Demons cling on for epic win over Lions as Freo makes light work of Eagles

Topic:AFL

Melbourne stunned Brisbane after half time. (Getty Images: Daniel Pockett/AFL Photos)

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Melbourne has clung on to record a thrilling two-point victory over Brisbane, after an epic tussle that featured ten lead changes.

The Demons fought back from a 17-point second-quarter deficit before weathering a late Lions storm to triumph 16.8 (104) to 15.12 (102) at headquarters. 

Fremantle hardly broke a sweat in claiming Western Derby bragging rights, humbling West Coast by 56 points in front of 54,232 fans at Perth Stadium.

In Sunday's early game, North Melbourne trounced Richmond by 75 points, with the still-winless Tigers' misery compounded by injuries to Sam Banks (collarbone), Maurice Rioli (hamstring) and Tim Taranto (concussion).

Re-live all the blog action below and join ABC Sport on Monday night from 5pm for live coverage of the Zak Butters appeal against his fine for using inappropriate language towards an umpire.

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Five games were decided by fewer than 10 points, and the other four were all by 40+ points. Crucially, it wasn't necessarily the games we expected to be close ones or blow outs.

Off field, the Elijah Hollands story will continue to be talked about this week. Genuinely concerning scenes and we can only hope that Elijah is alright, and that some honest answers come to light once the AFL and the Blues complete their inquiries.

Tomorrow night, Zak Butters and Nick Foot will be back up in front of the appeals board to sort out that bizarre case from last weekend. ABC Sport will be live blogging that one.

And then the footy returns on April 23 with a clash between the rampaging Swans and the injury-hit Bulldogs, as we head into the much-loved and respected Anzac round of footy.

ReactReact20h agoSun 19 Apr 2026 at 10:15am

Match report: Amiss and Clark star as Dockers demolish Eagles in Derby

K

By Kyle Pollard

Jye Amiss kicked a career-high five goals as Fremantle maintained their Western Derby dominance with a 56-point win over West Coast in Perth.

The Eagles took a surprise lead early in the second quarter of Sunday's match, but Fremantle steadied to seal the 14.13 (97) to 5.11 (41) win in front of 54,232 fans.

It marked Fremantle's ninth win from the past 10 derbies, but West Coast still hold a 33-29 lead in the overall tally.

The Dockers' fifth win on the trot kept them in second spot on the ladder with a 5-1 record, behind Sydney on percentage only.

All-Australian defender Jordan Clark won the Glendinning-Allan medal as best afield for his 27 disposals, one goal, 622m gained and 11 score involvements.

Murphy Reid (26 disposals, 10 score involvements) and Luke Jackson (29 hitouts, 16 disposals, one goals) also played important roles.

Amiss had kicked four goals on nine previous occasions, but he finally cracked through that barrier early in the final quarter when he nailed a 50m set shot.

The 22-year-old finished with a club-record nine marks inside 50m, beating Matthew Pavlich's tally of eight.

Amiss also notched13 disposals, one goal assist and 5.4 as West Coast struggled to cover all bases in a tall Fremantle forward line containing Amiss, Patrick Voss (three goals), Josh Treacy and Jackson.