An influence outage attributable to an explosion pressured play to cease for greater than half an hour, earlier than Melbourne exploded into life to offer fellow premiership contenders Brisbane an almighty scare.
The Lions led by 40 factors with 12 minutes remaining of their Friday evening blockbuster earlier than two of 4 light-towers burst into flames and plunged the GABBA taking part in floor into darkness.
Gamers had been taken off the bottom and into the rooms throughout the 38-minute delay earlier than play continued and not using a scoreboard and with one light-tower nonetheless effected.
A red-hot Melbourne then kicked 5 straight targets after the sudden break to shave the margin again to only 11 factors — 14.9 (93) to 13.4 (82).
However the harm had already been completed, with a clearance masterclass from No. 1 draft decide Will Ashcroft and prized recruit Josh Dunkley main the Lions to a bounce-back victory.
To make issues worse for the Demons, star captain Max Gawn is about for scans tomorrow after being subbed out within the first quarter with a knee damage.
The Lions dominated forward-half stoppages, with the electrical Charlie Cameron kicking two targets and key ahead Joe Daniher booting 4.
Midfield bull Clayton Oliver made a case for high Brownlow votes with a 37-disposal, 9 deal with effort dragging his staff again into the sport.
League officers had been desperate to resume play, however Brisbane chief government Greg Swann was concerned in heated discussions, with guidelines stipulating the Lions’ victory would have stood given greater than half the sport had been performed.
It comes as the enduring venue awaits a significant redevelopment for the 2032 Olympics, with Premier Anastacia Palaszczuk admitting it was “reaching the top of its life”.
The Demons will now sweat on the outcomes of Gawn’s scans, with their all-star ruck mixture of the six-time All-Australian and new teammate Brodie Grundy now in jeopardy.
Goodwin instructed reporters he was “uncertain” on the severity of his captain’s damage, though it seems unlikely he will probably be match to face Sydney in one other crunch conflict subsequent week.
The Demons boss additionally mentioned the membership’s expertise in a lightning-effected sport towards West Coast at Optus Stadium in 2021 helped put together them for the expertise.
