Collingwood midfield star Dane Swan's late-season form surge continued and Travis Cloke kicked five goals as the Magpies notched an unconvincing 14.18 (102) to 13.6 (84) AFL win over Brisbane at the MCG on Saturday night.

The victory came at a cost, with defender Ben Reid joining an injury list that is growing at a worrying rate for the Magpies as finals approach.

Small forward Andrew Krakouer (quad) was a pre-game withdrawal, joining captain Nick Maxwell, key forward Chris Dawes, Leon Davis, Sharrod Wellingham and Ben Johnson as injured players on the sidelines, along with the suspended Heath Shaw.

Key backman Reid was subbed off at three-quarter time, after copping a heavy knock to the back in a marking contest, which had him crouched in pain for some time and appearing to cough up blood.

Aside from that concern, the Magpies would have been disappointed by lacklustre first and last terms, but dominated the middle stages of the game to ensure their only loss of a near-flawless season remains the three-point defeat to Geelong in round eight.

Swan gathered 33 touches and nine clearances and kicked two goals to be best afield, while fellow midfielders Dayne Beams, Scott Pendlebury and Luke Ball were solid and Alan Didak found some touch, with 30 disposals.

First-gamer Tom Young chimed in with two goals for the winners.

The match started with a low-pressure feel, the Lions taking advantage to build a seven-point lead at the first change, helped by a strong performance from athletic ruckman Matthew Leuenberger.

Irishman Niall McKeever kept Cloke quiet in the first quarter and kicked a goal himself, with the help of a 50m penalty.

But after coach Mick Malthouse came to the quarter-time huddle in an icy mood, his team lifted, outscoring the Lions 5.6 to 2.1 in the second stanza, including two Cloke goals, to take control.

The Magpies were even more dominant in the third quarter, kicking the first 4.4 of the term, with Swan outstanding, setting up two goals for the quarter and scoring one himself, to help Collingwood storm to the last change 46 points clear.

But the Magpies took their foot off the pedal in the final quarter, allowing the Lions to slot seven goals, more than they had managed in the previous three terms combined, although they never threatened to overtake Collingwood.

Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse said Reid's injury was not believed to be serious.

"I think he'll be okay, I don't know the full extent of it, I'm not going to guess, but I think he'll be okay," Malthouse said.

But he said the number of players on his side's injury list was a concern, as was the spasmodic nature of Saturday night's performance.

"You can't just switch on form, form's there or it's not there, it's not a matter of turning some tap on," he said.

Brisbane coach Michael Voss took heart from getting close to the reigning premiers and from his side's strong finish, particularly after falling away late in several recent matches.

"We did finish out the game strong, which was what I was pleased with, especially I guess the previous five weeks before that, we can categorically say it is not fitness (that was the problem), we can put that to bed, it's got nothing to do with it," he said

But Voss said his midfielders needed to capitalise more on Leuenberger's ruck ascendancy, as the Lions' forwards had shown they could kick decent scores if they got enough supply.

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