The Bombers, fuelled by midfield dominance and a functioning forward line built around Paddy Ryder, Michael Hurley and Stewart Crameri, blitzed an inexperienced Lions outfit 1.11.1 (76) to 0.2.2 (14).
The Lions, missing the likes of Jonathan Brown, Simon Black, Josh Drummond and Luke Power, failed to kick a goal until the 10-minute mark of the second half.
Meanwhile, the Bombers couldn't miss. They had five six-pointers, one super goal and a 38-point lead on the board by halftime, which opened up as wide as 68 points midway through the second stanza.
Hird had plenty to smile about outside the landslide result with Dyson Heppell making an impressive debut across halfback, Crameri showing promise in attack with three goals, Jobe Watson looking fit in the middle and the back half - missing full back Tayte Pears - showing composure and committment to the contest.
With David Hille out, Ryder spent time in attack and the ruck while David Zaharakis looked settled across half forward and kicked two majors.
The positives were few and far between for the Lions. Draftee Jared Polec kicked a nice goal in the second half, Sam Sheldon was willing to get his hands dirty at times, Tom Rockliff looked good and Matthew Leuenberger dominated in the ruck with 14 hit-outs but didn't really touch it otherwise.
Draftee Claye Beams also got his hands on it but make a few mistakes while Andrew Raines tackled strongly.
But, the game belonged to Essendon with the Bombers easily moving the ball from coast to coast, making the Lions look uninterested at times with their commitment and drive.
At the final siren, the Bombers had won the clearances 16 to five despite Leuenberger's strong showing, with Watson, Ben Howlett and Kyle Hardingham finding plenty of the ball.
Essendon 1.5.0 1.11.1 (76)
Brisbane Lions 0.0.1 0.2.2 (14)
GOALS
Essendon: Nine-point goals: Stanton Goals: Crameri 3, Hurley 3, Zaharakis 2, McVeigh, Stanton, Ryder
Brisbane Lions: Nine-point goals: Nil Goals: Polec, Rockliff
BEST
Essendon: Watson, Crameri, Heppell, Hardingham, Zaharakis, Hurley, McVeigh, Stanton
Brisbane Lions: Rockliff, Sheldon, Beams, Leuenberger
INJURIES
Essendon: Nil
Brisbane Lions: Nil
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Chamberlain, Findlay, McKenzie
Crowd: 23,313 at Etihad Stadium
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
