Sunday night's shootout against Collingwood will give the Brisbane Lions confidence Midfield Coach Dale Tapping says. 

While the Lions went down by seven points in a thrilling finish, the team never stopped fighting and overcame a number of momentum swings.  

"We thought it was a terrific game. The feedback externally has been that it was a great game of footy for the spectators," Tapping said. 

"For us it was another opportunity where we couldn't quite get through the door.

"We are working in the right direction. We just have to continue to execute like we did on the weekend for longer periods of time."

Against Collingwood's strong midfield, the Lions' more than held their own, led by the experienced trio of Dayne Beams, Dayne Zorko and Stef Martin. 

"It was a bit of a shootout at times in the midfield," Tapping said.

"We scored five goals from the centre bounce, and they did the same. Both teams kicked 49 points from stoppages.

"A focus for us this week will be defending the stoppages better.

"If you kick 114 points, normally you win a game of footy."

Tapping and the coaching staff were pleased to see Zorko return to his explosive best.

"Credit to Zorks, he went out and attacked the footy."

"It was really a back to basics game for him - he played to his strengths."