Dons snatch a last-gasp win against the Lions at the Gabba.
Essendon left it late to seal an eight-point win over Brisbane Lions at the Gabba on Saturday evening.
The leads changed hands on multiple occasions before the Bombers kicked the sealer with less than a minute on the clock to win 9.11 (65) to 8.9 (57).
The visitors led for much of the opening quarter but goals from Jonathan Brown and Dayne Zorko put Brisbane in front, and a goal from Zach Merrett.
The Bombers took a more direct route through the middle in the second quarter, and the visitors kicked 4.1 to 0.3 to clear out to a 19-point lead at the half.
The Lions were not done with, however, and they kicked four goals to one in the third term to hold a four-point lead with a quarter to go.
Jackson Merrett put the visitors back in front eight minutes into the final quarter, with a great banana kick from deep in the forward pocket.
With a minute left, the Lions streamed downfield looking for the winner, and Essendon gave away a free kick, but the umpire felt Brisbane had played on and a tackled led to the ball going the other way for the Bombers to find Patrick Ryder for the sealer.
Josh Green kicked three for the Lions, while Zach Merrett had two majors for the visitors.
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