THE Brisbane Lions' inability to maintain a level of intensity against the League's best teams was a key reason behind Sunday's loss to Hawthorn, according to coach Michael Voss.
 
The Lions started strongly against the highly-fancied Hawks, booting six goals in the opening quarter to lead at the first change.
 
But the Hawks crept back into the match and eventually ran away 65-point winners on a wet, wintry Melbourne afternoon.
 
The scene was vastly different to 14 days earlier at the Gabba when the Lions upset flag favourites West Coast, but Voss said the heavy loss to the Hawks hadn't necessarily cancelled out the positives gained from that win.
 
"I certainly don't think we took a step backwards. I don't feel I could question a guy's effort and attitude and want to take it up to the opposition because there were some ripping physical contests against a good side and we rate them very highly," he said after the match.
 
"We know that against those really top sides we've got to do it for longer. Whether that is our ball use … I think we're using the ball better than what we have but that was one of the areas that let us down at different times - the decisions of whether to go short or long."
 
Heavy, constant pressure from Hawthorn made it difficult for the Lions to keep possession and force the ball forward.
 
The Hawks had an amazing 96 tackles to the Lions' 70, which for Voss was one of many reasons Hawthorn had established itself as one of the best teams in the AFL.
 
"It's very unusual for our group to be out-tackled with that sort of intent and they just seemed to force us right to the end with our disposal," he said.
 
"They'd always have that last hand in and that last little bit of pressure so that is a sign of a good side, but it's a sign of what we need to work on."