Marcus Bontempelli booted a remarkable goal at the death to lift the Western Bulldogs to a six-point win over Melbourne in Sunday’s topsy-turvy AFL thriller at Etihad Stadium.

The Bulldogs were 37 points in front early in the second term thanks to seven consecutive goals, only to fade terribly and hand the lead back to the Demons before three-quarter time.

There was never more than seven points in it during a dramatic final stanza.

Bontempelli kicked the final two goals of the game, the last a showstopper with a tick over three minutes remaining.

The action all took part deep in the left forward pocket at the Footscray End, where the 18-year-old with no room to move made his eighth match one to remember.

Bontempelli dispossessed James Frawley, gathered the Sherrin then got rid of would-be tackler Rohan Bail to snap truly from an incredibly tight angle.

The Demons continued to press but couldn’t stop the Dogs from triumphing 14.7 (91) to 13.7 (85).

“I don’t know if there was enough time to look at the sticks really,” Bontempelli told Fairfax Radio when asked if his stunning goal was luck or not.

“There were a few guys around the pack. I was just going for a score and it was lucky enough to go through.”

Robert Murphy and Dale Morris were excellent in defence for the Bulldogs, while stand-in skipper Will Minson rucked himself to exhaustion while being double teamed by Mark Jamar and Max Gawn.

The contest was studded by controversial umpiring decisions.

Bail was harassed over the goal-line in the second term, but officials deemed he wasn’t under enough pressure and gifted Jake Stringer one of his career-best four goals.

Melbourne’s Dean Terlich suffered an arm injury late in the third term and played no further part in the game.

Bernie Vince and Jeremy Howe were both dominant for the Demons, who poured on seven goals in the third quarter.