The Gabba used to be plunged into darkness by way of an influence outage that halted play for nearly 40 mins to lengthen – and just about thwart – Brisbane’s march to an 11-point victory over Melbourne.
The Lions had been main by way of 40 issues with about 12 mins ultimate within the ultimate time period on Friday evening when the lighting went out.
A lone bulb stuck fireplace in a tower however energy used to be restored and play resumed ahead of the 60-minute bring to a halt that may have passed Brisbane victory.
The hosts prevailed 14.9 (93) to 13.4 (82) – and with a large sigh of aid after conceding 5 unanswered targets as soon as play resumed.
“What a night, seriously,” stated Brisbane trainer Chris Fagan, ahead of jokingly asking for to not be requested in regards to the ultimate 13 mins.
“We played so well for three-and-a-half quarters … we had them on the ropes.
“There’s nothing to lose for the team that’s behind in that situation so, psychologically, that was an advantage to them and they did it well.”
In eerie scenes, the players had stood on the ground for several minutes before heading inside as power slowly returned to the ground.
They reappeared about 30 minutes later to warm up and were suddenly back under way.
It was a confusing sequence of events but not the first time it’s happened at the Gabba, with a Big Bash League fixture in 2019 ended early by a power outage.
In 1996, disgruntled fans lit fires on the surface and in the stands of Waverley Park when a blackout forced St Kilda and Essendon’s clash to be completed a week later. Three years later, the MCG scoreboard caught fire.
There were calmer scenes at the Gabba, though, as 30,047 cheery fans broke into song waiting for a resumption.
Earlier, the Lions, still smarting after a first-round hiding from Port Adelaide, shot out of the gates with six first-quarter goals while Demons star Max Gawn left the game with a knee injury.
The ruckman cuts a devastated figure on the sideline and will wait for scans, hopeful of no long-term injury.
Steven May was ruled out of his calf injury return before the bounce and the Lions went in for the kill, Melbourne’s second-quarter resistance blown apart with two early third-quarter goals that looked to have sealed a win for Fagan’s side.
Brisbane upset the Demons in last year’s semi-final and Fagan was keen to show it was no “fluke”, especially after their slack Adelaide Oval effort last Saturday.
Playing at half-forward, Dayne Zorko (22 touches, two goals, eight inside 50s, four tackles) showed how important he remains to Brisbane after missing round one, while Cam Rayner was electric in defense and Will Ashcroft (31 touches) a midfield. jewel in his second AFL game.
Rayner, Lachie Neale and Josh Dunkley helped Brisbane blow the Demons apart in the clearances, winning 60–32 and collecting 26 between them.
Early pressure from Jarrod Berry helped restrict Clayton Oliver to one first-half clearance, but the Demons star still finished with 37 disposals.
Ben Brown (four goals) and Bailey Fritsch took their chances to get the Demons back within 20 points in the second quarter, but quick Charlie Cameron and Joe Daniher goals to begin the second half snuffed them out.
Teams went goal-for-goal early but the Lions exploded late in the first quarter, notching 14-straight inside 50s.
With the forlorn Gawn icing his knee in the dressing room, Zorko, Ashcroft, Oscar McInerney and Daniher (four goals) all hit the scoreboard to create an early 25-point lead.
“I love the will and the fight in our team,” said Demons coach Simon Goodwin.
“There’s a lot to take out of that last 12 minutes … but Brisbane beat us in a few areas that are really critical to the game.”