A FIVE-goal haul to Aaron Cornelius and a Sam Michael major in the dying minutes carried the Brisbane Lions to a three-point victory over Greater Western Sydney in their NAB Cup match on Saturday night.

In a forward line missing captain Jonathan Brown, unheralded Lions Cornelius, Dayne Zorko (one supergoal, one goal) and Marco Paparone (two goals) helped their team sneak home 1.12.19 (100) to 2.12.7 (97) at Wagga.

Cornelius and Patrick Karnezis (26 disposals) were also dangerous all night for a Lions side which has won its opening three games in an impressive start to the pre-season competition.

Callan Ward, Jonathan Giles (two goals) and Lachie Whitfield starred for the Giants, who fell agonisingly short of another big scalp following last week's triumph over the Sydney Swans and narrow loss to Carlton.

Co-captain Ward, who missed round one of the competition with a minor knee issue, returned with a bang, finishing with 20 possessions and six marks.

Whitfield, the top pick in last year's NAB AFL Draft, showed he is ready for senior football, tallying 17 touches, nine marks and four tackles in front of 7,068 fans at Robertson Oval.

There was concern when Jonathon Patton was helped from the field by two trainers late in the first half, seemingly favouring his right knee, but the word quickly came back it was only a corked quad for the big GWS key forward.

While he was substituted at half-time, Patton was spotted on an exercise bike shortly after coming from the ground and it appeared to only be a minor setback for the 19-year-old.

The lead changed hands regularly throughout the match, with the Giants holding a one-point lead at three quarter-time.

Both sides had their chances, but in the end it was a free kick for contact below the knees that allowed rookie Michael to grab the victory.

Following on from triumphs over Hawthorn and Gold Coast in week one of the competition, the Lions are well on the way to fulfilling coach Michael Voss' wishes of a strong showing in this year's NAB Cup.

The Lions head to Etihad Stadium to take on Collingwood next up, while GWS faces Essendon in Canberra on Friday night.

GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY 0.3.2   1.8.3    1.10.7    2.12.7 (97)

BRISBANE LIONS                          1.2.2   1.5.7    1.9.12   1.12.19 (100)

SUPERGOALS

Greater Western Sydney: Cameron, Smith

Brisbane Lions: Zorko

GOALS

Greater Western Sydney: Treloar 2, Giles 2, Frost 2, Patton, Ward, Miles, Sumner, Cameron, Greene

Brisbane Lions: Cornelius 5, Paparone 2, Lester, Zorko, Rockliff, Karnezis, Michael

BEST 

Greater Western Sydney: Ward, Giles, Whitfield, Treloar, Frost, Coniglio

Brisbane Lions: Cornelius, Zorko, Karnezis, Beams, Bewick, Maguire

INJURIES 

Greater Western Sydney: Wilson (shoulder), Patton (quad)

Brisbane Lions: Nil

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Shane Stewart, Andrew Mitchell, Andrew Stephens, Aaron Hall