A week after being accused of not caring in their loss to Gold Coast, the Brisbane Lions have staged a brave second half to overcome Carlton by nine points and win their first game of the season on Sunday.
After being stung by coach Justin Leppitsch following their fifth loss last Saturday, the Lions kicked five goals to three in the third quarter and hung on to win 12.12 (84) to 11.9 (75) at Etihad Stadium.
It was the battle of the unlikely goalkickers with Daniel McStay and Levi Casboult engaging in an old-fashioned shoot-out, but ultimately the class of Dayne Beams and the second half of Allen Christensen led the Lions to victory.
McStay, who has taken up a forward role given the Lions' injury-hit attack, kicked a career-high four goals and was their focal point inside 50.
But the former defender also ventured up the ground, notably spoiling Andrejs Everitt' attempted mark in the second term.
Both Beams brothers were good but the older former-Magpie had an impressive 29 touches and won seven clearances after it looked like Chris Judd and Bryce Gibbs were going to dictate proceedings at the stoppages early.
The Lions' other big off-season recruit Christensen had 15 touches in the second half after starting slowly, while Josh Green kicked two important goals in the third term as they wrestled back a 14-point deficit.
And they did it despite being rocked by a nasty incident that saw Nick Robertson carried off after colliding head-first with the fence in the third term.
The 19-year-old was knocked out and briefly convulsed as he lay on the turf on the city-side wing. He regained consciousness before leaving the field and later returned to the bench to watch the drought-breaking win.
Darcy Gardiner also finished on the pine after hurting his left ankle and left the field on crutches.
Judd and Gibbs set the pace early for the Blues and Casboult kicked four goals, while Dale Thomas returned from his round one shoulder injury to collect 19 possessions without starring.
VIDEO: David Rhys-Jones dissects the loss to Brisbane
The Blues led for most of the game but their biggest advantage didn't clear three goals, which wasn't enough as the plucky Lions charged home.
And, this was despite a quiet game from Daniel Rich, Dayne Zorko being culled by Ed Curnow and Tom Rockliff having a modest 19 touches after being knocked out last week.
With Dylan Buckley and Kristian Jaksch among the serial offenders in turning the ball over, the Blues were untidy and are sure to face the fire of Mick Malthouse again after he said they "embarrassed ourselves" just over a week ago.
Malthouse will be feeling the pressure with the Blues second last on the ladder with one win, clear of only the Lions on percentage.
CARLTON 3.2 6.4 9.7 11.9 (75)
BRISBANE LIONS 3.1 5.4 10.9 12.12 (84)
GOALS
Carlton: Casboult 4, Bell 2, Murphy 2, Cripps, Judd, Jones
Brisbane Lions: McStay 4, Green 3, Taylor, Leuenberger, Lester, Christensen, Rockliff
BEST
Carlton: Gibbs, Bell, Curnow, Judd, Docherty, Casboult
Brisbane Lions: D Beams, Martin, McStay, Andrews, Christensen, Green, Taylor
INJURIES
Carlton: TBC
Brisbane Lions: Robertson (head), Gardiner (ankle)
SUBSTITUTES
Carlton: Nick Graham replaced Dylan Buckley at three-quarter time
Brisbane Lions: Tom Cutler replaced Marco Paparone in the fourth quarter
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Bannister, Chamberlain, Ryan
Official crowd: TBC at Etihad Stadium
