Melbourne vs Brisbane

LIONS SHOCK: Dees OUT in straight sets after wild comeback to continue 'ridiculous' finals.

But it was the Lions again that had the answers including a Zac Bailey set shot to put Melbourne under real pressure. They looked far more threatening and they’re back in the contest,” Saints great Nick Riewoldt told Fox Footy at three-quarter time. Brisbane came out, they lifted their intensity and urgency with the ball. “That last play just about sums up the first half. everything pointed to them getting belted at 28 points down, 10 seconds before half-time and the nightmare was going to continue And then in the matter of two minutes the Demons came right back with their own consecutive goals to set up for an epic end to the game. Clayton Oliver and Jarrod Berry maintained the heated nature of the game by going at it on the turf, with the latter appearing to attempt to gouge the Dees star’s eye in an incident that could be looked at by the MRO. Brisbane really turned up the heat in the third term, kicking the opening two goals including a Cameron special to make it three in a row overall for the visitors. In a sigh of relief for the Lions Cameron returned to the contest later in the quarter from his injury scare. Neither side could gain momentum for the rest of the term in a real arm wrestle at the MCG with plenty of heat on the ball. The Lions really cranked up their pressure in the second half including a 214 pressure rating and looked a completely different side that were dog hungry for the result to overawe Melbourne. Trailing by as much as 28 points during the first half, a Joe Daniher-less Lions outfit used a six-goal third quarter to come charging back in the game, before Brisbane had all the answers in the final term to stun the Demons on their home turf.

Follow along for all the big moments and post-game reactions as the Demons and Lions battle it out for a preliminary final spot.

I would love to be able to give you the answer as to be able to give you the answer as to why - I can’t say I know... The transformation in the levels of desperation, it’s a time, you expect them to be desperate anyway. We kicked into gear, we were in the game at half-time we gave our group a fair bit of confidence. Q: I want to ask you about the rise and the pressure, early on Melbourne had so much space. Melbourne’s second halves this year have not always been the best, so we were aware of that, so we gave ourselves a chance at half-time and we played a brilliant second half. ..I thought we were in a little bit of trouble early, Melbourne were all over us.

The Brisbane Lions have booked their spot into a preliminary final showdown against Geelong after taking down the reigning premiers.

If the Lions make it through, Berry may well be watching the final from the sidelines. It's one-way traffic in the premiership quarter with the Demons failing to capitalise with their chances, the Lions have continually cut them open through the middle of the ground and have cashed in on their end. The Brisbane Lions have kicked five in a row to close the margin to a single point. But just as the Demons looked like they had grabbed the momentum, the Lions bit back in the final minute and a half to kick two of their own and leave it all tied up with one quarter to play. Harrison Petty being thrust forward has turned this game on its head. Out of the very next centre clearance the Lions streaked forward and Zac Bailey sprung out the back and put the sealer on it as the margin blew out to 20 points.

Brisbane have upstaged the Demons at their own home ground to reach the AFL preliminary finals.

“The character our group showed, I thought we were under the pump in the first quarter, we found a way to hang in there, and then just played with such dare in the second half. “We started moving the ball a bit better, started believing in each other, we had a little bit of momentum, we made it count.” “I think we got a bit of belief,” Berry said of the second half.

The Lions stunned the Demons in a huge semi-final upset at the MCG.

Dan McStay and Zac Bailey kicked truly either side of an Angus Brayshaw goal, before Hipwood's marauding run teed up Cameron to snap his third and seemingly settle the result. But, showing the type of dogged determination it had lacked in previous games against Melbourne this year, Brisbane responded to the successive setbacks. Harrison Petty and Ed Langdon, two of Melbourne's better performers, did induce a nervous ending when they each hit the target in the dying minutes. As the Lions edged closer, Petracca's distinct hobble intensified and forced him to spend extended periods on the bench. That was until Bayley Fritsch and Kysaiah Pickett kicked back-to-back goals with time ticking away in the half in a bruising body blow for the Lions. Finding itself 23 points up almost instantly, Melbourne enjoyed nine of the first 10 scoring shots and perhaps should have led by more to justify its complete control over the contest. Encouraged by their opposition's early profligacy, the Lions grabbed a foothold in the contest. A remarkable second-half fightback resulted in the most hardened and impressive of 13-point semi-final wins, sending Brisbane into a preliminary final against Geelong and bundling reigning premier Melbourne out in straight sets. The narrative was writing itself. A pair of brain fades from Jake Lever, first pushing the ball out of bounds and then refusing to give it back, put McStay to the goal line and confirmed their fate once and for all. [How the Dees slid out of September](https://www.afl.com.au/news/838773/from-unbelievable-to-inconceivable-how-the-dees-slid-out-of-september) The Lions kicked 12 of the final 17 goals having fallen into their early deficit, with midfield stars Lachie Neale (26 disposals, 10 clearances), Jarrod Berry (26 disposals, eight marks) and Hugh McCluggage (25 disposals, one goal) lifting the side with tough and inspired performances.

Lachie Neale started winning the footy, Eric Hipwood and Daniel McStay combined beautifully, and Harris Andrews again made those who doubted his defensive ...

A last-minute goal to Callum Ah Chee narrowed the gap, but the Lions had plenty of work to do. However, after the main break, a shrewd move to send Jarrod Berry to Clayton Oliver saw Brisbane come to life. Lachie Neale started winning the footy, Eric Hipwood and Daniel McStay combined beautifully, and Harris Andrews again made those who doubted his defensive prowess STFU with a dominant spoiling performance.

The young guns of Brisbane stood up, with Eric Hipwood, Hugh McCluggage and Jarrod Berry stepping up when it mattered most. Plus Brisbane's list boss might ...

Had a lot of the ball in the second term trying to set the Lions up off half-back. As expected went to Ben Brown and took the points. Pulled off a strong mark and goal at the start of the quarter before nailing a crunch set-shot and nailing a buzzer-beater for his fourth of the match. Applied a terrific tackle on Trent Rivers just before three quarter-time that set up Eric Hipwood for his fourth goal, before giving the Lions the lead at the start of the fourth term with his own goal. Then snapped a ripper goal late in the fourth term to give Brisbane breathing space to finish with three for the night. Pulled off an intercept mark then a terrific field kick in the second term that set up a Brisbane score opportunity and broke the trend of Lions defenders just bombing the ball forward. Fluffed an easy set-shot opportunity from directly in front in the opening quarter. Was a constant threat throughout the game and constantly drove the Lions inside 50. Worked up the ground as the high half-forward. A big game from the veteran — in fact his best final ever. Got even better in the last, running on top of the ground when everyone else had stopped. Even floated back into defence to give the backline a chop-out.

Brisbane had a fair few monkeys on its back heading into Friday night's semi-final, but managed to shake them all off.

He still had a match-high 16 disposals by the main break and two critical contested ball wins in the middle of the ground led to a Bayley Fritsch goal in the third. Dan McStay won a holding the ball free kick just 25m from goal, but as the ball spilled free Hipwood gathered and snapped on his right, barely before the siren rung. With Joe Daniher a game-day scratching to be with his partner for the birth of their first child, even more onus fell on Eric Hipwood – and the lanky forward delivered in spades. After rupturing his ACL last July, Hipwood returned to senior footy in round nine this year, and after some slow periods through the season, has more than justified the faith of Brisbane's coaching staff with seven goals in two finals. The Lions hadn't won at the MCG since 2014, they hadn't beaten Melbourne in their last four attempts, and prior to this finals series they had a 1-5 record in September under Chris Fagan. Berry was magnificent, not only slowing Oliver's influence down, but proving a driving force for the victors, finishing with 26 disposals and six score involvements.