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AFL live: Lions face Bulldogs after Giants smash Demons

A huge Saturday of AFL action features GWS v Melbourne, Essendon v Carlton, Brisbane v Western Bulldogs, North Melbourne v Collingwood and Fremantle v Gold Coast.

Get all the scores and stats in our live ScoreCentre.

Lions v Bulldogs

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Bombers scrape a win over Blues

Essendon has nearly blown a chance to jump into the top eight, eking out an eight-point win over Carlton at the MCG.

The Bombers had an opportunity to move up the ladder after Melbourne's defeat by the Giants in Canberra, but John Worsfold's men were pushed all the way before beating the Blues 11.18 (84) to 11.10 (76).

Essendon could have almost put the game away in the opening term, kicking a wasteful 5.8 to Carlton's 2.1 to lead by 25 points at quarter-time.

The Blues steadied, holding the Bombers goal-less in the second quarter to reduce the margin to 10 points at the long break.

Carlton was winning the clearances against Essendon's midfield, and the Blues kicked five goals to two in the third term to take an unlikely three-point lead at three-quarter time.

In a tight final quarter, the Blues edged ahead before goals in time-on to Cale Hooker and Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti sealed the win for the Bombers.

Joe Daniher and McDonald-Tipungwuti were the standouts for Essendon with three goals each, while Matthew Wright also booted three for Carlton.

There was more bad news for Essendon, with a hamstring injury for forward Orazio Fantasia which could keep him out for several weeks, while star midfielder Zach Merrett could be in trouble with the Match Review Panel after he punched Lachie Plowman in the stomach in the second quarter.

Giants far too strong for Demons in the wind

Greater Western Sydney is back up to second place after an emphatic 35-point win in a breezy Canberra over the Melbourne Demons.

The 14.13 (97) to 10.2 (62) win sees the Giants leapfrog Geelong into second spot, two points behind the Adelaide Crows ahead of Sunday's Showdown.

More to come.

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Kangaroos v Magpies

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Dockers v Suns

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