THE BRISBANE Lions have delivered the all-the-way victory their fans had been waiting for, handing wooden spoon favourite Melbourne a 52- point mauling at the Gabba on Sunday afternoon.

The Lions previous two wins for 2008 came with last quarter comebacks against Collingwood and Port Adelaide but this on this occasion the likely victor was obvious from the opening bounce.

Although wasteful at times in front of goal in a scrappy match, the Lions were far too good for the Demons in all facets of the contest, leading throughout for a 19.23 (137) to 13.7 (85) victory.

Simon Black was superb in the midfield with 35 possessions, while coach Leigh Matthews would have been pleased with a spread of goals that featured some impressive ground-level contributions from crumbing forwards.

Big target Daniel Bradshaw again loomed large on the scoresheet with six goals, but the work of Rhan Hooper (four goals) and Anthony Corrie (three) would have given Matthews further reason to smile.

Hooper and Corrie featured prominently in perhaps the game’s most exciting period, when the Lions pile on four straight goals in the opening six minutes of the second quarter.

After establishing an 11-point break at quarter-time, the Lions exploded out of the blocks from the re-start, with Hooper in particular catching the eye.

The 20-year-old used his pace to pounce on a loose ball and snap the opening major of the second term and then followed up less than a minute later by splitting the middle with a set shot.

Corrie showcased his skills by goalling superbly on the run, before Jed Adcock all but killed the game off as a contest with a 50m roost after winning a free kick.

The worst and the best of the Demons was on display in term two, encapsulating what must have been a frustrating afternoon for Melbourne supporters.

At one stage the visitors comically turned the ball over on three consecutive occasions while trying to clear the defensive 50m, only to see the Lions equally bizarrely boot three successive behinds.

Conversely, first-year Demon Austin Wonaeamerri was clinical at the other end of the ground steering the ball expertly through the big sticks from hard on the boundary line.

Thanks to a seven-goal second quarter, the Lions were able to take a 41-point lead into half-time and, from there, it was always a matter of how much they would win by.

Five goals in the third stanza saw the gap extend to the best part of 10 goals at the final change, before Melbourne restored some respectability to the scoreboard by outscoring its host in the final term.

Having chipped the ball around to their own detriment in the first three terms, the Demons finally found some run and were rewarded with a third consecutive winning last quarter.

But it was a matter of much too little, much too late and Lions fans, who made up the majority of the 22,878-strong crowd, were delighted to see their side improve its season record to 3-3.

Aside from the excellent display of Black and the goal-kicking work of Hooper, Corrie and Bradshaw, the Lions got some solid service from Joel Macdonald, who set up plenty of play from half-back.

Jared Brennan did some neat and occasionally freakish things, Luke Power worked tirelessly all game, Justin Sherman stuck to Aaron Davey like glue and Joel Patfull again had the better of Russell Robertson.

Nathan Jones kicked the Demons’ first two goals and finished with four for the match, while Brent Moloney, Brad Green, Cameron Bruce, Wonaeamirri and Jeff White could also hold their heads up after trying hard throughout.

Brisbane           3.6        10.13    15.17    19.23 (137)
Melbourne         2.1        5.2        8.3        13.7 (85)

GOALS
Brisbane: Bradshaw 6, Hooper 4, Corrie 3, Johnstone 2, Brown 2, Adcock, Rischitelli
Melbourne: Jones 4, Wonaeamirri 3, Miller 2, Sylvia 2, Green, Robertson

BEST
Brisbane: Black, Power, Corrie, Macdonald, Brennan, Hooper
Melbourne: Jones, Green, Moloney, Bruce, Wonaeamirri, Jamar

INJURIES
Brisbane: to be advised
Melbourne: Sylvia (shoulder)

Reports: nil

Umpires: Nicholls, Head, Armstrong

Official Crowd: 22,878 at Gabba