West Coast skipper Chris Judd led from the front to maintain his side's unbeaten run this AFL season, his four goals the catalyst for a resounding 18.14 (122) to 9.9 (63) victory over Brisbane at Subiaco Oval.

Judd's sparkling performance revived memories of his single handed destruction of the Lions in 2003 and was made all the more impressive as it was done without the presence of Ben Cousins and Daniel Kerr, the latter falling victim to flu.

Leigh Matthews' 400th senior game as a coach was a forgettable night for the Lions, with Chris Johnson's foray into the forward line and Jamie Charman's manful efforts their highlight.

Brisbane trailed by just 15 points at the main break but West Coast clinically picked apart the visitors' defence in the second half, Judd leading the way with 38 possessions.

Despite the media pressure on Jason Akermanis this week, Matthews gave him the job of running with Judd - which in the early stages seemed beyond him.

Within twelve minutes gone Judd had a swag of possessions and two goals, both coming from typical bursts away from traffic.

In that time, Lions skipper Michael Voss had collected a bloodied nose which needed an extended spell on the bench to stem the flow - a task his teammates were also performing on the Eagles' midfield.

Belying their underdog status, the Lions were sticking to their task and frustrating the home fans with occasional bouts of keep ball.

Their main attacking threat was Johnson, who was leading David Wirrpanda a merry dance, kicking one and creating two to keep his side in touch.

After West Coast debutant Shannon Hurn announced his arrival with a monster goal from 60m with his first kick, two goals in time-on gave West Coast a slim advantage at the first break.

The Brisbane dam appeared ready to break with two goals in five minutes straight after threatening to take the game away, but again Johnson and Charman asserted themselves and Tim Notting's major from a tight angle reduced the gap to within a kick late in the term.

After Akermanis wasted the chance to give Brisbane the lead, Judd stepped up to show his innate sense of timing, occasion, and leadership.

West Coast's new skipper broke some desperate goal square tackling to snap a quality goal, give his side crucial breathing space and quell fears of an upset.

Andrew Embley's goal soon after half time, courtesy of a push in the back from Notting, was rapidly followed by Judd's snapped fourth, which blew the gap to four goals and finally deflated the Lions' efforts.

From there, West Coast asserted authority as once Brisbane was renowned for doing, with Cox kicking two in quick succession in the third quarter and Daniel Chick's three late efforts rubbing salt into the Lions' wounds.

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