MELBOURNE has been handed a qualifying final defeat at the hands of Brisbane, going down by 13 points on Sunday afternoon.
With both sides desperate for a week off, and an express ticket to a preliminary final, it was the Lions who claimed the 9.2 (56) to 6.7 (43) victory on Ikon Park, despite a hot start from the home side.
Brisbane notably shook off its poor conversion of recent weeks to do the ultimate damage on the scoreboard.
It was Brisbane star Ally Anderson who put the Lions on her back, with 28 disposals, four clearances and a career-best two goals in a commanding performance.
Melbourne leading goalkicker Eden Zanker was ruled out of the contest early with a head knock, despite passing her head injury assessment, leaving Tayla Harris and Georgia Gall to battle it out as the side’s marking targets near goal.
Early in the piece, Melbourne defended the corridor beautifully. Every time Brisbane attempted to cut back into the dangerous central lane, the Demons closed it down and created an intercept to then get attacking themselves.
Tahlia Gillard (11 intercepts, 17 disposals) was a brick wall as the deepest option, and Eliza McNamara (27 disposals, 480 metres gained) was her usual hardworking self, getting back to support the defence, while the speed of Alyssa Bannan was important in creating that teasing distance to then close it down.
It took some time for the Lions to adjust to that work from the Dees, and establish a more effective way to transition the footy, but once that shift was made, it put some real pressure on Melbourne’s defence. In fact, each of the visitors’ first three goals came by way of clumsy free kicks close to goal, all within a four-minute period.
Kate Hore was the gamebreaker for Melbourne, with 10 first-quarter disposals resulting in a Cathy Svarc shadow for the remainder of the game. Svarc (10 disposals, seven tackles) did her job well, but in the moments that the Lion needed a breather, Hore got busy. The Demons captain finished with 31 disposals and eight clearances for the game, including the opening goal to tick over her 100-goal milestone.
Through the contest, Brisbane took back control of the game. There was a sense of Hore or bust for the Demons, while the Lions found balance in that space thanks to the work of Svarc, Anderson, Charlie Mullins (18 disposals, six clearances), and Belle Dawes (21 disposals, four clearances).
From there, moving the ball with speed kept Melbourne’s backline under the pump.
Brisbane will now have a fortnight to get All-Australian squad member Jennifer Dunne back to full fitness, after a tweak to her right knee left her proppy for much of the game.
The curious case of Eden
In the second term, Melbourne’s 2025 leading goalkicker Eden Zanker was helped from the field after an awkward collision in which her face made contact with Eleanor Hartill’s shoulder. Her teeth and jaw were checked, and she underwent a head injury assessment before returning to the field. Soon after, however, Zanker came from the ground again, and was ruled out of the game from there. The club confirmed that she passed her SCAT, but with an abundance of caution, Zanker would take no further part in the contest. Questions will now arise around Zanker’s eligibility to front up in next week’s semi-final under the AFL’s concussion protocols.
Horror patch for Taylor
Saraid Taylor has been a good news story for Melbourne this year, helping to lead an understrength backline while waiting for players to get back to full fitness, but there was a five-minute patch in the second quarter that she would no doubt rather forget. Just as Melbourne was defending admirably, making life exceptionally difficult for Brisbane’s forwards to find any calm time close to goal, Taylor clumsily tapped the ball over the boundary, handing a free kick to Dakota Davidson. Davidson kicked truly, only for it to be followed up by another quick forward entry from the Lions, where Taylor gave away another free kick, which Ellie Hampson used to kick Brisbane’s second.
Hore 100
The race to become the first 100-goal player was won last week by Gemma Houghton, but the leader for much of the year has been Melbourne captain Kate Hore. Playing out of her skin early in Sunday’s clash with Brisbane, Hore passed off a chance at goal, and missed another, before the moment presented itself thanks to a disorganised Lions defence. Kicking truly, she finally surpassed the milestone. She was met with minimal fanfare, as the mission for Melbourne was clear: earning that week off with a win was the No.1 priority.
Up next
Brisbane has now earned the week off to prepare for a preliminary final berth, while Melbourne will turn its eye toward hosting the winner of Adelaide and St Kilda’s elimination final taking place later on Sunday afternoon.
MELBOURNE 2.3 2.4 3.6 6.7 (43)
BRISBANE 0.1 3.1 6.2 9.2 (56)
GOALS
Melbourne: Wotherspoon, Mahony, Hore, Harris, Gall, Bannan
Brisbane: Hampson 2, Anderson 2, Postlethwaite, Mullins, Hodder, Dooley, Davidson
BEST
Melbourne: Hore, Mackin, Gillard, McNamara, Paxman
Brisbane: Anderson, Koenen, Davidson, Hampson, Campbell, Mullins
INJURIES
Melbourne: Zanker (head knock), Mackin (right ankle)
Brisbane: Dunne (right knee)
Reports: Nil
Crowd: 3,711 at Ikon Park
