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Brisbane have recorded their first away win of the AFL season, beating GWS by 20 points at Giants Stadium.
Coach Chris Fagan has hailed Brisbane's composure with his AFL side proving they can deliver the goods outside the Gabba, edging GWS by 20 points at Giants Stadium.
Fagan insisted on match eve that home-ground advantage was overrated, having batted away questions about 10 Victorian clubs - and possibly the grand final - shifting to the Sunshine State.
Nonetheless, many of those decrying the Lions' premiership credentials had been pointing to the fact they were yet to record an away win in 2020.
Saturday afternoon's triumph made a mockery of that criticism, also lifting Brisbane to second on the ladder.
The visitors withstood multiple comebacks to prevail 13.10 (88) to 10.8 (68) in a rematch of last year's spiteful semi-final which ended their season.
"If you want to be a good team, you have to win anywhere at any time," Fagan said on Saturday.
"That's what we are trying to be and that was a little step today.
"I wasn't worried too much about it (away form), because I think we won six on the road last year. This was only our third opportunity this year.
"They showed good composure today, dug in ... (but) we'll have to keep improving. We're not going to get carried away with that."
A slow start proved incredibly costly for GWS, who sit outside the top eight and will be attempting to snap a two-game losing streak on Friday night when they face Richmond in a grand-final rematch.
The Lions kicked the opening four goals of the contest.
GWS trimmed their lead to one goal in the second term and staged another fightback when the Lions shot out to a 32-point lead in the third term, but they never hit the front.
"Really frustrating (start) ... they got a hold of us and then you're just chasing, biting and scratching," Giants coach Leon Cameron said.
Giants captain Stephen Coniglio, under pressure to lift after Cameron admitted he was down on form, generated a game-high nine clearances and had 27 disposals.
"It's a good step in the right direction but he knows he's still got a way to go," Cameron said.
The round-seven bout didn't have quite the same level of niggle as last year's semi, but there was no shortage of spot fires and scuffles between two desperate sides coming off disappointing losses.
GWS's struggles getting the ball into their forward line continued.
They lost the inside-50s count 56-34, meaning Jeremy Cameron and Harry Himmelberg booted a combined five goals but didn't have enough opportunities to win the game.
The Giants cut the Lions' buffer to eight points in the third term before Cam Rayner reeled in the mark of the day, clambering above a pack in his forward line and kicking a settler.
Rayner stepped up again with the all-important first goal of the final term, a remarkable dribbled effort from the boundary.
