After leading by as much as 46 points early in the third term, the Lions had to withstand a stirring fightback by the Saints before holding on for a 1.8.8 (65) to 8.8 (56) win.
Playing without captain Jonathan Brown, vice captains Simon Black and Daniel Merrett and full-forward Daniel Bradshaw, the Lions leant on their other experienced players to get across the line.
Travis Johnstone, Jared Brennan and Luke Power racked up possessions, while Scott Harding showed he may be the answer to the team's small forward question, exploding for three goals in the tight contest.
For St Kilda Stephen Milne came to life in the last term, kicking two goals to narrow the lead to 15 points, and workaholic midfielder Brendan Goddard was a clear standout.
The contest looked as good as over when Justin Sherman kicked the Lions' eighth straight goal just after half time, but St Kilda mounted a withering revival, slamming home seven of the last eight goals.
Milne's two goals were backed up by another to Raphael Clarke but the Lions held on over a desperate final three minutes.
Highly touted Lions recruit Daniel Rich was solid on debut without being spectacular.
With his parents watching from the sideline on his debut, the 18-year-old drafted from Subiaco missed two first-half shots at goal but showed plenty of promise running through the midfield.
Despite being dominated in the ruck by the experienced Michael Gardiner and Stephen King, the Lions got more than their fair share of the ball, with prolific Bradd Dalziell joining Johnstone and Brennan in the top possession getters.
It took the best part of the first quarter for the teams to sort themselves out and it was only late goals by Rhan Hooper and Mitch Clark that gave the Lions a six-point quarter time lead.
Much of the quarter was typical of any first match of the season with tough, tight footy in the slippery conditions ensuring the ball was in dispute for much of the time.
St Kilda forward Ben McEvoy opened the scoring in the eighth minute as he had an early victory over Lions full-back Lachlan Henderson.
But when Hooper swooped from 40m and Clark won a free kick and goaled from 30m, the Lions had a narrow lead at the first break.
The stunning second quarter burst began with a Josh Drummond supergoal after 10 minutes, when Troy Selwood marked and handballed to the backman who cruised past and drilled the goal from the left boundary line.
Tim Notting was then rewarded for some hard work up forward with a checkside goal and five minutes of inspired play from rookie Aaron Cornelius and Scott Harding blew the contest wide open.
Cornelius kicked his first goal for the club from a free kick directly in front, then created one for Harding with a clever tap to the swooping rover who snapped on his right foot.
Harding then did all the work himself just before half time when he took a strong overhead mark and kicked truly for the 40-point half time break.
The Saints weren't prepared to roll over and kicked four goals to two in the third term to edge their way back into the contest.
The Lions led by 46 points early in the quarter, but Goddard lifted his struggling teammates with two goals, and Jack Steven and Jarryn Geary also chipped in with majors.
Goddard's first, from just on the 50m arc, broke a streak of eight consecutive goals by the Lions and sparked a run of four straight from the Saints.
Goddard's second came after McGrath's clumsy attempt at tackle in the forward pocket led him to be being booked.
But a burst of Harding speed and true snap late in the quarter steadied the Lions' ship for a 26-point lead at the final change.
BRISBANE LIONS 0.2.3 (15) 1.6.6 (51) 1.8.6 (63) 1.8.8 (65)
ST KILDA 0.1.3 (9) 0.1.5 (11) 0.5.7 (37) 0.8.8 (56)
GOALS
Brisbane Lions: Nine-point goal: Drummond. Goals: Harding 3, Notting, Sherman, Cornelius, Hooper, Clark
St Kilda: Milne 2, Goddard 2, Geary, Clarke, Steven, McEvoy.
BEST
Brisbane Lions: Johnstone, Brennan, Harding, Dalziell, Drummond
St Kilda: Goddard, Dal Santo, Geary, Ball, R Clarke
Umpires: Stevic, Ryan, Pannell, Ryan
Crowd: 6103 at Gold Coast Stadium
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily of the club
