Comeback kids Cameron Ellis-Yolmen and Tom Joyce made up for lost time with dominant displays in their return to action for the Lions VFL side against the Gold Coast Suns.

The pair, both playing in their first VFL game for the season, combined for 73 disposals in a show of midfield force that overpowered the Suns in the first QClash of the new look second tier competition.

Thursday night Prime time on Fox Footy became party time for the Lions as they romped away to a 60 point victory at Metricon Stadium.

Hyundai Academy prospect Will Tasker and academy graduate Bruce Reville cashed-in on the Lions’ midfield dominance to boot five goals each in the 19.7 (121) to 8.13 (61) triumph.

The Lions also welcomed back Nakia Cockatoo, Henry Smith and Ely Smith.

Henry Smith provided a strong target in attack and finished with three goals while Cockatoo continued to work himself back into form and fitness playing across half forward.

Unfortunately, Ely Smith aggravated the ankle injury that had sidelined him for the past three weeks and did not finish the game.

Other strong contributors were Blake Coleman and Carter Michael across half back.

Lions VFL coach Mitch Hahn said it was always a nice problem to have when it was a struggle to narrow down the best players.

“It was a great team performance,’’ he said.

“The development players were really big for us tonight and big Henry up forward worked well with Blake Coleman.

“Obviously Cam and Tommy in the middle were dominant.

“It was one of those games where I could go through the whole team.’’

Ellis Yolmen’s form would have provided more food for thought for Senior Coach Chris Fagan and his match committee.

He muscled his way to 39 possessions and could have underlined his performance with a couple of goals had his radar not been slightly off.  

However, his 18 kicks, 7 marks, 21 handballs, seven tackles and 0.2 was a stellar effort against a Suns midfield that included AFL level players Will Brodie, Brayden Fiorini and Alex Sexton on the wing.

Hahn said there was an expectation on players with close to 50 AFL games exprience, such as Ellis-Yolmen and earlier this season Rhys Mathieson, to lead by example when they played in the VFL.   

“That’s the level we expect from Cameron and he certainly didn’t disappoint,’’ he said.

“It was a great performance, and it really adds to the depth of AFL ready midfielders at the Club.’’  

Joyce was also sensational with 34 possessions in his first game for the season.

“That was a really pleasing performance by Tommy,’’ he said.

“He was so clean and his decision making was very good, having him back playing will certainly make a difference for us.’’

The Lions’ next assignment is against Richmond at the Gabba on Saturday, May 22.