The Lions trailed by two points at the final change and had just two fit players on the bench, but put on the afterburners with a seven-goal-to-two final term to win 16.18 (114) to 12.10 (82) in front of 29,201 fans.
But the win could come at a cost with the Lions suffering a number of injuries.
Jed Adcock missed most of the second half with a twisted ankle, Amon Buchanan played only the first quarter before being replaced with a broken hand, while Josh Drummond was severely restricted after half-time.
Drummond and a number of other Lions suffered badly from cramps.
Adcock and Buchanan will struggle to be fit for Thursday night’s clash against Carlton.
But the Lions would not be denied on a night where they unveiled their new off-season recruits.
"It was a war of attrition really," Voss said after the match.
"I must admit, out of tonight, I’m a bit in awe of our group. We had one down in the first quarter and we lost another and had two on the bench. We had guys cramping all over the place and they found something.
"You can only do that when you’ve got that internal little bit, that fire in the belly, the will to win, and they showed that in spades tonight."
Star full-forward Brendan Fevola had a mixed bag, getting plenty of the ball but kicking 3.7 with one out on the full, while his captain and forward partner-in-crime Jonathan Brown bagged five.
In one 15 second passage in the final term, Fevola showed the best and worst of his play after dropping a simple chest mark, only to regather seconds later and soccer the ball through from the most acute of angles.
After all the pre-season hype of whether the pair would work in tandem, they emphatically answered yes.
Voss said while one game did not make a season, the pair showed great signs.
"Browny kicked five and Fev’s had 10, 11 shots at goal so they worked pretty well," he said.
"I thought they moved in and out of space well for each other. We just need to be able to get a few others to be able to help them out."
Jared Brennan (31 possessions), Simon Black (27) and Michael Rischitelli (28) were all superb four quarter contributors for the winners.
Both teams showed plenty of endeavour but the first half rust was obvious with a number of turnovers by both hand and foot.
Brisbane Lions 2.6 6.10 9.12 16.18 (114)
West Coast 4.2 7.6 10.8 12.10 (82)
GOALS
Brisbane Lions: Brown 5, Fevola 3, Power 3, Drummond, Sherman, Banfield, Staker, Brennan
West Coast: Kennedy 2, Shuey 2, Lynch 2, Embley, McGinnity, Ebert, LeCras, Naitanui, Cox
BEST
Brisbane Lions: Brennan, Black, Brown, Rischitelli, Power, Banfield
West Coast: Selwood, Priddis, McGinnity, Kennedy, Embley
INJURIES
Brisbane Lions: Buchanan (hand), Adcock (ankle)
West Coast: Nil
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Hay, Wenn, Jeffery
Official crowd: 29,201 at the Gabba
