The banged-up Brisbane Lions have notched back-to-back AFL wins, Collingwood jolted in a 54-point loss that began with the late scratching of Nick Daicos.
The two-time defending premiers rocketed clear with five-straight goals and, despite some wastefulness, kept the Magpies at bay before cantering clear 17.17 (119) to 10.5 (65) in their Easter Thursday Gabba fixture.
Big-name recruits Sam Draper (five clearances) and Oscar Allen (three goals) both impressed while Logan Morris (three goals) took nine marks to lead their aerial dominance and reverse a 52-point loss in the corresponding fixture 12 months ago.
The Magpies were rocked by the latest of injury withdrawals from star midfielder Daicos (calf), ruling him out of a game for the first time since he missed three-straight games late in the 2023 season.
He joined a casualty list that already included captain Darcy Moore and veteran Scott Pendlebury.
But the Lions entered well under-strength too, with Hugh McCluggage, Harris Andrews, Darcy Gardiner, Dan Annable and Noah Answerth all sidelined by injury or suspension.
The Lions collected 131 contested possessions to the Magpies’ 93 and had 20 marks inside 50 compared to the visitors’ five.
“Fantastic footy; it felt like we could have won by a little bit more to be honest,” Lions coach Chris Fagan said.
“I don’t mean to sound greedy, but we did play exceptionally well in all facets.”
Coach Craig McRae admitted there was an assumption Daicos would recover from his corked calf to play.
“Tuesday training, he’s hobbling around … we give him every chance and he gets out here, thought he’d start improving, but he just didn’t,” he said.
McRae said the star’s late scratching did not excuse their performance.
“I hope it doesn’t. I’m sitting there, as calm as ever, ‘you’re not playing, next … let’s go’,” he said.
“Things that happen before the game shouldn’t really affect the first contest.
“You could make a case, you take your best player out of any team it’s probably going to disrupt ? but you’d like to think not.”
Victory improved the Lions to 2-2, level with Collingwood, after their desperate defeat of St Kilda at Marvel Stadium on Saturday.
The Lions kicked 5.0 to surge 36 points clear in the second quarter, only to keep the Magpies in the match with a series of missed opportunities.
Roan Steele and Lachlan Sullivan kicked scrappy goals to compound those misses before standout Will Ashcroft (game-high 36 disposals) threaded the needle with a left-footed wonder goal that steadied the ship entering halftime.
Kai Lohmann (four goals), who kicked two in the first three minutes, had his third early in the second half before Logan Morris swung onto his right boot from 50m out and launched his second for a 37-point lead.
Morris set aside the disappointment of two missed set shots before the final break, taking his eighth mark and kicking straight for his third goal to begin the fourth quarter.
Zac Bailey followed suit moments later to create a 39-point buffer and all but put the contest to bed before the Lions piled on late goals.
West Coast pick-up Allen moved beautifully, leaping high for several pack marks, while former Essendon ruckman Draper’s presence was felt in his best outing since returning from foot and Achilles injuries.
Fagan praised his team’s all-round effort but highlighted the impact of his two recruits.
“We got a bit of a glimpse tonight about what they can mean to the club ? I hope they can get even better, I think they will.
Dan McStay kicked four goals for Collingwood against his former club while Dan Houston had 32 touches and Josh Daicos gained 722 metres with his 25 possessions.