The Hawks had only lost once at UTAS Stadium in six seasons but the Lions produced a 10 goal to three second half to walk away winners – 15.8 (98) to 9.11 (65).

The triumph was exactly three years since Brisbane last won three matches in a row – rounds 15, 16 and 17 in 2013 – and boy did they enjoy it.

In a game that got better as time ticked by there were several significant momentum changes until the 16th-ranked Lions roared in front of 12,557 fans.

A Luke Hodge-Hawthorn second reunion wasn’t to be with the Hawks premiership skipper withdrawn from the Lions line-up with calf soreness and replaced by third-gamer Cedric Cox.

Young cubs Cameron Rayner and Eric Hipwood each kicked three majors as Dayne Beams (33 disposals, eight inside 50s), Huge McCluggage (29 touches), Jarrod Berry (24 possessions, six tackles) and Mitch Robinson (two goals) ruled the midfield.

Josh Walker stood out in defence, while Hawk ball Magnet Tom Mitchell collected 43 touches (29 to half time) and Jaeger O’Meara slotted four of Hawthorn’s nine goals.

James Sicily was also productive in a lost cause with poor decision making and an inability to capitalise on scoring chances putting Hawthorn’s finals chances in jeopardy.

The opening stanza was not exactly spectacular with Alastair Clarkson’s charges content to chip the ball around its home away from home.

Tom Mitchell found plenty of it and converted the first major before the Lions’ Tasmanian midfielder Robinson snagged a couple of opportunistic goals either side of a snap from O’Meara.

Fagan’s men pilled the pressure on Hawthorn early and were clearly moving in more direct patterns but trailed their more wasteful opponents 2.5 (17) to 2.1 (13) at quarter time.

Brisbane attacked the second term with gusto as Allen Christensen put them in front six minutes before skipper Dayne Zorko slotted a checkside thanks to a deliberate out of bounds free kick paid against Blake Hardwick.

The Lions’ onball brigade midfield controlled the contest and generated several scoring chances with No. 1 draft pick Rayner sending through his side’s fourth-straight six pointer.

Brendan Whitecross got one against the run of play, backed up by a double from 150-gamer Jack Gunston and O’Meara’s second to give the hosts an 11-point half-time advantage.

The match opened right up after the long break with Lions converting six goals to three.

O’Meara finished off a polished piece of play with precision before McCluggage stopped the rot with a snap around his body and Daniel McStay marked and goaled with just his third touch.

Hipwood finally got on the goalkickers’ list after presenting well all day and Rayner did his best to emulate the happenings in Russia with a soccer goal, only for it to be cancelled out by a Taylor Duryea major less than a minute later.

O’Meara’s fourth and Hipwood’s second followed with Lewis Taylor ensuring his teammates went into the last with an eight-point buffer.

The Hawks managed only one point in the last quarter as the Lions ran riot – giving a glimpse of what this side may become.

Rayner’s third at the 10-minute mark put them 15 points clear and that was extended with Hipwood’s hat-trick 120 seconds afterwards.

Reluctant to let it slip, the Lions were ruthless in attacking the ball, dominating clearances and hardness at the coalface.

It was just Hawthorn’s second loss at the venue in six and a half years with Brisbane’s previous victory in Tasmania coming in 2009 when it prevailed over the brown and gold by seven goals.

Lions boss Chris Fagan was reluctant to get caught up in the hype surrounding his team of talented young guns.

However, the happiness in his voice and Cheshire smile told the true story.

“It is a special win to come down here to Launceston and beat the Hawks because they’ve been almost unbeatable here for the best part of the last six or seven years,” Fagan said.

“The boys have started to believe in themselves a little bit and started to think that some of these sorts of wins are possible.

“We have sort of been on this improvement curve for a while but we’ve sort of struggled to get our young players to play hard enough for long enough, and just lately they have been able to go the distance.”

The Lions now have four wins to their name – two against Hawthorn, one over Fremantle in Perth and the other over Carlton.

“There is still a lot in the season to go [and] it will be interesting to see how this group handles this victory,” Fagan said.

“I’m confident they’ll do well. For our group, all our staff and all of our supporters – I guess today will give them a fair bit more belief in us than what they have for some time and it’s exciting.”

Fagan said he was impressed with his charges’ ability to win after being behind at half time having not won this year trailing at the main change. 

“We just tried to be a bit more direct with the ball and not overuse handball, invite their pressure which I thought the lads adapted to pretty well,” he said.

“There was a big difference between the kick-handball ratio from the first half to the second half.”

He said Luke Hodge would likely only miss the one week after copping a cork to the calf at training on Thursday.

Hawthorn won inside 50s 55-51, but lost the clearances 44-29 and had 37 less contested possessions, leaving a visibly disappointed Alastair Clarkson questioning his side’s desire.

“We just wasted so many chances and they were able to capitalise on their chances better than we were,” he said.

“Thirty inside 50s to 18 or thereabouts at half time and we were only a goal or two in front. We should have been able to put some sort of margin between the two sides.

“In the end we lost spirit and faith in the way we wanted to play, that’s why they ended up being able to run away with the game.

“Some of it is just fundamental skills under heat, in terms of being able to make a good opportunity into a goal scoring chance.

“We just made some dreadful blunders. Some of those they ended up being two-goal swings.”

The Hawks next take on a struggling Carlton at Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon, while the Lions face Adelaide under lights at the Gabba on Saturday.