Brisbane beats Collingwood by 33 points to open the season and inflict the first defeat on the Magpies
Cam Rayner kept Brisbane in the game and ended Collingwood's unbeaten start to the season with an emphatic 33-point win at the Gabba.
The former number one, who has only been used in defense so far this season, relished his return to the forwards, scoring ten straight goals to give the Lions an 18.8 (116) to 11.17 (83) victory.
Rayner threw in four goals and was involved in 10 points; marking strongly, breaking through tackles, and distributing the balls with aplomb to thrill a sellout crowd of 33,565.
He also had Charlie Cameron (six goals) to thank for his brilliant pace and speed on the sideline early in the fourth quarter.
It was an important win for the Lions (2-2), who gained revenge for last week's narrow defeat to the Western Bulldogs in which big-bodied forwards Eric Hipwood and Joe Daniher were caught in the crosshairs.
Jack Crisp scored a goal in the fourth quarter but was otherwise unremarkable. The Magpies star played a day after a video came to light that will be the subject of an AFL investigation.
Nick Daicos (38 appearances, two goals) shined but had just a single outing in the second quarter as the Lions, trailing by 13 at the first break, fought back.
Hipwood and Daniher (both two goals), who had 13 touches at halftime and 20 for the entire game in a week when his work rate was questioned, were both physical and made the most of their opportunities.
In a heated opening period, Taylor Adams took just 69 seconds to score Collingwood's first goal, with the Magpies using deft hands out of defense.
Ash Johnson followed suit, scoring his goal after another Brisbane turnover and another brave run through the Gabba's interior.
Two brilliant efforts from Rayner kept the Lions in the game, a great mark leading to his first goal before he pulled out of traffic to score another from beyond the arc.
The Magpies kept coming close, Bobby Hill scoring two vital points in the first quarter, his second an open run to a goal from further good pressure and another Lions turnover.
With the lead at 13 points, the Magpies missed the chance to extend the lead and the Lions found another gear instead, scoring 10 majors in a row.
Collingwood, playing without a ruck specialist due to injury, was outnumbered in the stoppages but still missed some good chances to stop the run.
Daicos kept playing and hit the post from point-blank range, and Jordan De Goey did the same but missed a hard snap.
Brody Mihocek's three third-quarter scores ensured that the game was decided by 30 points at the break.
But the damage was done earlier as Rayner and Cameron added two more scores in the closing stages for the final score.
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