As fans faced delays on entry to the famed venue on Saturday due to heightened security measures, the Lions burst out of the blocks with four of the first five goals.
They were never seriously challenged as last year's Norm Smith Medal winner Will Ashcroft shone with another goal-of-the-year contender in his side's 18.10 (118) to 13.12 (90) win.
It was Brisbane's first triumph over the Tigers at the MCG since May 2009, having lost seven straight meetings in that time.
"I'm happy to get that one off the books," Lions coach Chris Fagan said.
"We did talk about that. We've been thumped by them a few times and last time we coughed up a pretty decent lead.
"So it was a little bit of a monkey off the back."
WILL ASHCROFT.— AFL (@AFL) April 5, 2025That is a ridiculous finish from the boundary 🤯@Coles | #AFLTigersLions pic.twitter.com/p6WxahYEkr
Ashcroft kicked two goals from 24 disposals and celebrated his return to the home of football by rolling through a brilliant snap from the boundary line during the third term.
Lachie Neale (42 touches), Josh Dunkley (30) and Hugh McCluggage (26) showcased their superior class in the midfield, while small forwards Charlie Cameron and Zac Bailey (three goals each) dined out on their service.
McCluggage and Logan Morris booted two each for the Lions, who had 11 different goal-kickers.
But Fagan felt his side looked flat after three straight games played in intense heat, noting Brisbane were beaten 34-6 in time-on across the four quarters.
They also conceded six of the last eight goals of the match after leading by 55 points during the third term.
"This year we've been hard to score against but tonight we were a bit easy to score against," Fagan said.
"I'll need to have a look at the tape to see what the reason was."
No.1 draft pick Sam Lalor (24 disposals, two goals) was a shining light for Richmond in attack and experienced midfielders Tim Taranto (29 touches, six clearances) and Jacob Hopper (32, eight) fought against the tide.
Tigers coach Adem Yze admitted he had mixed emotions post-match.
"We are proud of our fight and we never gave up and our spirit - that can't waver - but at the same time there's frustration at allowing easy scores," Yze said.
"(Brisbane kicked) nine goals from stoppage, we couldn't get it out of our back end and we were getting dominated for territory.
"There were things in our game that just weren't good enough."
A crowd of 42,578 fans faced tighter security at the first MCG event since staff failed to stop two men from allegedly carrying loaded guns into the venue.
Both men, who were on bail, were arrested at the ground during the Collingwood-Carlton blockbuster on Thursday night.
Less than 48 hours after the huge scare, staff conducted more thorough checks of fans entering the ground.
It meant thousands missed the start of the game, with queues stretching for hundreds of metres at the gates when the ball was bounced.
"I'd hate for anything like that to happen ever again," Yze said of Thursday's incident.
"So hopefully our crowd and our 'Tiger Army' just deal with that and get in a little bit early, because safety is paramount."
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