For Brisbane, it meant a second convincing win on the trot and a fifth in six matches. It resigned Essendon to a second straight damning defeat on the back of last week's Anzac Day debacle, with injuries to Jye Caldwell (ankle) and Saad El-Hawli (collarbone) rubbing salt into an already gaping wound.

It was a contest that had a stench about it almost immediately, as Brisbane rattled off six of the first seven goals without breaking sweat to carve open a commanding advantage early. Such was the ease in which the Lions broke clear, they took 52 marks and had 51 more disposals in the opening term alone. 

BOMBERS v LIONS Full match coverage and stats

But the fact Brisbane also had five more tackles to half time was the even bigger indictment on Essendon, given the vast disparity in possession numbers, with the lack of Bomber intensity overshadowing the multitude of skill errors as the Lions' lead swelled to 33 points by the main break.

Essendon, to its credit, had stemmed the bleeding through a scrappy second term. But the fear was when Brisbane did click back into gear, the margin would become gruesome. Indeed, that concern came to fruition when the Lions poured on six straight goals to begin the third term to break the Bombers' backs.

The margin stretched to as much as 69 points amid that third quarter onslaught, enough to ensure that the only thing Essendon had to play for in the final term was pride. Fortunately, it salvaged some of that by more than doubling its goals output in the last term alone.

It just couldn't halt Brisbane's scoreboard impact at the other end as Morris and Lohmann added late ones to match Bailey's tally, keeping the margin big enough to make sure the Lions got a handy percentage booster to match a win-loss record that is improving by the week.

Cox makes AFL return after 630 days out
It might not have been Essendon's day, but seeing Nik Cox back on the field was certainly a positive for the Bombers. Having not played for 630 days amid concerns he might never suit up again due to a series of concussions, Cox made a successful return to AFL action. Playing predominantly forward, he nailed Josh Dunkley in a big tackle midway through the second term and kicked a late goal from an uncontested mark inside-50 to highlight his afternoon. Essendon will hope Cox can reestablish himself as a senior regular across the rest of the season.

ESSENDON      1.3      4.8       5.11     11.13 (79)
BRISBANE       6.2      10.5     17.8      22.11 (143)
 
GOALS
Essendon: Caddy 3, Wright 2, Blakiston, Edwards, Merrett, Robey, Langford, Cox
Brisbane: Bailey 4, Morris 4, Lohmann 4, Rayner 2, McKenna 2, Cameron 2, Neale, Wilmot, McCluggage, Reville
 
BEST
Essendon: Wright, Merrett, Caddy, Durham
Brisbane: Bailey, Wilmot, W.Ashcroft, Zorko, McCluggage, Andrews
 
INJURIES
Essendon: Caldwell (ankle), El-Hawli (collarbone)
Brisbane: Gallop (concussion)
 
Crowd: 31,595 at Marvel Stadium