Brisbane will play Opening Round without Brandon Starcevich after the defender was concussed in the Lions' three-point loss over Adelaide on Thursday night.

Starcevich crumpled to the ground midway through the second quarter at Brighton Homes Arena following a push by Daniel Curtin that propelled him into another Crow, Luke Pedlar.

The premiership defender was assisted from the field, failed a concussion test and will now be unavailable for next Thursday night's season-opener against Geelong at the Gabba.

The incident came just 10 days after West Coast's Reuben Ginbey pushed Richmond youngster Sam Lalor into oncoming traffic, resulting in concussion and a fractured jaw for the No.1 draft pick.

Ginbey escaped sanction for the action.

The loss of Starcevich came during an AAMI Community Series match in which Brisbane lost a three-goal lead in the fourth quarter to go down 14.13 (97) to 13.16 (94).

Adelaide skipper Jordan Dawson capped a superb outing with the go-ahead goal following a contested mark at the top of the goalsquare inside the final five minutes.

Dawson finished with 24 disposals to go with two goals to be the game's most influential player.

Darcy Fogarty kicked two of his three goals in the critical fourth term, while James Peatling (21 disposals), Alex Neal-Bullen (20) and Isaac Cumming (17 and a goal) all impressed for their new club.

For the Lions, Lachie Neale (30) and Will Ashcroft (24) were prolific, but the visitors ran out of legs, conceding the final four goals of the game.

Cam Rayner and Jaspa Fletcher had long set shots in the dying minutes to snatch victory, but both sailed wide.

Brisbane started the game fluently, clearing the ball swiftly from congestion and giving its dynamic forward line plenty of space to work in.

Kai Lohmann had the home crowd buzzing, soaring for two spectacular first-quarter marks, unselfishly finding Fletcher for the game's first goal.

Logan Morris continued his strong pre-season, working well in a tight space before spotting Jarrod Berry for another goal as the hosts scooted to a handy quarter-time lead.

Adelaide closed down Brisbane's space in the second term, making it a more contested game and levelling the scores by half-time.

New faces
Father-son draftee Levi Ashcroft made a big impression in his first official pre-season hitout, finishing with 23 disposals and a terrific left-footed goal in the fourth quarter. It's a hard team to squeeze into, but the younger brother of Norm Smith medallist Will has done all he can and should be rewarded with a debut against the Cats. Gold Coast recruit Sam Day (six disposals) and his fellow forward Ty Gallop (four) had quiet nights in front of goal. For Adelaide, James Peatling was busy in the middle of the ground, adding another two-way dimension to the Crows midfield with his 21 disposals, while fellow former Giant Isaac Cumming (17 and a goal) also looked at home on a wing. Alex Neal-Bullen (20, including 11 score involvements) was excellent, while No.4 draft pick Sid Draper (14) could not have done much more in his one half of action.

Round one chance
One question going into the game was which Brisbane forward could push their claims to fill the vacancy left by Joe Daniher. Academy graduate Ty Gallop struggled for touches, but had one big third-quarter passage where he took a contested mark on the wing and shortly after executed a perfect rundown tackle of Mark Keane. Neither Gallop nor Sam Day (six disposals) had much of an influence, leaving the Lions match committee with a tough decision ahead of next week. Top-10 draft pick Daniel Curtin has played just seven games in two seasons and was used forward, where he struggled to impact, and on a wing. No.4 draft pick Sid Draper was fantastic in half a game, racking up 14 disposals and impressing with his burst through the middle of the ground.

Medical room
Losing Starcevich to concussion is a blow for the Lions. Their best small defender will be unavailable to face Geelong in Opening Round next Thursday night. Co-captain Harris Andrews (illness) was a late withdrawal from the match, but is expected to be fine for next week. Sam Day and Will Ashcroft both played the match out with bandages around their head after being opened up early in proceedings.

Fantasy watch
The impact of the return of Izak Rankine (FWD, $819,000) was clear on the Crows' midfield, which is deep as the star forward, Jordan Dawson (MID, $1,080,000), James Peatling (MID, $634,000), Matt Crouch (MID, $1,046,000) and Jake Soligo (MID, $789,000) all went through there. Dawson top scored of the group with 135, Rankine posted 92, Peatling 58, Crouch 90 and Soligo 80. Sid Draper (MID, $331,000) was only introduced in the second half, having a big impact and scoring 42. For the Lions, Lachie Neale (MID, $1,038,000) posted 110, Josh Dunkley (MID, $1,102,000) 91 and Dayne Zorko (DEF, $1,131,000) 102. Will Ashcroft (MID, $843,000) finished with 66 and Levi Ashcroft (MID, $328,000) ended up with 78, but it's worth noting the Lions, unlike the Crows, rotated through 25 players from the outset. Coaches also get another look at Brisbane in Opening Round. – Dejan Kalinic

BRISBANE          4.5     6.8     9.12     13.16 (94)
ADELAIDE           2.3     6.8     9.9       14.13 (97)

GOALS
Brisbane: Berry 2, Hipwood 2, Lohmann 2, Neale, McInerney, Dunkley, Fletcher, Bailey, Answerth, L.Ashcroft
Adelaide: Fogarty 3, Dawson 2, Worrell, Walker, Thilthorpe, Soligo, Keays, Pedlar, Cumming, Rankine, Sholl

BEST
Brisbane: Neale, W.Ashcroft, Zorko, Lohmann, Hipwood, Answerth
Adelaide: Dawson, Rankine, Peatling, Neal-Bullen, Soligo, Hinge

INJURIES
Brisbane: Starcevich (concussion)
Adelaide: Nil