‘What a night, seriously’: Lights out for Demons as Lions win after Gabba blackout

The Gabba was plunged into darkness by a power outage that halted play for almost 40 minutes to delay – and nearly thwart – Brisbane’s march to a 11-point victory over Melbourne.

The Lions were leading by 40 points with about 12 minutes remaining in the final term on Friday night when the lights went out.

A lone bulb caught fire in a tower but power was restored and play resumed before the 60-minute cut off that would have handed Brisbane victory.

The hosts prevailed 14.9 (93) to 13.4 (82) – and with a big sigh of relief after conceding five unanswered goals once play resumed.

“What a night, seriously,” Brisbane coach Chris Fagan said, before jokingly requesting not to be asked about the final 13 minutes.

“We played so well for three-and-a-half quarters … we had them on the ropes.

“There’s nothing to lose for the team that’s behind in that situation so, psychologically, that was an advantage to them and they did it well.”

In eerie scenes, the players had stood on the ground for several minutes before heading inside as power slowly returned to the ground.

They reappeared about 30 minutes later to warm up and were suddenly back under way.

It was a confusing sequence of events but not the first time it’s happened at the Gabba, with a Big Bash League fixture in 2019 ended early by a power outage.

In 1996, disgruntled fans lit fires on the surface and in the stands of Waverley Park when a blackout forced St Kilda and Essendon’s clash to be completed a week later. Three years later, the MCG scoreboard caught fire.

There were calmer scenes at the Gabba, though, as 30,047 cheery fans broke into song waiting for a resumption.

Earlier, the Lions, still smarting after a first-round hiding from Port Adelaide, shot out of the gates