In front of 27,315 fans, including an excited prime minister Kevin Rudd, the Lions trailed for the majority of the night and went into the final quarter six points in arrears.
But they won the match and possession of eighth spot by kicking five goals to two in a tumultuous last 30 minutes.
It wasn’t all plain sailing, with the Lions starting the last quarter with two quick goals to Rhan Hooper and Luke Power only to see Jarrod Harbrow and Nathan Eagleton hit back almost immediately at the other end.
However, Michael Rischitelli goaled on the run from 50m, Daniel Bradshaw coolly slotted a set shot, and the excellent Joel Patfull snuck forward from defence to convert on the run, setting up a lead that the Lions were able to hang on to for a tense last 10 minutes.
In the opening quarter, the Lions could well have found themselves four goals down inside the first six minutes, but Scott Welsh and Josh Hill both missed kickable opportunities.
The Bulldogs did eventually gain the ascendancy through majors to Brad Johnson and Daniel Giansiracusa, but Hooper hit back with the first two of his three for the night.
The lightning-quick small forward, who himself has battled to convert chances this year, pounced twice in the space of two minutes to cut the deficit to two points mid-way through opening term.
The Dogs eventually headed to quarter-time nine points in front and looked set to kick away early in the second stanza when Giansiracusa bobbed up with two more opportunistic efforts.
Nominally a small forward, Giansiracusa was causing problems in the air as well as on the ground and he set up his second goal by outmarking two opponents.
But just like in the first quarter, the Lions were able to answer back late through Travis Johnstone and Jonathan Brown, and the Bulldogs led by only 10 points at half-time.
It was a similar tale in a comparatively barren term three, in which Johnson stretched the Bulldogs’ advantage only for Dalziell and Brown to counter at the other end and set up the barnstorming finale.
Dalziell’s effort, the first of his AFL career, was particularly noteworthy, coming from hard-up on the boundary line, in the wrong pocket for a right-footer.
Lions utility Jared Brennan had a quiet night to three-quarter-time but was a massive contributor to the result with 11 last-quarter possessions, while first-year wonder Bradd Dalziell ran tirelessly to accumulate a team-high 27 touches.
Hooper kicked three goals and Joel Macdonald slotted seamlessly into the back six on his return from an ankle injury, finishing with 25 disposals.
For the Bulldogs, Adam Cooney was a constant threat on the run and amassed 31 possessions, with Giansiracusa supplying three goals and Eagleton providing plenty of forward thrust.
Brisbane Lions 3.3 6.4 8.8 13.12 (90)
Western Bulldogs 4.4 7.8 8.14 10.19 (79)
GOALS
Brisbane Lions: Brown 3, Hooper 3, Bradshaw 2, Copeland, Dalziell, Power, Rischitelli, Patfull
Western Bulldogs: Giansiracusa 3, Johnson 2, Griffen, Gilbee, Murphy, Harbrow, Eagleton
BEST
Brisbane Lions: Dalziell, Patfull, Macdonald, Black, McGrath
Western Bulldogs: Cooney, Eagleton, Lake, Boyd, Gilbee, Cross
INJURIES
Brisbane Lions: nil
Western Bulldogs: nil
Reports: nil
Umpires: McBurney, Farmer, Chamberlain
Official crowd: 27,315 at the Gabba
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily of the club.
