There are wins, and there are wins. And this was one of the very special ones.

The final score told us what mattered...that the Brisbane Lions 18-11 (119) had defeated the Fremantle Dockers 9-10 (64) at Optus Stadium in Perth on Sunday afternoon.

But the score didn’t do justice to the occasion. It was one for the ages.

Before the game almost every statistical fact suggested the Lions simply could not win. After all, since Brisbane joined the AFL in 1987 the Club had played 38 times in Perth for nine wins, 29 losses and an average score of 74.1. And they’d lost their last nine.

Brisbane’s most recent win in Perth was against West Coast in 2010. And their most recent win in Perth against Fremantle was in 2009, when Daniel Rich, now a 175-game veteran in his 10^th season, had 31 possessions in his 16^th game on his way to the AFL Rising Star Award.

Rich was the only member of yesterday's side who had ever won in Perth wearing a Brisbane jumper.

The other 21 players who travelled west had a combined 0-44 record for the club in the WA capital. And Jarrod Berry, Eric Hipwood, Hugh McCluggage, Oscar McInerney and Cam Rayner had not previously played an AFL match there.

To make matters worse, Fremantle had posted six wins to Brisbane’s one, and were fresh coming off a Round 14 bye after a 57-point Round 13 win over Carlton in Melbourne and a three-point Round 12 win over 2017 grand finalists Adelaide in Perth.

But not only did the Lions beat the Dockers they blitzed them.

Playing an aggressive and attacking brand of football, they led by 17 points at quarter time after winning the first quarter for the first time this year, and then they led 24 points at halftime and 41 points at three-quarter time to write themselves into the Club record books.

The 55-point win was the equal biggest winning margin by a Brisbane team in Perth, on a par with Round 5, 1999, when ex-Fitzroy strongman Jarrod Molloy kicked five goals and the Brownlow Medal votes went to Michael Voss (3), Steven Lawrence (2) and Darryl White (1). Luke Power played his 10^th game and  Simon Black his 12^th.

It was the first time the Lions had led at every change and won since Round 18 against Carlton at the Gabba last year. And the first time they had won every quarter since Round 12 against Fremantle at the Gabba last year.

More significantly, it was the third time in 59 games since 2012 the Lions had won every quarter. And the 8^th time in 154 games since 2009.

And it was Brisbane’s second-highest score all-time in Perth, behind only their 20-12 (128) against Fremantle in 2001, when Jonathan Brown, Daniel Bradshaw, Nigel Lappin and Craig McRae kicked three goals each in Shaun Hart’s 200^th game and the debut of Ash McGrath and Dylan McLaren.

The win, the Lions’ second this season after their 56-point win over Hawthorn at the Gabba in Round 9, saw them join Sydney, North and Essendon as the only teams to win in Perth this season and jumped their percentage 5.2% to 83.6%.

And although they are still second on the ladder one win ahead of bottom side Carlton, who they play at the Gabba next Saturday, their percentage is ahead not just of Carlton (63.6%) but also 16^th-placed Gold Coast (62.8%), 15^th-placed St Kilda (73.5%), and14^th-placed Western Bulldogs (76.7%), and just behind 13^th—placed Fremantle (85.3).

Almost every Lions player impressed in the victory, with ruckman Stef Martin a standout in his 150th game with 46 hitouts and seven clearances. 

The Lions had 10 different goalkickers, led by Lewy Taylor and Dan McStay who kicked three each. 

The midfield brigade dominated the Dockers, winning clearances by nine and contested possessions by 19.

Dayne Beams produced 12 clearances and had 16 contested possessions while Jarrod Berry had seven inside 50s. 

The match was the biggest crowd the Lions have won in front of since Round 17, 2007. 

Suffice to say when finally coach Chris Fagan and his team boarded the flight home from Perth on Monday morning they felt a degree of satisfaction.