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Melbourne is seeking grand final redemption after last season’s heartbreak, but faces an enormous task in toppling an imposing Brisbane Lions side seeking its second flag in three seasons.
The Lions have barely put a foot wrong all season, losing just one match en route to the decider.
Melbourne has loomed as the main challenger to the Lions for virtually the whole campaign, also losing just one match and finishing the season just 0.3 per cent behind on the ladder.
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With the temperature approaching 30 degrees an hour out from the match, the league enacted its heat policy, meaning longer breaks between quarters would be implemented as well as the allowance of an additional two water carriers.
Melbourne applied plenty of defensive pressure early, which helped lead to a shot on goal for captain Daisy Pearce in the opening minute, which drifted across the face of goal for a behind and the first score of the match.
Brisbane composed itself and eventually kicked the first goal of the decider, coming via a Dakota Davidson set shot.
It was followed up almost instantly by Catherine Svarc, who put through a set shot of her own to increase the lead to 11 points.
The Lions turned the tables in the pressure stakes near the end of the quarter, with an act of brilliant desperation from Natalie Grider seeing her run down Megan Fitzsimon, who was streaming into an open goal.
“That’s unbelievable,” Daniel Harford said on Fox Footy, with Ellie Blackburn labelling the effort a “team lifter”.
The Lions took an 11-point lead into quarter-time, with the Dees goalless.
This match got underway at 2:40pm AEDT from Brighton Homes Arena in Springfield, QLD.
Watch it live on Fox Footy (channel 504) from 2pm AEDT.
Follow Brisbane vs Melbourne in the live blog below!
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