Match

Brisbane Lions vs Melbourne

Commentary / 18 May 2025

Pre Game

00:00
Brisbane were victorious by five points when these teams last met, in round 16, 2024. Josh Dunkley, Lachie Neale and Hugh McCluggage combined for 89 disposals, including 16 clearances and 15 inside-50s in that clash, while Kysaiah Pickett bagged five goals for the Demons. Pickett averages 2.6 goals per game in his eight appearances against the Lions—his highest against any opponent.

Quarter 1

00:00
Q1 is now underway.
00:57
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Jake Melksham)
02:21
SCORE BEHIND - Lions (Will Ashcroft)
02:38
SCORE GOAL - Lions (Jaspa Fletcher)
03:04
The Lions opened their scoring after an intercept in the defensive 50, moving the ball the length of the ground before registering a behind. They then created a turnover inside 50 from the ensuing kick-in to score their first goal.
07:21
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Harrison Petty)
09:12
SCORE GOAL - Lions (Hugh McCluggage)
09:34
Max Gawn is the first-ever ruckman to average 25-plus disposals, 15-plus contested possessions, and 10-plus score involvements over a four-game period. He has opened this game strongly, with four disposals, three contested possessions and one score involvement already.
10:53
SCORE GOAL - Lions (Callum Ah Chee)
12:37
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Kysaiah Pickett)
14:01
Kysaiah Pickett attended the centre bounce for the first three bounces of the game; however, he has now pushed forward, where he takes a contested mark and converts his set shot for a goal. Narrm have scored both of their goals from stoppage chains.
16:19
SCORE BEHIND - Lions (Harris Andrews)
16:59
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Rushed)
18:32
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Tom McDonald)
18:50
Key defenders Harris Andrews and Tom McDonald have each had opportunities to hit the scoreboard in recent minutes, both receiving 50-metre penalties that brought them into scoring range. McDonald converted his kick for a goal—his first of the season.
21:51
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Rushed)
24:24
SCORE GOAL - Lions (Logan Morris)
25:15
Zac Bailey is up to 10 disposals early in this game, with seven uncontested possessions and four handball receives. He also has three score involvements—the most of any player.
26:14
SCORE GOAL - Lions (Logan Morris)
26:20
Narrm lead clearances 9–7 and centre bounce clearances 6–2, but both teams have scored two goals from stoppages and one each from centre bounce clearances. Brisbane are making the most of their clearance opportunities so far.
27:43
SCORE BEHIND - Lions (Dayne Zorko)
30:04
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Kade Chandler)
31:04
SCORE GOAL - Lions (Eric Hipwood)
31:46
The Lions have scored 4.3 (27) from chains starting in their defensive half, while Melbourne have only 0.2 (2) from that position.
34:09
Hugh McCluggage had 11 disposals in the first quarter, including four inside 50s and four score involvements, one of which was a goal for himself. He has 10 uncontested possessions, easily a game high.

Quarter 2

00:00
Q2 is now underway.
00:42
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Kysaiah Pickett)
01:22
SCORE BEHIND - Lions (Charlie Cameron)
02:21
Clayton Oliver secures the first clearance of the second quarter. He has been head-to-head with Lachie Neale for most of the game. When matched up, Oliver has seven disposals, while Neale has six.
02:48
SCORE GOAL - Lions (Darcy Gardiner)
06:37
SCORE BEHIND - Lions (Callum Ah Chee)
08:09
Dayne Zorko now has a game-high 10 kicks for the game. He is averaging a league-leading 22.2 kicks per game this season.
10:50
Jake Melksham kicks his second goal of the game. He has played directly against Harris Andrews throughout. Melksham has five disposals, two goals, and three score involvements. Andrews has three disposals and is yet to take a mark in this game.
14:06
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Kade Chandler)
14:55
The Demons are plus 17 in attacking midfield scores, this time forcing a turnover before sending the ball back inside 50. Kade Chandler finishes the play with a clever snap.
15:27
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Trent Rivers)
18:07
SCORE GOAL - Lions (Darcy Gardiner)
19:18
The Lions have scored 5.2 (32) from defensive midfield chains, and are plus 25 against the Demons in this area. Keidean Coleman was involved in this chain. He has 10 disposals, five rebound 50s, two score involvements, and 322 metres gained in his long-awaited return from injury.
19:22
SCORE BEHIND - Lions (Eric Hipwood)
20:34
SCORE BEHIND - Lions (Charlie Cameron)
27:28
Clayton Oliver has now amassed 10 disposals in this quarter, including three inside 50s. He has five contested possessions this term—a team high—while his four clearances are the most of any player in the quarter.
28:59
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Trent Rivers)
31:49
The stats sheet shows an evenly matched game. Narrm are plus 1 in disposals. The Lions are plus 2 in inside 50s, while Narrm hold a slight advantage of plus 4 in clearances. However, the Lions have been more dangerous when attacking, scoring 5.5 (35) from turnovers, while restricting Narrm to 3.3 (21) from the same source.

Quarter 3

00:00
Q3 is now underway.
01:03
SCORE GOAL - Lions (Logan Morris)
01:40
The Lions score the first goal of the second half via a centre bounce clearance—their second goal from this source today. They have outscored Narrm from this source despite trailing centre bounce clearances 11–6.
05:36
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Tom Sparrow)
09:12
SCORE BEHIND - Lions (Josh Dunkley)
10:00
Josh Dunkley averages 28.2 disposals from nine career games against Narrm—his highest average against any team. He has reached 20 disposals in this game, including a game-high 14 handballs.
10:02
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Kysaiah Pickett)
11:46
Clayton Oliver's 14 disposals last week was his lowest total since round four, 2016, his fourth career game. He has an equal game-high 20 disposals today. His five inside 50s are also a game-high.
12:07
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Harry Sharp)
15:59
SCORE GOAL - Lions (Darcy Gardiner)
16:26
Darcy Gardiner has kicked a career-high third goal. He has kicked multiple goals only once previously in his 169 career games, bagging two against the Gold Coast Suns in round eight, 2024.
18:03
SCORE BEHIND - Lions (Logan Morris)
20:02
SCORE GOAL - Lions (Zac Bailey)
22:41
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Clayton Oliver)
22:57
Narrm's substitute, Bayley Fritsch, has entered the game and gets a goal assist, with his handball setting up a Clayton Oliver goal. Fritsch has scored 26 goals against the Lions in his career, the most he has scored against any opponent.
26:12
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Jake Melksham)
26:22
Jake Melksham kicks his third goal. The Demons have kicked the last two goals. They have been unable to score more than two consecutive goals at any stage throughout this match, scoring two in a row on three occasions.
30:15
The Lions lead the inside 50s 14–10 for the quarter, as both teams have kicked four goals for the term. While trailing the inside 50 count for the quarter, Narrm have taken four inside 50 marks against the Lions’ two for the term.
30:38
SCORE GOAL - Lions (Darcy Gardiner)
32:59
Lachie Neale found more space in the third term, amassing 11 disposals and reaching 26 for the game. Neale and Clayton Oliver continue to go head-to-head for large periods. Oliver has 21 disposals.

Quarter 4

00:00
Q4 is now underway.
00:28
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Jake Melksham)
01:31
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Kysaiah Pickett)
02:03
Narrm miss two opportunities for a goal inside the first two minutes of the final quarter. The Demons have a goal-kicking accuracy of just 42.5% this season – ranked last.
05:48
SCORE BEHIND - Lions (Rushed)
09:17
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Jake Melksham)
10:25
Jake Melksham's goal is the first the Demons have kicked from more than 40 metres from goal in today's game. The Lions have had their opponents kick 13 goals from outside 50 this season – the equal-most in the competition, but the Demons have done their damage from much closer today.
10:56
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Bayley Fritsch)
13:04
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Kysaiah Pickett)
14:20
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Harrison Petty)
15:03
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Aidan Johnson)
16:02
Narrm kick their third consecutive goal, their first time kicking more than two goals in a row, and have taken a handy seven-point lead, their first lead since the opening quarter. The Lions have led for over 100 minutes but are trailing deep into this game.
17:20
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Bayley Fritsch)
19:10
Narrm have generated nine scoring shots, including four goals, from 11 inside 50s in the final quarter. Brisbane have just one behind from their six entries.
19:51
Brisbane have laid only three tackles in the final quarter as the Demon's have piled on four goals and stretched their lead.
20:22
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Xavier Lindsay)
21:07
SCORE GOAL - Lions (Conor McKenna)
21:36
Conor McKenna, recently activated as the sub, kicks a goal with his first touch for the game. Brisbane end a streak of four unanswered goals against them.
27:29
Max Gawn has taken three contested marks in the game, all of them coming in the last five minutes, as the Demons look to shut out this game.
28:38
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Christian Petracca)
29:50
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Kysaiah Pickett)
29:54
After trailing at all three breaks, the Demons stormed home to claim a gutsy 11-point victory. The Demons kicked six of the last eight goals and did a lot of their damage in the front half, scoring 9.8 (62) from chains starting in their front half, while the Lions kicked only 2.4 (16) from their forward half.