A slip of the tongue showed the coaching caper was still a little new to rookie Brisbane Lions mentor Michael Voss.

But certainly no one was doubting his credentials after making a perfect - but hardly seamless - debut in the AFL NAB Cup opening round against St Kilda at Gold Coast Stadium on Saturday night.

Asked how he handled his first official game with the clipboard, Voss said: "It was good for us because we got to trial things in the commentary box.

"Ah, commentary box. Gees, I'm going to have to get out of saying that. I mean coach's box!"

However, Voss could be forgiven for being a tad rattled after the game.

After sitting pretty with his young side leading by 46 points early in the third quarter, Voss was still made to sweat it out for his first victory as the Saints kicked seven of the last eight majors to come within a super goal in the dying minutes.

But Voss had already given his side a pass mark before holding on to a 1.8.8 (65) to 0.8.8 (56) win.

"What we wanted to get out of it was getting a competitive effort from the guys so that they got their bumps and bruises, they put their head over the ball; they were very competitive and that's what we wanted," Voss said.

"Also to be running when they're fatigued. That was our first practice match, so I wasn't surprised that they started running out of legs - it was looking a bit ominous there at one stage.

"But by that stage I had got what I wanted out of the game. The only thing that was left was whether we won the game or not."

It may have been his first game at the helm but Voss' impact was already there for all to see.

The Lions attacked the ball, tackled hard and moved the ball well by hand - much like the three-time premiership skipper in his prime.

Another tell-tale Voss sign came after the match.

While his predecessor, the legendary Leigh Matthews, rarely singled out players, an excited Voss threatened to run through the entire 28-strong player list in his post-match assessment.

He said draftees Daniel Rich, Aaron Cornelius and Jack Redden showed encouraging glimpses while Scott Harding's three goals also did not go unnoticed after Voss' pre-match call to help spread the scoring load.

"You always love to see the first touch when the guy smothers it and dishes it off and that was Jack's (Reddan) first touch," he said.

"Even just seeing guys that had big pre-seasons like Tom Collier and seeing him put that physical pressure on the opposition ... I could go through them all but they all had some sort of contribution."

Voss said "three or four" players including Joel Patfull would return for their NAB Cup quarter-final with Essendon at Telstra Dome on February 27 but baulked at when talisman Jonathan Brown would play.

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