Only a month before a likely AFL finals appearance, it is alarming to hear the coach talk about a failure to maintain intensity.

But Brisbane coach Michael Voss is confident his team has shown enough this season to indicate they can rebound quickly from Saturday night's second-half shocker against Collingwood.

The Lions only managed one goal after halftime at the MCG and the Magpies belted them by 40 points.

Brisbane can be thankful Collingwood were so wasteful, kicking 12.23.

"If our players hadn't shown they could do it, you'd be probably pretty concerned," Voss said.

"But the group has, and we're known for is the group that can maintain that intensity - we force oppositions to win the ball.

"It just wasn't there (in the second half)."

Voss hopes this has the same sort of effect as Brisbane's appalling round-five visit to Geelong, where they lost by 93 points.

The Lions won their next three games.

"We've just got a little bit of a reality check, exactly where we sit in the pecking order," he said.

"It's a pretty clear indication of what we've got to work on.

"We only know if they're pivotal moments if we get to learn out of (them) and we can turn (them) into action."

He also stressed that, with 11 wins, the Lions are yet to make the finals.

Brisbane are now sixth, a game out of the top four, and face a potentially-dangerous return to the MCG next Saturday night to play top-eight contenders Essendon.

Voss said his team had to learn how to react when a side throws the pressure back at them, as Collingwood did so effectively in the third quarter.

Brisbane quickly became reactive and, as Voss noted, they were caught ball-watching too often.

"As the game comes and the opposition hits you, you've got to think through that pressure, you've got to look it in the eye and work your way through it," he said.

"We succumbed to it, no beating around the bush.

"Clearly, we have to get better at that, right now."

Captain Jonathan Brown was their best player with five goals, four of them in the first half, but the Magpies defence doubled- and even triple-teamed him in the first half.

It was notable that the Lions were never able to match up on Collingwood captain Nick Maxwell as he played his loose-man role to perfection across half-back.

"If you're not working together, then individuals become irrelevant," Voss said.

"It doesn't matter what the individuals do, because there are 22 guys."

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