The Lions keep going to sleep and wake up when there’s too much to be done.

Brisbane rallied from their first-half slumber to nearly run over the top of Richmond on Saturday at the MCG.

Coach Michael Voss was left lamenting another bad start and a dire period at the start of the second term where his team was almost invisible.

“We’ve got to eliminate these eight-minute patches that are just catching us on the back foot,” he said.

“Last year, or certainly early in the year, it was almost quarters, so it was 30 minutes where it was like we hadn’t even participated in the match.

“So that time is coming further down.”

Trailing by 46 points early in the third term, Brisbane pulled to within 16 points more than halfway through the last term.

Tigers key forward Jack Riewoldt then kicked a steadying goal and Richmond won by 23 points.

Brisbane had won four of their last five games before Saturday and Voss is confident they are on the right track.

He said use of the ball in attack was one area that is letting them down.

“It’s just something we’ve got to get better at as a footy team,” he said.

“We’re still growing as a footy team, and one of the things we’ve clearly got to get better at is our use down the field.

“I think you’ve seen how dynamic this team can be and how breathtaking we are when we get genuine flow in our game, so there’s something really genuine to work with there.”