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Just got home from the ground. My parents are both in their 70’s and travelled a couple of hours to come stay with me and go to the game. The Demons give us a reason to be together and a common passion. To see my mum and dad hugging strangers after the siren was the best thing I’ve seen all year. And then to walk out of the ground as supporters kept singing the song was magical. It’s only a game, except when it’s not. Thanks Dees. I’ll never forget that. I owe you one.

Watched the game with my wife and our 3 day old daughter, Remi, in a private room in the mat ward. It’s fair to say I will never ever forget this game. We had absolutely lost that game, until we won it. Melk’s mark and goal was immense. Signing up Remi as soon as I finish reading some of the threads here - she’ll be a Demon for life.

The goal from Viney was the single most important turning point. His will to compete and win is outstanding. A great leader.

I’m off to U/8’s in Lions heartland this morning, wearing my demons jumper…. I cannot wait for the comments

Jack Viney’s goal is the perfect example of why he’s first picked every week. He ripped that ball out of McInerney’s grasp like a Lion taking food from a Hyena. He then slots it on his non preferred. In 53 years of watching football I’ve never seen anything like it. He’s a beast and I love him for that. I can’t believe I ever criticised him. That was the most fun I’ve had at the footy in years. I was up and about, loud and proud and just sensed a comeback. Anyway now for Adelaide.

Third quarter. Brisbane kick their 5th goal for the quarter. My mate (a St Kilda supporter) and I head outside so he can have a vape. I've seen enough. We chat about who fills the top 8 outside of the top 3. We can't settle on list. I hear the crowd roar. "Brisbane has kicked another," I quipped. No, it was Kozzie. Another roar. "Surely that was Brisbane?" Right I was. Hipwood. And again, a roar. "Damn... Brisbane?" No: it was Gawn. "Okay... Okay. Are we on?" Roar. "Again!" Alas, a Brisbane goal. Roar. "What is going on? Who was that?" Another Petracca goal. We head inside for the final quarter. Shortly after the quarter starts, Daniher, having an annoyingly good game, kicks a goal. "You're done," my mate tells me. "Yeah, obviously," I admit. 10 minutes pass, a Pickett goal. Five more minutes, and another. I joke to my mate. "There's five minutes left. We could do a Collingwood." He laughed. "I can't see it," he says. "Me neither," I say in defeat. A stoppage... or so I thought? "Viney...Viney... VINEY!" I proceed to absolutely lose my [censored]. "GAME ON. GAME OOOOON. LET'S GOOOOOOO." My mate, now on board, is slightly more optimistic. "You need this clearance," he says. "We have time," I snap back. "We got this." Kick. Stoppage. Kick. Stoppage. Kick....MILKSHAKE! "He's got it," my mate whispers. "He's got it," I whisper back. He lines it up. Cool. Calm. Collected. A little tap. A straight kick. "LIIIIIOOOOONNNNNSS," the drunk Melbourne supporter next to me starts chanting, jeering the surrounding Lions supporters who, merely 5 minutes earlier, had prematurely started their victory chant. "It's not over yet," I calmy said. "How much? HOW MUCH?!?" My new drunk friend was suddenly anxious. "33 seconds." The remaining seconds are a blur... Lever's mark/high free kick seals it. I lost my voice in the preceding seconds as the siren rang and A Grand Old Flag rang through the speakers. Hello world. I now have a raging sore throat and no voice.

We were taking the banner up the race ready to raise it. I was carrying a ‘grounding plate’ one of the two metal plates that spike into the turf into which the giant banner pole is inserted. This thing weighs a tonne and is very unwieldy. We never go onto the ground until every player has left the field after warmups. We were stopped at the top of the race and were told there was a player still on the field so we had to wait. That player was Melksy. Choco was directing him where to take set shots from and watching him intently. A couple of my comrades were antsy coz time limits and extremely heavy gear. Despite my arms and back screaming blue murder, I turned to one comrade and said, “All good, we don’t wanna rush Melksy. Him nailing his set shots tonight really matters.” My comrade did point out that I was just saying that because it was Melks, and he’s probably right, but I’m claiming it. I’m taking the credit. Y’all are welcome 😂 exit: also saw Chin and Brodie pregame in the race with some trainers. They were all in really good spirits. I yelled out “hey Chin!” and he laughed and waved and said, “hey! How’re goin?” The mood was awesome.

Viney kicked goal of the year talk about willing your team across the line wow

The only team to have beaten both Collingwood and Brisbane this year! ❤️💙

That's a Hipwood mark all day long. Clearly marked Levers head.

What I liked was that Jordon was trying to sacrifice himself and provide blocks for Trac at stoppages.

How good was Vineys goal when he basically ripped it out if the Lions players hand , did a spin and snapped it! Pure will power and strength. That gave us real belief and everyone grew another leg after that.

Only 39k but at the ground the dees fans were brilliant and super loud in the last quarter. I have zero doubt it was a big factor. Good work dees fans.

Super impressed with Melksham and Sparrow backing up last night with a visit to my son's Auskick this morning. Kudos to both and the MFC. ❤️

The Demons made a massive statement for the rest of the competition tonight and silenced the doubters defeating the Brisbane Lions by 1 point in a Top 4 clash in a blockbuster match at the MCG.

Lever was solid. Watch the replay. Bad, bad call.

Todd Viney was also in the rooms which was great to see. No BS from us about him being employed at North Melbourne and not being allowed in the rooms. Common sense prevails for once.

me for the rest of the weekend

Melksham gained Demon Folklore and my undying respect when he pulled down that fake Luke Jackson Freo jumper and piffed it on the ground in the race they ran out from. That's a Demon Heart there.

Trent Rivers is so so so good. His last 10 minutes was incredible. 1 v 1 he simply does not give up.

I'm a Smithy fan, but I prefer him up forward. I have to say he really is the ideal sub given how many positions he can cover.

Young woey’s first goal for the club was a beauty

We’re into our 6th ‘Grand old Flag’ on the train home. It’s packed. Song stops, it’s quiet(ish) after 10 seconds of cheering, then all of a sudden………....Iiiiiiiiittttttttt’ssssss a…………. Make that our 10th verse and for some reason no one is hopping off the train 🤪

This is the play that symbolised the last quarter. One team just wanted it more.

The biggest take out of last night is that Christian Petracca confirmed he is the best player in the league by a mile. Sublime skills, a joy to watch and a great man, were blessed to have him.

Took my wife to her first game in 4 years (2 kids later). We were THIS close to catching an early train home (our bedtime is usually 9:30/10pm 😂) but decided to wait and see. The 4 goal margin always felt reachable but unlikely. Well done All!!!! Absolutely stoked. That Viney goal.. My word!

So much for first to a hundred wins. Joe danihers dive should cop a fine.

That stripping of the ball by Viney and goal at the end was just beautiful. He's having his best year for our club so far. Heart and soul

ANB had the 6th most disposals for the dees and the 8th most on ground. He had 20 pressure points: our third highest and 7th on ground. Kicked a goal and had a goal assist. So "rarely sighted" is a bit harsh. Plays role continuously? Limited but industrious? Always gets involved? Contributed but flawed?

Trac was harassed all night, often illegally, but he stood up and took them on. What a star. What a game.

When the siren went I automatically looked at Goody's reaction & he and the players the bench were all in a group hug then goody ran out and hugged everyone. You can't deny the players just love him as a coach. By the way kudos to Joel Smith. Took some crucial marks and looked good down back

Jack Viney is our spiritual leader who never says die and will do anything to get us over the line

Trent Rivers take a bloody bow also. Took the game on and got things going!

There was a handball Tracc did, maybe in the 3rd, that if Nick Daicos did it the commentary box window would still be covered in ectoplasm. Barely rated a mention.

May and Melksham exchanged a huge emabrace on the ground after the game. It was lovely to see.

I like Jono Brown but him sooking it up on Fox after the game was

Bizarre thing happened to me tonight during that final quarter. I was screaming at the umpires, and all of a sudden I had a couple of security people at my row giving me eyeballs. I wasn’t swearing, nor was I being abusive. My voice wasn’t noticeably louder than anyone else’s. Just shouting like 38,000 other people, I think the phrase I was yelling at the time was “hopelessly inconsistent”. Pretty tame stuff. But the glaring continued, much to the bemusement of everyone around me, which is family and a bunch of friendly Dees who we’ve now sat with for years. It was clear no-one had complained. A few people started telling them to move on, and the game looked gone at that stage, so I really lost my cool. I kept shouting, but I was now facing the security guards, yelling that “I will barrack as loud as I want” etc. It genuinely looked like they were going to turf me, and I was goading them to do it, but without crossing the line. As I say, the whole thing was just bizarre. I probably acted like a bit of a goose but I wasn’t going to shut up because of some power-tripping security dudes - since when do we have to be quiet at the football? Wish they’d still been there at the end when I was celebrating!

Rivers huge in some final moments there. Thought it was ANBs best game this year despite some of his moments. Smith slotted in nicely in defence. He may have found a permanent spot as our sub with his versatility. Viney a beast. Petracca a star.

To think we traded Jackson, Jesse Hogan and some pick swaps for what has ended up Steven May, Tom Sparrow, Ed Langdon, Jefferson and potentially Picks 4 and 23. Fremantle - The gift that keeps on giving.

How about the contrast in celebration between Viney and Melksham for their respective goals. Viney gives a couple of low fives, nods to his teammates and strides back to the middle. Already focused on the next play. Melksham goes straight to the Dees fans with fist in the air. Wants the adrenaline shot and buzz from the roar and interaction with the crowd. No less focused on the play by the time it resumes, but needs that kick of energy first. I love both. Neither are right or wrong, just indicative of different player personalities.

My wife had the laptop last night, watching some carp on Netflix, so I finally get a chance this morning to do the important thing - get onto Demonland! There is a part of me that still cannot believe we won that. We are a very mentally tough team. To be totally beaten up for 2 quarters, and looking unlikely to break the game open, only to emerge in the 4th quarter with a fire in the belly. Viney and Rivers were raging bulls in the last quarter and set the tone. Good to see Kozzie much closer to his best. I cannot stress how important he is. Leave Trac playing 60% forward, and leave Brayshaw in the middle. Love this setup. Trace kicking for goal when he is not exhausted from midfield running makes his set shots soooo much better. I was wrong - Melksham and Smith in the same 23 CAN work. Smith was very important in the last quarter and showed a real swing man/utility vibe. Our backline was beaten for much of the night. That doesn't happen often. Lions half back line murdered us, and we had no answer until we began wining the ball and denying them freedom in the last quarter. BBB and JVR - not great games but they presented time and time again and created opportunity after opportunity. Max - wow! Taj - that is an epic first goal. And lastly, our coach, Goody. Well done. Once again at the press conference, he showed his stubborn self belief in his program, his players and his plan. I know many Demonlanders get frustrated with his seeming lack of flexibility but I am not one of them. Our bad patches and losses are NOT about game plan, coaching box lethargy, lack of vision etc...

I thought JVR did a reasonable job of the back up ruckman.

some choice bigfooty quotes: We play to win to the end and only and I mean only, do we start saving a game when heat is really on and its in the dying minute....no more. Playing the saving game with approx 5 minutes to go was totally ridiculous and cost us. When the going got tough - Melbourne's leaders stood up, Gawn and Petraca took the bull by the horns, threw themselves into the battle and did the things that lifted their team mates, gave belief, showed it was possible. Well done them. When the going got tough - Lions leaders found holes and crawled into them, gave up, hid behind team mates and whinged. The most gutted I think I have ever felt after a loss. I feel like I need therapy Devastating loss. Will put me in a filthy mood for remainder of weekend. Maybe we need to start wearing Brisbane Lions colours at the MCG to get over the hoodoo. And rename it the 'Gabba. Fagan should expect some tough questions in the presser around what the gameplan was in that last qtr. He got absolutely nothing of the sort. As limp as you could imagine. Afl journalists are not real journalists let’s be honest. It's actually the opposite of reactionary. It's the status quo. We still can't get it done in big games away from home. We're still heading towards a 5th straight failed final serious. We still can't run out games. We still can't defend transition. We still go to sleep in the midfield 4.2 to 0.1 in the last 7 minutes. The opposite of clutch. And another psychologically scarring loss for this group to carry.

Trac is a lock for All-Australian, Viney isn’t far behind him. What a season Jack is having.

He’s just a born leader and warrior, never gives up. That goal was purely wanting it more than his opponents

Petracca after the game ‘Just want our supporters to turn up, we will do the rest’ Say no more… love it

how was that contest at the end by Rivers?! beat 3 had the guts to play on and kick long

Zorko still a [censored] head