It was supposed to be a night of celebration for Brisbane Lions coach Leigh Matthews, but someone forgot to tell the Crows.

Party poopers Adelaide crashed Matthews' 200th game party with Brisbane to grab a morale-boosting 14.16 (100) to 9.15 (69) AFL win at the Gabba.

Matthews became the first man to play or coach 200 games at three clubs.

The former Hawthorn premiership player was coach of Collingwood from 1986-1995 and joined the Lions in 1999.

But the master coach won't remember his landmark match for Brisbane fondly after Adelaide gave the rebuilding Lions a reality check in front of a 26,978-strong crowd.

Matthews was left lamenting Brisbane's first home loss of the season.

He wondered aloud whether complacency or fatigue could have crept in after smashing Fremantle by 45 points last Sunday in baking conditions.

"We've got to be able to take wins and not let morale become fun and frivolous as opposed to determined and focused," he said.

"Or maybe it was just simple we played on a sunny, hot Sunday afternoon and six days later you don't have the life in your legs which is the look I saw as well.

"(But) we didn't earn the right tonight. All we can do is lick our wounds and get ready for the next contest."

The Lions roared into the match on the back of two straight wins that had catapulted them to a 4-2 record and a top-three spot.

However, the Crows were clearly desperate to break back into the winners' circle after two straight defeats and finished all over Brisbane after leading by just one goal at half-time.

Midfielder Simon Goodwin (30 disposals) was inspirational for Adelaide, who tamed the Lions by blasting 8.8 to 4.7 in the second half.

The Crows turned their season around with their first win in four years against Brisbane at the Gabba last season and will hope they have done the same with Saturday night's stirring victory.

Not everyone marking a landmark match had an unhappy night at the Gabba.

Tyson Edwards (250th for Adelaide; 33 disposals) and Scott Welsh (150th; three goals) were all smiles as they helped propel their side to the upset victory.

Adelaide coach Neil Craig was clearly buzzing after emerging triumphant from what he had rated the "biggest challenge" of their season to date.

"It's a great credit to the club we are trying to build. It was a huge task to try and come up here and play a top three side on their home ground," he said.

"It was a sensational win for us and the guys should be proud of themselves."

Craig dipped his hat to his playing group for nabbing what he believed was a crucial win for their season.

"It will be a really tight competition this year, maybe the tightest in the history. So to be 4-3 from where we are at the moment we are really pleased," he said.

Besides Welsh, Scott Thompson also kicked three goals for Adelaide.

Jed Adcock had a team high 30 disposals for Brisbane.

Key Lions forward Jonathan Brown nabbed his first major to bring Brisbane within a point late in the second quarter.

But from then on in it was one-way traffic.

Adelaide grabbed the match by the throat by booting five unanswered goals - including four in the first 10 minutes of the third quarter - to blow out to a 31-point lead and were never headed.

The third-quarter surge ensured the Crows were flying 10.13 (73) to 6.12 (48) at the final break.

Earlier, Brisbane had burst out of the blocks to nail the first 13 points of the match, but the Goodwin-inspired Crows regained the initiative to grab a 4.2 (26) to 3.6 (24) lead at the first break and a 6.8 (44) to 5.8 (38) buffer at half-time.

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