JONATHAN Brown has strongly come through his first contested hit-out in seven months, kicking two goals in the Brisbane Lions' intra-club match on Wednesday.
Brown was making his first appearance since breaking his jaw against Geelong in round 17 last year, and played all four quarters at the Lions' training ground at Coorparoo.
He kicked both goals in a tight first-half tussle with Matt Maguire.
The Lions' captain sent a momentary scare through the coaching staff after gingerly getting to his feet following a strong pack mark in the third quarter, but he played the rest of the trial.
Assistant coach Mark Harvey said Brown's effort was encouraging.
"Yeah it is. With a guy like him that's been out for a period of time, you've got to pull him back at times, he actually is like a lion," Harvey said.
"When you're 29 or 30, you tend to be a little bit sore first-up or second-up. The thing with him is he doesn't like to show pain and I'm sure he was glad to get back out there and get a couple of goals so he'll be happy."
The four 20-minute quarters were often scrappy but full of intensity.
Aside from Brown, young midfielder Josh Green was impressive in contested situations, wingman Rohan Bewick showed plenty of dash, while veteran Simon Black got his usual high quota of disposals.
Harvey said he had been impressed with the attitude of the Lions' since joining the club from Fremantle in December, and the intra-club was no exception.
"I think it's typical of your first hit-out between each other," he said.
"There's four or five blokes that are quite sore, so it says they've weighed in physically, and that's what I have been impressed by since I've been here is the physicality and the way the guys have applied themselves, and that's attitude and intent.
"If we can sustain that for longer periods, we shouldn't be under-estimated.
"Make no mistake there'll be a different dimension to the way we pick the team (for NAB Cup) and perhaps in certain elements the way we play."
The only senior players unavailable for the trial were Josh Drummond (hip), Sam Docherty (hip), Dayne Zorko (hip) and Daniel Rich (foot).
Rich has a stress reaction in the same foot that cost him six matches on the sidelines last season, and despite missing the past two weeks of training, Harvey said he was running again and would play in the NAB Cup.
Michael Whiting covers Brisbane Lions news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_mikewhiting
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