AFL 2024 round five LIVE updates: Brisbane’s big battle to avoid fourth defeat against red-hot Dees

Just what the Lions fans will be wanting to see – Eric Hipwood leading hard, taking a leaping chest mark at centre-half forward and then going back and slotting a goal.

Hipwood and Joe Daniher will be looking to establish an early dominance over Steven May and Jake Lever.

Scores tied at one goal each

Pencil Alex Neal-Bullen in as the first goalkicker. The opening major starts with the best of the best: Max Gawn taps down to Christian Petracca who gets it to Neal-Bullen who shovels it through for a goal on the run.

Looking back at the other end of the ground – Steven May takes Joe Daniher, while Jake Lever goes to Eric Hipwood.

That’s a big ask for the big Brisbane forwards – if they can boot five or six between them, it might be enough get the Lions over the Lion.

People are filtering into the MCG with around 20,000 currently in the stands, with just around 15 minutes until kick off.
It’s all red and blue with just the off spot of maroon and gold. You’d want to hope any Brisbane fans have loud pipes on them tonight.
Teams entering the races and about to run out. Half-empty ’G – where are all the Melbourne supporters? This is two finalists from last year!

Neither side has made a late change while Taj Woewodin (Demons) and James Tunstill (Lions) have been named as the subs.

What’s at stake: The Lions have the most to lose in this tantalising clash. Fall short here, and last year’s grand finalist slip to 1-4 and can almost kiss their top four hopes goodbye. The Demons, on the other hand, have been flying high. After dropping their season opener to Sydney at the SCG, Melbourne have won four straight, including stirring back-to-back victories in Adelaide. This is a chance to put a dagger in the hopes of one of their key rivals.

At the selection table: Melbourne loses Kysaiah Pickett to suspension and brings in debutant Koltyn Tholstrup, taken at pick 13 in last year’s draft. The Lions go in unchanged from their Gather Round victory over North Melbourne.

History says: The Demons have a slight edge. In their past five matches, post the Covid years, the Demons hold a 3-2 advantage, including a 2-1 ledger at the MCG. But, tellingly, they dropped their 2022 semi-final at home against the Lions (92-79). Last year, the Lions lost all three matches at the MCG, but this is slightly misleading – they lost by a point against the Demons in Round 18, and then dropped the Grand Final by four points against Collingwood.

Coach corner: “I know our backline look forward to when they come up against Brisbane because they know they’re going to be playing some really intense footy down there,” Simon Goodwin.

“It won’t just be about our forwards versus their backs, it will be about the way we move the ball and the pressure we apply,” Chris Fagan.

The experts say: The Age tipsters are 13-1 in favour of a Demons victory. Kane Cornes is the only expert predicting a Brisbane win.

Brisbane Lions will be going from playing on one of the narrowest grounds in the AFL, to the widest when they run out onto the MCG on Thursday night.

But Lions coach Chris Fagan said his side would use the same attacking principles they used in their win over North Melbourne at Norwood Oval during Gather Round.

“The principles don’t change in terms of the way you want to defend and way you want to attack, you just adapt that to the bigger ground,” Fagan said on Wednesday.

“But if we run as hard as we did last week and work as hard as we did to create space, then we should find that easier on the MCG than what we did last week.

“In some ways, it will be easier if we work just as hard.”

Hello everyone and welcome to tonight’s AFL live blog as Melbourne Demons and Brisbane Lions square off at the MCG to open round five.

First bounce is set for 7.30pm AEST.

Enjoy the evening to come.