The Brisbane Lions face a challenging fortnight, with both of their looming opponents, St Kilda and Sydney, displaying good form in a Round 1 notable for some amazing comebacks.

The Lions will entertain St Kilda on Thursday in an Easter Eve blockbuster that will have fans licking their lips - particuarly those who recall the pulsating nature of the corresponding fixture of 2005. But on the evidence of St Kilda's Friday night win over Melbourne, the Lions will need to be near their best to grab a second home victory in the space of five days.

The Saints fell behind to the Demons early but were most impressive for new coach Ross Lyon once they found their feet. The form of Fraser Gehrig, who booted four goals and thoroughly outplayed Nathan Carroll, will have been noted by the Lions, while Leigh Montagna looks ready to blossom into a midfield star after an excellent, hard-running performance.

All three St Kilda stars returning from injury-blighted 2006 campaigns - Matt Maguire, Lenny Hayes and Justin Koschitzke - appeared to emerge unscathed, while Luke Ball returned to the field with the aid of a bandage around his head after being ironed out by a Matthew Whelan shepherd in the first quarter.

The week after hosting the Saints, the Lions will travel to Sydney to play the Swans at the SCG. Paul Roos' side didn't start the season proper with a win but their brave efforts in coming back from a seemingly impossible situation - 19 points down at the 11-minute mark of the last quarter - and run West Coast to within a point would have lost them no fans. It was another hum-dinger of a match between the grand finalists of the last two years, with Chris Judd in sublime touch for the Eagles.

The Swans' ultimately unsuccessful late surge, amazingly, wasn't the best comeback of the round. That honour belonged to Collingwood, who went into the fourth quarter against the Kangaroos trailing by 25 points and emerged three-point winners. The Roos' Shannon Grant blasted a potentially game-winning shot into the post from 15m and it seems unlikely that Dean Laidley and his men will want to watch too many replays of a final 30 minutes in which everything went pear-shaped.

Also coming back from the brink were Port Adelaide, who kicked 10 third-quarter goals in a 16-point win over a disappointing Fremantle in Perth. The Dockers have been regarded by many judges as a genuine premiership threat but a match in which they were overrun after leading by 22 points at half-time was reminiscent of the dark days of the past. Power coach Mark Williams rated the win amongst the best of his eight-year tenure.

Elsewhere, there were victories for ex-Lions Jason Akermanis and Mal Michael in their first games for new clubs. Akermanis' Western Bulldogs eclipsed Geelong by 20 points, while Michael's Essendon were surprise 31-point winners over the Crows - a 169-point turnaround on the last time the two teams met in Adelaide in Round 10 of last year. Bryce Gibbs kicked a goal with his first kick in league football as Carlton overran Richmond by 17 points in Sunday's twilight match.

Lions star Simon Black would face tough competition for the best performance of Round 1, despite the brilliant nature of his 39-touch effort in Saturday night's win over Hawthorn. Aside from Judd, Scott Lucas (seven goals) and Brad Johnson (eight) were in sparkling form for Essendon and the Western Bulldogs respectively.

Dockers star Matthew Pavlich was the biggest name to enter the umpire's notebooks in Round 1, booked for striking Port's Darryl Wakelin in the last term. Essendon's exciting first-year player Alwyn Davey - younger brother of Melbourne's Aaron - was reported for forceful contact on Adelaide's Martin Mattner. Davey's situation is interesting as he was booked after making front-on contact while trying to tackle Mattner, who slipped to the ground as the young Bomber approached him. On first glance, the contact appeared to be a combination of incidental and accidental but the new stricter interpretations regarding front-on contact means his fate will be closely watched.

St Kilda 13.15 (93) d Melbourne 9.8 (62)

The Saints set the scene for an enticing Easter Thursday showdown with the Lions at the Gabba by overcoming a slow start to account for the Demons by 31 points. Melbourne coach Neale Daniher was so disappointed by his team's play after a four-goal opening term that he was left lamenting the "very dumb football" played by the Demons in terms two and three. St Kilda, by contrast, got better as the game went on, with Leigh Montagna outstanding and Fraser Gehrig in impressive form at full-forward - something that is sure to give the Lions brain trust plenty to consider during the week. The only injury concerns to come out of the game were Melbourne's with Brock McLean hurting a foot and Matthew Whelan nursing a sore neck after poleaxing Luke Ball in the first quarter with a bone-jarring shepherd. A bandaged Ball returned to the field of play, while St Kilda's long-term injury victims - Matt Maguire, Lenny Hayes and Justin Koschitzke - all got through unscathed. The Saints' star centre-half-forward and Southport product Nick Riewoldt did not play because of back soreness. Ex-Lion Jayden Attard was a handy contributor for St Kilda, putting the clamps on Melbourne livewire Aaron Davey.

Port Adelaide 19.7 (121) d Fremantle 16.9 (105)

Fremantle served up a reminder of the dark old days for their fans, squandering an eight-goal opening term and a handy lead in going down by 16 points to the Power at Subiaco Oval. The Dockers burst out of the gates and led by 22 points at half-time, but a parochial home crowd was then forced to watchin in horror as Port - minus Warren Tredrea - rifled through 10 goals in an astonishing third term. Fremantle had chances to regain the ascendancy in the last quarter but wasted them in a disappointing start to the season. Skipper Matthew Pavlich kicked five goals but was also reported for striking for the Dockers, who will already be without the suspended Jeff Farmer when they travel to the Gabba in Round 6. Daniel Motlop, David Rodan, Brett Ebert and Damon White all kicked three goals for Port, although one-time Lions recruiting target Motlop injured an ankle and did not finish the match. The win delighted Power coach Mark Williams, who rated the stunning comeback "right up there" with anything the team has produced during his tenure.

Collingwood 12.10 (82) d Kangaroos 10.9 (79)

As impressive as Port Adelaide's comeback might have been, it was, in all likelihood, surpassed for drama by that of Collingwood in Saturday's thrilling three-point win over the Roos. Mick Malthouse's side booted seven goals in the final term after managing only five up to three-quarter-time - erasing the 25-point deficit they carried into the final change. Veteran Scott Burns slotted a goal from 45m to put the Magpies in front with four minutes remaining, but there were still some anxious moments for the black-and-white faithful, who watched on as the Kangaroos' normally reliable Shannon Grant drilled the goalpost with a set shot from 15m out. For the first three quarters the Kangaroos had looked the better side, led by Adam Simpson and Brent Harvey, the latter of whom booted three goals. But the Pies, for whom summer recruit Paul Medhurst kicked two goals on debut, finished right over-the-top of Dean Laidley's men. All-Australian defender James Clement was best for the winners.

West Coast 11.8 (74) d Sydney 10.13 (73)

Sydney almost made it a week for back-from-the-dead victories when they fought back from a 19-point deficit mid-way through the last quarter to get within a point of West Coast in a grand final re-match that more than lived up to advance billing. Eagles ruckman Mark Seaby looked to have sealed victory when he split the big sticks in the 11th minute of the last quarter, stretching the reigning premiers' lead beyond three goals. But the Swans roared back with three goals in four minutes and it took a match-saving tackle from Daniel Kerr - a controversial figure during the off-season - to ensure West Coast hung on. The Eagles' captain, Chris Judd, was named best afield, as the combatants from the last two grand finals fought out a one-point result for the third time in succession - indeed, their last six clashes have been decided by a combined 13 points. Sydney, who were inaccurate and failed to register a goal in the second term, were best served by Brett Kirk, while Brownlow medallist Adam Goodes had a rare quiet outing. West Coast booted 6.0 in a brilliant first quarter and their win was all the meritorious, considering it came without Ben Cousins, Chad Fletcher, Dean Cox and Norm Smith medallist Andrew Embley - the latter two of whom were late withdrawals.

Essendon 16.9 (105) d Adelaide 10.14 (74)

Ex-Lions full-back Mal Michael enjoyed a successful and solid debut as a Bomber, with Scott Lucas' seven goals helping inspire Essendon to a surprise 31-point victory over Adelaide. The last time the Bombers headed to Adelaide to play the Crows, it was the home side which came out 138 points to the good - meaning yesterday's result was a 169-point turnaround inside the space of a year. Kevin Sheedy's side led at every change and extended their advantage after half-time, Lucas having the type of game he enjoyed when he kicked seven goals against the Lions in Round 17 of last year - the ball seemingly magnetically attracted to him. Adelaide lost acting captain Simon Goodwin to a badly corked thigh in the first quarter and struggled both with creating opportunities and converting them. Nathan Bock was Adelaide's most productive forward with three goals but also came out of the match with cork injury.

Western Bulldogs 17.11 (113) d Geelong 13.15 (93)

The phenomenonally consistent Brad Johnson picked up where he left on in 2006, dining out on Geelong to the tune of a career-high eight goals as the Bulldogs - with Jason Akermanis on debut - accounted for the Cats by 20 points at Docklands. Akermanis, like fellow former Lion Mal Michael at Essendon, finished on the right side of the scoreline in his maiden appearance as a Bulldog, but the limelight belonged to Johnson who could yet challenge the 74 goals he kicked last year. Akermanis had 13 touches and kicked his first major for his new club amid an eight-goal surge that went a long way towards a Bulldogs victory. Geelong had the better of the first quarter and outscored the Bulldogs five goals to two in the final stanza but struggled to counter the Bulldogs' run in terms two and three. Cameron Mooney and Nathan Ablett kicked three goals apiece for the Cats.

Carton 15.25 (115) d Richmond 15.8 (98)

National No.1 draft pick Bryce Gibbs joined the band of players to have kicked goals with their first kicks in senior football, as the Blues carried through their NAB Cup-winning form into the season proper. After trailing for much of the match and having wasted a plethora of opportunities - in contrast with their pre-season play - Carlton kicked nine of the game's last 12 goals to turn around what had been a 17-point half-time deficit. Nick Stevens was typically prolific with 30 touches, while Brendan Fevola kicked 3.3. Kayne Pettifer was highly efficient in attack for Richmond, kicking four goals amongst nine disposals, with Nathan Foley gathering 26 possessions to lead the Tigers in that department.