dumpster fire and Freo have flattered to disappoint again so perhaps not.
Yattuzzi
Roar Rookie
Gees Nicks I am concerned when I agree with a WC boy.
nics
Roar Rookie
No apologies needed - the eagles were bambi this season (not sure what the plural is - may need Don Freo the english teacher to fill us in). Geelong couldn't play worse, but they should improve and beat GWS next week, especially after Toby's (multiple) brain farts. Then Melbourne? I think Scott's well-manicured game plan needs a bit of chaos ball - Rats is the man given he doesn't even know where he's kicking it himself, and throws himself about into a contest. He should just be instructed to kick 50m at every opportunity - I get nervous when he tries to pick out a 20m pass (same feeling every time Nic Nat tries to kick it).
Yattuzzi
Roar Rookie
How many times do I need to apologise about the Bambi comment? Cats were not good, hopefully they kick in next week.
Peter the Scribe
Roar Guru
Who cares even if it was true? You could call the Pies 1990 or 2010 flags ordinary sides and I wouldn’t care in any way. A cup is a cup . They are hard to get. Enjoy them when they come.
nics
Roar Rookie
Pretty much like 2 v 3 last night eh... expected (ok I'll stop now)
nics
Roar Rookie
While we're in the land of fantasy I guess yes the full strength 1994 Eagles team would probably destroy the full strength 2018 Richmond team. Pity we're in the real world and both West Coast and Richmond didn't make finals, and some of us are able to recognise that there are some pretty decent teams here. Well done Melbourne and Port.
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
I was until 91. Yes I imagine there are a few.
Pope Paul VII
Roar Rookie
Weideman's gunna be busy, playing for 17 clubs next year apparently.