Round 18 is here and we're taking on the Melbourne Demons at the MCG!

Who: Melbourne Demons vs Brisbane Lions
Where: MCG
When: Friday 14th July at 7:50pm (local)
Gates Open: 6:00pm

LIONS SHOP

Lions Shop will be outside Gate 1 from 6pm, come find us to grab the latest Brisbane Lions merch! Make sure to rug up for tonights game with a BL scarf & beanie! Plan what you're going to buy by looking at our online shop here.

General Public On sale: BUY TICKETS HERE

GETTING TO THE MCG

Find your best way to get to the MCG with our journey planner and transport option tools. For information on public transport, pedestrian access, taxi ranks and more, click here.

PARKING

General public parking is available for this match. Click here for parking information and continue to check regularly for updates.

Parking for disability permit holders can be pre-booked via Ticketek here.

Watch: Live on Seven and Fox Footy or stream on Kayo.

With the Lions surging towards victory and holding a 40-point advantage midway through the final quarter, power to the whole stadium was cut, pitching the players into darkness and the stadium into chaos. Lachie Neale (27 and eight clearances) and Josh Dunkley (26 and nine clearances) also had big impacts as Brisbane won the clearance count decisively (60-32).

BRISBANE                6.2       8.4       13.5     14.9 (93)
MELBOURNE            2.1       5.2       7.3       13.4 (82)

GOALS 
Brisbane: Daniher 4, Zorko 2, Cameron 2, Bailey 2, McInerney, Berry, McCarthy, Ashcroft
Melbourne: Brown 4, Fritsch 3, Petracca, Oliver, Neale-Bullen, McDonald, Hunter, Chandler

BEST 
Brisbane: Zorko, Ashcroft, Neale, Andrews, Dunkley, Daniher, McKenna
Melbourne: Oliver, Lever, Brayshaw, Fritsch, Brown

Two late goals from Jake Melksham as part of a four-goal burst in less than seven minutes has seen Melbourne come from nowhere to consign Brisbane to yet another MCG defeat, this time by just a single point.

Melksham's second goal of the night, a pinpoint set shot with just 33 seconds remaining, capped off a stunning late Demons surge and saw them take the lead for the first time since late in the first half.

With the Dees up by a point as the clock ticked down, Jake Lever and Eric Hipwood appeared to simultaneously mark the footy on the Lions' forward 50 arc as the siren sounded. But the umpire awarded the mark to the Dees defender, much to Hipwood's dismay, to break Lion hearts.

The Demons had trailed by 24 points with just 7:08 remaining before goals to Kozzy Pickett, Melksham, Jack Viney and Melksham again sealed the barely believable result.

Both teams jumped out to leads of at least 25 points at various stages of the night, but it was Melksham – who started the game in awfully shaky fashion, booting one out on the full, dropping a mark and hitting the post – who was ultimately the hero in the 16.9 (105) to 16.8 (104) victory.

The Lions were 28 points ahead in the third quarter but, much as they did earlier this year in the infamous lights-out game between the pair, went into their shells while the Dees finished full of running.

Some young gun magic from Will Ashcroft and Jaspa Fletcher helped strike crucial blows, Hugh McCluggage worked overtime to control the tempo of the game, and then it was Melbourne's turn to fail to capitalise on inside 50s.

Having taken a one-point lead into the main break, Brisbane's midfield kicked into gear in earnest, led by Lachie Neale.

The Brownlow medallist had a tough first half, recording just six disposals, but won the first two clearances of the third term and set Jack Gunston up for his second major as the Lions piled on four straight goals.

Melbourne's fearsome defence struggled to have an impact aerially after the first quarter, with the Lions' sharp ball-movement spreading the Demons thin, leaving them unable to intercept across the second and third terms.

'Jazzcroft' set to dominate for years to come
Jaspa Fletcher and Will Ashcroft kicked two key goals in the Lions' second-quarter comeback, an exciting combination known on social media as 'Jazzcroft'. Fletcher's major was simply superb. Running with his back to the flight of the ball, he marked overhead without contacting Lachie Hunter, sped off and slotted truly from 40m.

Tight in the top four
Brisbane blew a chance to give itself a nice buffer in third position and would have sat three games clear of the Demons in fourth if they'd managed to hold on. Instead, Melbourne now just sits one game behind the Lions and has kept its own four-point (at least) advantage on Essendon and St Kilda, a gap that could sit at two games if both the Saints and Bombers lose this weekend.