BRISBANE has stunned Hawthorn and given the Hawks' AFL finals aspirations a serious hit with a 33-point win in Launceston.

The Lions attacked the footy harder than the Hawks in the 15.8 (98) to 9.11 (65) victory on Saturday afternoon – their third in a row.

LIONS UPSET HAWKS Full match coverage and stats

Young guns Cameron Rayner and Eric Hipwood booted three goals each, including crucial majors at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

The Lions kicked 10 goals to three in the second half after trailing by 11 points at halftime.

Rayner was steady beyond his 18 years for a runaway goal that opened the final term and broke the backs of the Hawks.

The Hawks managed only one point in the last quarter, while the Lions booted the last six goals of the match.

Brisbane coach Chris Fagan praised his young side for "finding a way".

"We've been on this improvement curve for a while but we've sort of struggled to get our young players to play hard enough for long enough," he said.

"Just lately they've been able to go the distance."

PRE-MATCH ROUTINE A WINNER Five talking points

The win was made even more impressive in the absence of star Luke Hodge, who was a late withdrawal with a sore calf.

Dayne Beams was one of the best on ground with 33 possessions, seven clearances and two goal assists.

Hawthorn was eighth going into the round but could drop as low as 10th after its second loss in three games.

They won inside 50s 55-51 but couldn't convert.

"We just wasted so many chances. They were able to capitalise on their chances better than we were," Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson said.

"In the end we lost spirit and faith in the way we wanted to play.

"Some of it is just fundamental skills under heat, in terms of being able to make a good opportunity into a goal scoring chance.

"We just made some dreadful blunders. Some of those they ended up being two-goal swings."

Tom Mitchell finished with a game-high 43 touches but was kept quiet in the second half after racking up 29 of those by the main break. It is the 10th time this season that Mitchell has been Hawthorn's leading possession winner.

Jaeger O'Meara was a shining light for Hawthorn with four goals but none came in the final quarter when the Hawks needed it the most.

The Hawks were still in the match at three-quarter time despite trailing 72-64.

Hawthorn, which plays Carlton next week, is in a tussle with several sides for a top-eight spot.

MEDICAL ROOM

Neither side reported any injury concerns despite Lions onballer Jarrod Berry undergoing a concussion test during the match. Luke Hodge is expected to return for the Lions next week after coach Chris Fagan confirmed the veteran defender was withdrawn pre-match as a precaution due to calf bruising picked up in match practice during the week.

NEXT UP
Hawks fans will be hoping to see a resounding victory – and associated boost in percentage – when they take on the lowly Blues at Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The Lions host Adelaide under lights at the Gabba on Saturday evening and might fancy their chances on current form.

HAWTHORN     2.5   6.7    9.10   9.11 (65)
BRISBANE     2.1   5.2    11.6   15.8 (98)

GOALS
Hawthorn: O'Meara 4, Gunston 2, Whitecross, Mitchell, Duryea
Brisbane: Rayner 3, Hipwood 3, Robinson 2, McStay 2, Christensen, Zorko, Rayner, Taylor, Berry

BEST 
Hawthorn: O’Meara, Mitchell, Sicily, Shiels
Brisbane: D.Beams, Rayner, Rich, Robinson, Berry, Walker

INJURIES 
Hawthorn: Nil
Brisbane Lions: Nil

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Fisher, Hay, Ryan

Crowd: 12,557 at University of Tasmania Stadium