Gun draftee Will Ashcroft and prized recruit Josh Dunkley were outstanding for Brisbane in its commanding win over Geelong on Thursday night, but the Lions finished with some injury concerns.

Tall forward Eric Hipwood (corked quad) was given an early mark after appearing to cop a head knock in the same incident, but the revamped Lions midfield could hardly have been more impressive after a slow start, finishing with a 13.13 (91) to 6.9 (45) triumph at Brighton Homes Arena.

Dunkley put his head into every contest and was at the bottom of most packs, finishing with 31 disposals and seven tackles in front of a strong home crowd.

Ashcroft, taken with pick No.2 in last year's NAB AFL Draft, got better and better as the night wore on, clean with his hands in traffic and quick with his decisions to finish with 26 touches.

The son of former Lions triple premiership player Marcus was used on the wing, at half-forward and primarily in the midfield.

There was a lot to like about the Lions' performance, with newly-appointed co-captain Lachie Neale (31) and vice-captain Hugh McCluggage (28) influential, but it was the speed of ball movement that really caught the eye.

Geelong had the ball camped inside Brisbane's 50 for much of the opening quarter (20-9), but without Tom Hawkins (foot) and Jeremy Cameron (rested), battled to find avenues to goal, and the Lions pounced on the counter-attack.

Hawthorn recruit Jack Gunston (1.3) got out the back for the game's opening goal after a great Zac Bailey transition, while Hipwood, Bailey and Joe Daniher added further goals to open a nice lead.

Like Brisbane, Geelong was missing a handful of regular best 22 players, including late scratching Mark Blicavs (gastro) and although battling hard, never really extended the Lions.

The Cats lost Jake Kolodjashnij to a head knock during the third quarter after he was on the end of some friendly fire.

From the coaches

Lions midfield coach, Cam Bruce, spoke after the match to media stating he was pleased with the team's performance tonight but they're not getting ahead of themselves.

"Harris and Payney were really on point tonight down back. We know Geelong didn't have their strongest team on the park tonight, but it was certainly pleasing to keep a team like them to under 50pts."

The Lions midfield connection and pressure seemed unstoppable at times throughout the game. Bruce noted it was a style of play he'd admired form the Lions for many years. "I feel like the Brisbane Lions have always been great movers of the footy, I'd say it's been great to live up to that reputation throughout this pre season."

New faces

Dunkley was in the thick of everything from the outset, racking up disposals and looking right at home alongside his new centre square mates Neale and McCluggage. Ashcroft took some time to get involved but became more influential with his hard two-way running, while Gunston found space and could have finished with a much bigger bag, but for a few untimely fumbles. Tanner Bruhn impressed in the midfield, and although slightly fading after half-time, finished with 19 disposals. Ollie Henry (10 and four marks) showed aerial flashes, but will benefit from the return of Cameron and ultimately Hawkins.

BRISBANE         4.4          6.9          9.12       13.13 (91)
GEELONG           0.2          2.3          4.5          6.9 (45)

GOALS
Brisbane: McCarthy 2, Fort 2, Daniher 2, Bailey 2, Robertson, Neale, Hipwood, Gunston, Coleman
Geelong: Stengle 2, Stanley, Rohan, Dempsey, De Koning 

BEST
Brisbane: McCluggage, Dunkley, Andrews, Neale, Bailey, Ashcroft
Geelong: Stewart, Miers, Stengle, Guthrie, Dangerfield

INJURIES
Brisbane: Hipwood (corked quad)
Geelong: Kolodjashnij (head)

Reports: Nil