THE BRISBANE juggernaut has rolled on, cracking Gold Coast's People First Stadium fortress with a 28-point QClash win on Saturday night.

Although their undersized defence was in the spotlight all week, it was the Lions' midfield and damaging half-backs that proved the difference in the 13.15 (93) to 9.11 (65) triumph.

SUNS v LIONS Full match coverage and stats

Their eighth-straight win moves the Lions into second spot and suddenly with destiny in their own hands to secure two home finals come September.

The result almost ends Gold Coast's hopes of playing finals.

Following quiet performances against Sydney six days earlier, two-time Brownlow medallist Lachie Neale (35 and a goal) and running mate Josh Dunkley (31 and a goal) laid the platform for victory.

Brisbane's physicality in the middle of the ground gave them a 43-31 advantage in the clearances that helped protect its backline with a 60-51 inside 50 edge.

Cam Rayner was again instrumental in victory, continuing his purple patch of form with two important second-quarter goals that put separation in the match to go with 25 disposals.

But just as he was in the teams' first match-up this season, it was Dayne Zorko adjudged best afield to win his second Marcus Ashcroft Medal.

Zorko mopped up everything in a chaotic first quarter and used his superb kicking skills to springboard Brisbane's attack.

The Magician finished with a match-high nine score involvements from his 32 touches to underline his importance.

In front of a record QClash crowd at Carrara of 21,043, the Suns had their perfect home record stopped, unable to make the most of their chances inside 50.

While their height advantage over Brisbane didn't really prove advantageous, they created enough chances to genuinely push the Lions, but could not land the killer blows.

The Suns will now need to win all four of their remaining matches – against West Coast (away), Essendon (away), Melbourne (home) and Richmond (away) – to have any hope of playing finals for the first time.

There were clearly some nerves for both teams in the opening quarter as Brisbane regularly turned the ball over in its back half.

The Suns couldn't capitalise though, with Ben King spraying a couple of set shots in a carryover from last week's struggles against Greater Western Sydney.

Nick Holman's ball-and-all tackle of Rayner that earned a free kick, 50m penalty and goal got tempers flaring, but Joe Daniher gave the visitors a quarter-time advantage with a strong mark over Sam Collins.

Brisbane got on top late in a topsy-turvy first half, with Neale and Dunkley winning the midfield arm wrestle and Rayner capitalising with two exceptional goals.

King's goalkicking woes continue
Last week Ben King had a wretched day with the boot, failing to kick a goal from seven attempts against Greater Western Sydney. One of the most reliable set shots of the season prior to that, Gold Coast's full-forward had similar troubles against the Lions. Outmarking makeshift defender Eric Hipwood on a handful of occasions, King kicked three behinds and missed everything once during the first half. He kicked his first goal following a towering mark in the third quarter – a nervous set shot from 30m – to finish with 1.3 on another frustrating night. 

Rayner runs riot again
Cam Rayner's rise over the second half of the season continued with another outstanding performance. Last week against Sydney he was instrumental in victory and against the Suns his fingerprints were again all over the triumph. A brilliant left foot snap and booming set shot from 50m in the second quarter gave the Lions a nice buffer. He finished with 25 disposals to go along with two goals and two assists to continue his white-hot form.

Eric Hipwood's defensive initiation
Shuffled to the backline to replace injured co-captain Harris Andrews (concussion) and fellow key defender Darragh Joyce (jaw), Eric Hipwood can hold his head high. Although looking a little lost with his positioning in the opening exchanges against Ben King, Hipwood found his feet from the second quarter onwards and was able to spoil effectively in marking contests and lead his Suns opponent to ground balls. Hipwood finished with eight intercept possessions from his 10 touches and was able to add a goal when King gave away a 50m penalty in the middle of the ground. Chris Fagan now knows that should a key defender go down in a big game, he has a viable option to swing to the other end. 

GOLD COAST         2.6    5.8     7.9      9.11 (65)
BRISBANE             3.2     8.7  10.10  13.15 (93)

GOALS
Gold Coast: Rosas Jnr 2, Witts, Rowell, Long, King, Holman, Graham, Flanders
Brisbane: Daniher 2, Cameron 2, Rayner 2, McCluggage 2, Neale, Lohmann, Dunkley, Hipwood, Bailey

BEST
Gold Coast: Uwland, Jeffrey, Collins, Flanders, Anderson
Brisbane: Zorko, Neale, Rayner, Wilmot, Dunkley, Berry

INJURIES
Gold Coast: Nil
Brisbane: Nil

SUBSTITUTES
Gold Coast: Tom Berry (replaced Ned Moyle at three-quarter time)
Brisbane: Conor McKenna (replaced Shadeau Brain at three-quarter time)

Crowd: 21,043 at People First Stadium