A SWITCH to afternoon training sessions during the northern summer has worked wonders on the Brisbane Lions' pre-season as they prepared for its first year under new coach Chris Fagan.

The move from morning training allowed the Lions to spend more time on the track as they worked on a style of play that would make them competitive this season.

Fagan told SEN on Tuesday he acted on advice from AFL legend and former Lions coach Leigh Matthews to change training times to avoid the fierce Brisbane heat.

"We still trained one morning a week in the pre-season, but the other two nights we trained at 5.00-5.30pm," Fagan said.

Fagan said conditions for training were much better during the afternoon as the sun was lower and a cool breeze swept through the city.

"It is pretty nice down here at that point in time," he said.

"What we found was that the boys were able to train for two hours [in the afternoon] rather than being cooked after about 45 minutes in the heat so it's been a good change."

The Lions kicked off their first season under Fagan in fine style with a win against Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium.