The Lions bore the brunt of a side on the rebound from its loss to Adelaide, as the Cats kicked the first nine goals and ran away with a 19.13 (127) to 9.10 (64) win.
The Lions' seventh consecutive loss means they have won just one of their past 13 games, and Saturday's performance is sure to increase the pressure on second-year coach Michael Voss.
Joel Selwood was instrumental for the Cats with 41 possessions - just the second time in the midfielder's career he has passed the 40 mark.
“He is an amazing player,” coach Mark Thompson said after the match.
“He started the season slow, he got himself really fit but he has had constant improvement and while everyone was slipping back and we haven’t been playing our best football the last month, Joel has really been outstanding.”
After just 19 possessions last week, Gary Ablett returned to form with a five-goal performance with 26 disposals. He was well supported by Travis Varcoe and Steve Johnson who also provided forward spark with four goals each.
In good signs for the Lions' future, youngster Tom Rockliff showed the way in the middle with 31 possessions, while Jonathan Brown kicked four of the side's nine goals.
Veteran Luke Power had 36 possessions and battled hard for the Lions, but he struggled for support as fellow midfielder Daniel Rich was held to just 12 possessions, with Cameron Ling following his every step.
After a slow start, the reigning premiers flexed their muscles with Varcoe, Ablett and Mathew Stokes running riot in the Cats' forward line to open up a 29-point lead at the first break.
Any chance the Lions had of an upset victory relied on both Brown and Brendan Fevola firing, but the power forwards were let down by some ordinary delivery into attack.
The frustrated Fevola had another day to forget, with his opponent Matthew Scarlett claiming another big scalp, restricting the spearhead to eight possessions and just one goal late in the match.
Lions coach Michael Voss refused to blame his prize recruit.
“On every line we have players that are going through tough periods. I think to pin that on one person would be unreasonable and unfair,” Voss said after the game.
“One person doesn’t get us out of this, all of us do.
“Maybe we’ve left it up to one person to be able to do it in the past and we’ve got to get past that - it takes everyone to contribute.”
It took until the 19-minute mark of the second quarter and a 52-point deficit for the Lions to kick their first goal through Albert Proud.
The goal lifted the Lions, who kicked three of the next four to reduce the half-time deficit to 34 points.
But Varcoe and Johnson snatched back the ascendancy with two goals each in the third quarter as the shell-shocked Lions failed to find anyone to support the solo effort of Brown.
Heading into the final term with a 10-goal deficit, the Lions at least held their own as Geelong cruised to its 13th win of the season with a top-two position in its sights.
Geelong 5.2 10.4 16.8 19.13 (127)
Brisbane Lions 0.3 4.6 6.8 9.10 (64)
GOALS
Geelong: Ablett 5, Varcoe 4, Johnson 4, Kelly, Corey, Ling, Stokes, Wojcinski, Podsiadly
Brisbane Lions: Brown 4, Proud, Leuenberger, Cornelius, Banfield, Fevola
BEST
Geelong: Ablett, Selwood, Chapman, Corey, Varcoe, Kelly, Ling, Milburn, Scarlett
Brisbane Lions: Power, Rockliff, Redden, Brennan, Leuenberger, Rischitelli, Proud
INJURIES
Geelong: Nil
Brisbane Lions: Buchanan (knee)
Reports: Brent Staker (BL) reported for striking Darren Milburn (Geel) in the third quarter
Umpires: Kennedy, Stewart, Dalgleish
Official crowd: 24,508 at Skilled Stadium
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
