For Brisbane, it was a convincing win on the trot and a fifth in six matches. It resigned Essendon to a second straight defeat on the back of last week's Anzac Day debacle, with injuries to Jye Caldwell (ankle) and Saad El-Hawli (collarbone) rubbing salt into an already gaping wound.

Brisbane rattled off six of the first seven goals without breaking sweat to carve open a commanding advantage early. Such was the ease in which the Lions broke clear, they took 52 marks and had 51 more disposals in the opening term alone.

Essendon, to its credit, had stemmed the bleeding through a scrappy second term. But the fear was when Brisbane did click back into gear, the margin would become gruesome. Indeed, that concern came to fruition when the Lions poured on six straight goals to begin the third term to break the Bombers' backs.

The margin stretched to as much as 69 points amid the third quarter, enough to ensure that the only thing Essendon had to play for in the final term was pride. Fortunately, it salvaged some of that by more than doubling its goals output in the last term alone.

Cox makes AFL return after 630 days out
It might not have been Essendon's day, but seeing Nik Cox back on the field was certainly a positive for the Bombers. Having not played for 630 days amid concerns he might never suit up again due to a series of concussions, Cox made a successful return to AFL action. Playing predominantly forward, he nailed Josh Dunkley in a big tackle midway through the second term and kicked a late goal from an uncontested mark inside-50 to highlight his afternoon. Essendon will hope Cox can reestablish himself as a senior regular across the rest of the season.

ESSENDON      1.3      4.8       5.11     11.13 (79)
BRISBANE       6.2      10.5     17.8      22.11 (143)
 
GOALS
Essendon: Caddy 3, Wright 2, Blakiston, Edwards, Merrett, Robey, Langford, Cox
Brisbane: Bailey 4, Morris 4, Lohmann 4, Rayner 2, McKenna 2, Cameron 2, Neale, Wilmot, McCluggage, Reville
 
BEST
Essendon: Wright, Merrett, Caddy, Durham
Brisbane: Bailey, Wilmot, W.Ashcroft, Zorko, McCluggage, Andrews
 
INJURIES
Essendon: Caldwell (ankle), El-Hawli (collarbone)
Brisbane: Gallop (concussion)
 
Crowd: 31,595 at Marvel Stadium