AFTER surviving a scare, Richmond breathed life back into its spluttering season with a 43-point win over the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba on Thursday night.

 

The Lions hit the front midway through the third quarter, but the Tigers responded emphatically, piling on five late goals in the term to put the result to rest.

 

They ran away in the final quarter to win 15.16 (106) to 9.9 (63).

 

Jack Riewoldt relished the extra responsibility in a forward line minus the omitted Tyrone Vickery, kicking four goals, including two in the vital burst late in the third.

 

The Tigers dominated early, but kept the Lions in the match by kicking just 2.8 in the first quarter.

 

The badly undermanned Lions lifted for Jonathan Brown's 250th match, but ultimately lacked the polish to finish the job.

 

Fielding a team minus stars Daniel Rich (knee), Matthew Leuenberger (knee), Pearce Hanley (hamstring) and Daniel Merrett (suspended), it was a marked improvement on the past fortnight's floggings from Gold Coast and Port Adelaide.

 

They had 10 players with fewer than 25 games experience and showed plenty of endeavour after a poor first half.

 

Goals to Ryan Lester, Brown and Lewis Taylor early in the third quarter gave them an unexpected lead before Richmond delivered its knockout blows.

 

Brown turned back the clock in his milestone game, taking some vintage marks and finishing with four goals.

 

He had 16 disposals and nine marks, but it wasn't enough.

 

While not a classic victory in its nature, it moves Richmond to a 2-3 win-loss record ahead of a brutal fortnight against Hawthorn and Geelong.

 

The first half was littered with mistakes from both teams and struggled to reach any heights.

 

The biggest roar came when Brown kicked the Lions' first goal of the match, seven minutes into the second quarter.

 

The Lions did have another reason to cheer, winning the second quarter by five points.

 

It was their first winning quarter of the season – at the 18th attempt – after being the first team in VFL/AFL history to go without winning a single term in the opening month of a season.