THE SYDNEY Swans remain firmly entrenched in the top four after escaping with a 21-point win over a spirited Lions on Sunday night in Brisbane.

The Swans were outplayed in patches by the Lions during their 10.10 (70) to 7.7 (49) victory in front of 16,936 fans, but did enough to remain in third place on the ladder.

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Lance Franklin and Kurt Tippett returned to the Swans' line-up after one-match suspensions and kicked three goals each, while Dayne Zorko booted three for the Lions in a lively display.

Swans coach John Longmire was relieved to escape with victory.

"We know we can play better than what we played tonight, but sometimes you've got to find a way and we were able to do that," Longmire said.

Pearce Hanley finished with 33 touches and one goal in his 100th AFL game.

The Lions matched the Swans in contested possessions (140 each), clearances (40 to 42) and inside-50s (54 to 55), although the Swans' experience told in the end as the Lions failed to kick a goal in the final term.

Five talking points: Brisbane Lions v Sydney Swans

As they have the previous two weeks against Adelaide and Fremantle, the Lions' effort was first rate, said coach Justin Leppitsch.

"I've been happy with the effort for a few weeks now," he said.

"I'm hopeful we can continue with effort, that's always the baseline for performance. We've got that within the group at the moment.

"(We) Haven't been able to get over the line against some pretty good opposition last few weeks."

The Lions were at full strength with the return of Hanley, Daniel Merrett and captain Tom Rockliff, taking a deserved seven-point lead into quarter-time courtesy of goals to Dayne Beams and Zorko.

However, they were dealt a blow late in the first term when defender Darcy Gardiner dislocated his shoulder after landing awkwardly while attempting to spoil a mark.

The quarter-time siren didn't assist the hosts with the Lions' midfield dominance fading during the second term, as Swans Josh Kennedy (40 disposals) and Dan Hannebury (34 disposals) began to exert their influence.

Four goals without reply took the Swans out to a 17-point lead late in the second quarter before Zorko slotted another major to reduce the deficit to two straight kicks.

Jarrad McVeigh's goal two minutes after the main break seemed to lull the Swans into a false sense of security and the Lions pounced on their complacency with the next four majors.

Jed Adcock's goal at the 16-minute mark of the third term had the Lions in front by five points, although their lead could have been greater had Brent Staker converted two golden opportunities.

Two quick goals to Franklin restored the Swans' lead as they took a seven-point advantage heading into the final quarter.

Franklin and Tippett both booted their third goals in the last quarter as the Swans held on for a scrappy 21-point victory.

BRISBANE LIONS   2.3   3.3  7.5  7.7 (49)
SYDNEY SWANS     1.2   5.3  8.6  10.10 (70)

GOALS
Brisbane Lions: Zorko 3, Beams 2, Adcock, Hanley
Sydney Swans: Franklin 3, Tippett 3, Robinson, Jack, Jetta, McVeigh

BEST 
Brisbane Lions: Zorko, Hanley, Beams, Paparone, Clarke, Redden
Sydney Swans: Kennedy, Hannebery, McVeigh, Tippett, Franklin, Mitchell 

INJURIES 
Brisbane Lions: Gardiner (shoulder)
Sydney Swans: Nil 

SUBSTITUTES
Brisbane Lions: Rohan Bewick replaced Darcy Gardiner in the second quarter
Sydney Swans: Harry Cunningham replaced Mike Pyke at three-quarter time

Reports: Nil

Umpires: O'Gorman, Findlay, Ryan

Official crowd: 16,936 at the Gabba