Round 14, 2008
Melbourne vs Brisbane Lions
Sunday, 29 June
Venue: MCG
Attendance: 23,278
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Melbourne | 5.4 | 6.6 | 9.8 | 14.9.93 |
| Brisbane Lions | 2.3 | 5.9 | 7.12 | 13.14.92 |
Melbourne win by 1 point
Goalkickers: Brad Miller 4, Colin Sylvia 4, Cameron Bruce 2, Austin Wonaeamirri 2, Matthew Bate 1, Brad Green 1
Brownlow votes:
3 - Brad Green
2 - Paul Wheatley
1 - Chris Johnson
Coaches votes:
8 - Brad Green
5 - Chris Johnson
4 - Brad Miller
1 - Paul Wheatley
Milestones:
Rising Star nominee - Colin Garland
First Game
Stefan Martin
With only one win on the board in 13 weeks, Melbourne led at every change before collapsing in the final term and seemingly throwing victory away. They had enjoyed some luck during the day, Brisbane gave away one shot at goal when a physio ran across the mark, and another for an incorrect interchange, but failed to convert either opportunity.
Despite Melbourne showing a level of intensity well above their lowly position on the ladder, the game looked dead and buried when the Lions opened up an eleven point lead deep into the last quarter. The Demons recovered, and a Cameron Bruce goal with just under two minutes left put them within one straight kick. Brad Miller was the hero when he marked strongly in front of goal and converted to put the home side in front.
The ball spent the last thirty seconds camped in the Brisbane forward line with a succession of stoppages. Eventually Austin Wonaeamirri extracted the footy and took off on a run down the members side wing with no players in front of him and ran down the clock much to the delight of his father who was visiting from the Tiwi Islands and watching the game in the crowd with President Jim Stynes.
Green, Whelan and Miller were best. Brock McLean aggravated an existing ankle injury in the first quarter, but returned to the field later in the game.
Dean Bailey said "To our guys' credit they decided they didn't want to lose. They wanted to do everything they could to win the game".
Video
Media
Age - 30/06/2008