The Lions broke away from a 10-point lead at half-time to record the 16.11 (107) to 12.6 (78) win by using the ball better than the error-prone Demons.
Youngsters Daniel Rich and Tom Collier were among the best for the Lions while veterans Simon Black (26 possessions) and Luke Power (three goals) showed they have lost none of their spark with impressive performances.
Lions coach Michael Voss praised the resilience of his squad, and put the win down to adherence of the structures they have practiced over the pre-season.
"It was important for us. We've been smashed a couple of times and you want to say to the players there have been factors in that," Voss said.
"We've got younger players out there, we're in a heavy training phase, we were playing against a couple of good teams. But, still, when you get out there you want the result.
"We've lightened off training a little bit and that's helped us today with the energy we had around the packs and the ability to get out and run; that was the pleasing thing because we've done a lot of work on it and we just haven't seen it enough."
For the Demons, Neville Jetta started well and applied impressive defensive pressure while youngsters Luke Tapscott and Jordan Gysberts caught the eye.
Tom Scully returned from a knee injury but failed to make an impact with just two handballs to half-time and 12 possessions at game's end.
Melbourne coach Dean Bailey said Scully's quiet return was more the result of Andrew Raines' impressive defensive job than the aftermath of his Friday press conference which quashed speculation GWS had made him an offer for next year and beyond.
Among those missing for Melbourne were Liam Jurrah, Jack Trengove, Jack Grimes, Aaron Davey and Brad Green.
Bailey refused to place too much emphasis on those missing, instead highlighting the fact his players were plagued by mistakes around goal and didn't press hard enough against the free-wheeling Lions. That was highlighted by the Lions amassing 132 marks to Melbourne's 72.
"We allowed too many uncontested marks to be accumulated against us and I think we've certainly got to fix that this week before we play our first game," he said.
There were no injuries or reports from the match, although a scuffle between Black and Rohan Bail in the final quarter is likely to be scrutinised by the match review panel.
Meanwhile, Lions skipper Jonathan Brown is unlikely to play in the final NAB Challenge match but is on track to appear in round one.
MELBOURNE 4.2 6.4 9.5 12.6 (78)
BRISBANE LIONS 3.4 7.8 13.9 16.11 (107)
GOALS
Melbourne: Maric 3, Watts 2, Martin, Jetta, Dunn, Sylvia, Petterd, Jamar, Bate
Brisbane Lions: Power 3, Clark 2, Bewick 2, O'Brien 2, Rockliff 2, Polkinghorne 2, Beams 2, Lester
BEST
Melbourne: Jetta, Sylvia, Jones, Bail, Maric, Tapscott, Jamar
Brisbane Lions: Rich, Clark, Adcock, Rockliff, Power, Collier, Lester
INJURIES
Melbourne: Nil
Brisbane Lions: Nil
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Findlay, Ryan, Fila
Official crowd: 3000 (est.) at Visy Park
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily of the clubs or the AFL.
