By his own admission, Geelong coach Chris Scott would have faced some "hard questions" if the Cats had lost a third straight AFL game on Sunday.

But Scott still appeared like a man looking for answers after the Cats claimed a 29-point win over the battling Brisbane Lions at the Gabba.

Eight goals by James Podsiadly and a return to form for fellow forward Tom Hawkins (three majors) should have been enough to make Scott smile.

However, the Cats' mentor was left with plenty of food for thought after emerging with a come-from-behind 20.13 (133) to 15.14 (104) win.

"I thought we were outplayed for the first half and probably parts of the third quarter as well," he said.

"The reality is at the moment, for parts of games, we are just an average team.

"And that is not going to stand up at the end of the year.

"Our best footy is good enough but we are just not seeing it for long enough."

Scott certainly did not sound like a man who had spent the lead-up to the Lions clash on the Gold Coast with his squad in a bid to spark his lagging group.

A change seemed as good as a holiday for the Cats after they had surprisingly lost two straight.

But Geelong still suffered a sluggish start on Sunday and did not stamp their authority until the fourth term after going into the final break trailing by three points.

"If we had lost, I would be answering some hard questions," Scott said.

"But we know we still need to improve and make sure it is more consistent."

Podsiadly kicked five goals by halftime while Hawkins began the fourth quarter onslaught with two quick majors.

"Pods has shown he can play at a really high level and, when we get the ball forward quickly and give them good delivery, they (Podsiadly and Hawkins) can be exceptional players," Scott said.

On Hawkins, Scott added: "I hope it is the stepping stone to him becoming an A-grade AFL key forward - I am confident that he can get there.

"We are prepared to be patient with him ... and he started to show some signs today."

In contrast, Lions' coach Michael Voss wasn't as glowing about Matt Maguire who lived up to his moniker lining up against Podsiadly on Sunday.

"Goose (Maguire) is going to have to live with the fact he played an absolute horror game - he had a shocker," Voss said.

"But we need him. He is important to us and we need to get him back straight up, ready for the next contest."

Lions' captain Jonathan Brown was kept quiet before suffering a sickening head knock late in the third term, but scans later cleared him of any fractures.

Brown went goalless despite Cats' defender Matthew Scarlett (back) being a late withdrawal.

"We took a cautious approach ... but we are not as good a team without him, are we?" Scott said.

"That's something we have to remedy."

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