A winning drought has finally been broken by the Brisbane Lions - and it proved worth the wait for long-suffering Gabba fans.

Five weeks of suffering dulled somewhat for the Lions after they over-ran fierce AFL rivals Collingwood 13.10 (88) to 11.14 (80) in front of 34,239 on Saturday night.

Certainly Lions skipper Jonathan Brown was feeling no pain as he ignored a troublesome abdominal tear to kick four goals and help the hosts end their worst losing streak since 2006.

Debate raged over Brown's fitness ahead of the clash, but the Lions skipper looked to be back to his inspirational best as the hosts (5-5 record) snapped a five-game losing run.

While victory was sweet for the Lions, it also fittingly marked the 250th game for veteran Luke Power - only the 12th player in the club's history to reach the milestone.

But there was no consolation for the Pies (7-3), who have now dropped two straight after surrendering top spot to Geelong last round.

While Brown was impressive, Brendan Fevola's four-goal second half cameo was just as pivotal.

The Lions kicked 3.2 to 1.3 - including two goals in a minute by Fevola - to reduce a match-high 20-point deficit to just 9.11 (65) to 9.8 (62) by the final break.

Fevola had just one kick in the first half - a shocking shank that went out in the full and had parents desperately clutching for their children.

It took him until the 26th minute of the third term to come alive - but it was worth the wait.

Fevola - well held by Nick Maxwell for most of the match - cut loose when he opened his account with his second kick.

He then had the Lions faithful on their feet when soon after he somehow snapped a goal over his head to put the hosts within sight of the Pies.

He bagged another two in the fourth term, including the matchwinner - a gutsy snap in the 26th minute.

Fevola came into the match with a good record against the Pies from his Carlton playing days - 55 goals in 18 matches.

It marked the Lions' first win over the Pies since round two, 2008, denting Collingwood's road warrior reputation.

The Magpies' last away loss was against Fremantle in round 22, 2008 after winning all four away trips last season.

Lions coach Michael Voss couldn't hide his pride after his side kicked seven of the last nine goals to clinch victory for the first time in more than a month.

"Slowly over the last couple of weeks we were seeing signs that we were turning the corner but we didn't get the result," said Voss, who had been hurting since their round five loss to Melbourne.

"Tonight we got reward for effort. Some of the things they have put in place have come to the fore for us." Voss hoped the win would be a turning point for his team who looked to have lost their way after winning the first four games.

"It was certainly a big game for us," Voss said.

"We had momentum at the start of the year (but) we had intervention in that Melbourne game.

"They were too good for us and we have been struggling to find our feet since.

"For us to keep persisting and believing was important.

"To get the win is a big one in the context of the season."

Surly Magpies coach Mick Malthouse didn't sound surprised by the loss.

"I said to the players before the game 'they have too much pride, look at how the coach played', and he was going to get that across to his players," he said.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP