DAYNE Beams says Saturday night's opening 20-minute onslaught against Gold Coast was as good as he's played in.

The new Brisbane Lions captain - a member of Collingwood's 2010 premiership team - was a major catalyst for his team's blistering start, resulting in the game's first seven goals.

The Lions - amid a haze of defensive pressure and slick ball movement not seen by the club in many years - led 45-1 before the Suns had blinked.

Beams finished with 28 disposals (21 in the first half) and won the Marcus Ashcroft Medal as his team clung to a two-point win.

"Our first 20 minutes was unbelievable," Beams said on Monday morning.

"I've played a fair bit of footy and played in some successful sides, and that 20 minutes of footy was as good as I've played in.

"It was a really good start to the game."

Beams was just as impressed by his team's composure to halt a tidal wave of Suns momentum in the second half to win.

Gold Coast levelled the scores during the final quarter before the Lions steadied.

Beams said his team had "run out of gas" and praised their defence for holding up against 74 inside-50s.

"Harris Andrews and the boys down back did an enormous job to stand up under that type of pressure, so a really big tick for those guys," he said.

"Across the board I thought we defended really well.

"We're still heavily in a learning phase and we'll learn from that second half on Saturday.

"We'll make sure we try and rectify a few things, whether that be just slow the ball down and control the footy a bit to take that momentum away, but we'll have a look more in depth to see what we can do there."

The Lions play Essendon on Saturday night, with the match confirmed to be played at the Gabba after further inspections over the weekend.

The venue was in doubt due to a decision to grow new grass on a damaged patch following the Adele concert.

"It looks in pristine condition, so it'll be good to get back out there again," Beams said.