One of the most turbulent weeks of Brendan Fevola's life ended in joy after the controversial forward helped the Brisbane Lions upset the Western Bulldogs by 22 points on Saturday night.

After making headlines by going public with his gambling addiction just days ago, Fevola let his footy do the talking at the Gabba, kicking four goals in the come-from-behind victory in front of 33,323.

The 13.23 (101) to 12.7 (79) win kept the Lions' unbeaten record intact, ensuring they won their opening four games of the season for the first time since 2002 - a premiership year.

All eyes were on Fevola after admitting to his chronic problem that reportedly led to significant debts.

But it was another AFL bad boy who initially hogged the limelight, with Barry Hall banging in four goals - and appearing to strike Daniel Merrett - to help the Bulldogs at one stage grab a 30-point lead.

Indeed it looked like a long night for Fevola when he squandered several chances to finish with a paltry 0.2 kicking record at halftime.

He had to wait until the 10th minute of the third term to nab his first major - then the floodgates opened.

The Gabba faithful came alive with Fevola bagging four for the term as the Lions outscored the Dogs 6.7 to 2.1 in the third quarter to snatch a six-point lead at the final break.

Shaun Higgins threatened to play the role of party pooper when he slotted through the first goal of the final term to lock up the scores.

But the Lions on held to avenge their 51-point semi-final loss to the Bulldogs last season.

While Fevola dominated the lead-up to the match, Hall became the talking point of the first half as the visitors snatched a 24-point lead at the main break.

While Fevola (0.2) misfired in the first half along with skipper Jonathan Brown (0.1), Hall turned heads - for good and bad reasons.

He may have dominated opponent Merrett but he also raised eyebrows when he appeared to strike the Lions defender on the quartertime siren.

Merrett was niggling the fiery forward before Hall threw a quick left hook that appeared to graze the Lions defender's face.

The red mist threatened to descend again for Hall in the third term when he lashed out wildly twice on opponents without making significant contact.

The Lions were on the backfoot when Brownlow Medalist Simon Black succumbed to a calf injury before the match, making way for Troy Selwood.

Two goals to Todd Banfield helped the Lions to an early 15-point lead before Hall's heroics cut the quarter-time deficit to one - 2.5 (17) to 2.4 (16).

The Bulldogs at one stage booted eight straight goals to turn a 15-point deficit into a 9.5 (59) to 4.11 (35) halftime buffer over the undefeated Lions.

Lions coach Michael Voss said Fevola's stirring display showed his true character: "I think it does. To show that resilience is pretty tough but he was able to perform, particularly in that third quarter when he lifted (the Lions)."

Voss believed the Lions had taken the "extra step" to be considered AFL heavyweights but baulked at being called premiership contenders.

"It feels like we have taken a step, I think I can say that now - the team we played was a very difficult opponent," he said.

"We have been criticised in the past for not being able to finish off games - now we have got confidence out of one another so when we need to put the foot down we can," he said.

Meanwhile, Dogs coach Rodney Eade thought "the scoreline flattered us".

"We hung in there well considering but the dam was going to break sooner or later," he said.

After looking to dominate heading into second half, the Dogs lost their bite - and Eade couldn't explain why.

"I am not too sure. For some reason we fumbled and mucked around and didn't play our normal game - but full credit to the Lions, they lifted in intensity," he said.

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