Brisbane coach Chris Fagan has hailed the impact of his next tier of AFL stars after the Lions overcame a first-quarter blitz by GWS to secure a 14-point win over the Giants at the Gabba.
On a day where captain Dayne Zorko and Daniel Rich were kept quiet and with star midfielder Hugh McCluggage (hamstring) absent, it was the supporting cast who stood tall as the Lions claimed a 16.14 (110) to 15.6 (96) victory on Saturday afternoon.
While superstar Lachie Neale was best on ground with a game-high 39 disposals and six tackles as well as two goals, he was ably supported by Jarrod Berry and Cameron Rayner.
Both Berry and Rayner set new career-high marks for disposals with 33 and 25 touches respectively as the Lions came back from an early 30-point deficit as the Giants kicked eight goals in the first quarter.
With 20-year-old Dev Robertson chipping in with two goals on his first AFL appearance of the season in place of McCluggage, Fagan said it was heartening to have such talent at his disposal.
"Exciting to see those two guys coming through," Fagan said of Berry and Rayner.
"Jarrod Berry has been learning to play the wing all season and he's stuck at it and today there was some dividends for him.
"He can become one of the really good wingmen in the league the way that he is developing.
"Jaxon Prior is coming along in that regard as well.
"Good to see Cam doing well.
"If we want to be any good this year, those young blokes that have been around for three to four years they've got to step up and they have been this year really.
"McCluggage has been very good. Berry was good today. (Zac) Bailey is having a good year. (Brandon) Starcevich is a really solid defender now.
"We've just got to keep those blokes growing."
In a first-quarter shootout, a combined 14 goals from just 27 inside 50s were kicked.
Toby Greene kicked three of those on his way to a four-goal haul for the Giants, while Lions small forward Lincoln McCarthy also notched three majors in the opening term before finishing with four in the match.
James Peatling had three goals to repeat his effort in the Giants' win over West Coast last week while a stack of players finished with two goals including Neale, eye-catching youngster Robertson and Giants' tall Jesse Hogan.
Josh Kelly with 31 disposals, six clearances and two goals was a standout for the Giants, who received praise from coach Mark McVeigh for sticking to their task despite the Lions dominating the second and third terms to take control of the match.
"We were really pleased and really proud that when the pressure came and was applied, we were able to not only handle it, but reduce the deficit for a while there," McVeigh said.
"With five minutes to go we were still a really good opportunity, if things went our way and we executed a few things, to potentially win the game."
GWS lost midfielder Callan Ward after he collided with Eric Hipwood in the first quarter, the Giant suffering concussion after collecting the Lions' forward's knee to the side of his head but McVeigh was confident the 32-year-old should recover well.
The win lifts Brisbane to 9-2 and bounces them back from last weekend's surprise five-point loss to Hawthorn while GWS have slipped to 3-8.
The Lions travel to Perth next weekend to face Fremantle at Optus Stadium while the Giants have a bye.
