Brisbane win AFL finals

The Brisbane Lions overcame a 10-point deficit in the final six minutes to beat the Fremantle Dockers by seven points and win their third Australian Football League grand final championship in a row.

The west-coast based Dockers dominated play in the third quarter but the Lions came back Saturday to beat the Dockers 96-89 before a capacity crowd of 100,024 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Brisbane made consecutive Australian rules football titles last year with a 47-point win over Geelong.

Brisbane Lions player Eric Hipwood, top, celebrates with teammates after their win over the Fremantle Dockers in the Australian Football League grand final in Melbourne, yesterday.

Photo: AP

On Saturday, the teams were tied 43-43 at halftime, with each team kicking six goals worth six points each and seven “behinds” worth one point each in the opening half. The Dockers led by 10 points after three quarters.

Fremantle, a port city where the Swan River meets the Indian Ocean just south of the state capital Perth, joined the league in 1995. The Dockers are still seeking their first AFL title.

Two weeks ago, 100,021 spectators crammed the same stadium to watch the first regular-season NFL game played in Australia, a 27-7 win by the San Francisco 49ers over the Los Angeles Rams.

Melbourne-born pop megastar Kylie Minogue provided the pre-game entertainment yesterday.

Australian Rules football is an often-dynamic contact sport played by teams of 18 on an oval field and involves plenty of kicking. It was established in and around Melbourne in the 1850s and is one of the most popular sports in Australia. The top-tier national league, the AFL, features 18 clubs.