Rampant reigning AFL premiers Brisbane have heaped further pain on struggling Essendon, torching them by 64 points at Marvel Stadium.

Brisbane kicked away in the third quarter with seven goals to one to lead by 69 points at the final change, cruising to a 22.11 (143) to 11.13 (79) victory on Saturday.

The Lions pinpointed passes with ease, racking up an extraordinary 163 marks, and were never troubled after piling on six goals to one in the first term.

"I thought at halftime we had too many (marks)," Brisbane coach Chris Fagan admitted after the game.

"We weren't taking the game on and taking ground quickly.

"We tinkered with it a bit at halftime. It can sometimes go that way, and you get lulled into just kicking the ball around.

"I thought we sharpened that up in the second half, got the balance right."

In-demand free agent Zac Bailey, Logan Morris and Kai Lohmann all booted four goals each, while dashing defender Darcy Wilmot was tremendous with 32 possessions and one long-range major.

A first-time All-Australian last year, Bailey backed up his outstanding performance against Adelaide last week as he weighs huge free-agency offers at season's end.

Teenage debutant Cody Curtin showed some promising signs as a key forward who can help out in the ruck, coming in for injured recruit Oscar Allen.

High-profile Essendon defender Ben McKay had another quiet outing after being heavily criticised for his performance on Anzac Day.

McKay received strong bronx cheers from the Essendon faithful whenever he touched the ball in the second half.

"It's an abnormal footy environment," Essendon coach Brad Scott said of the disrespect shown towards McKay.

"You don't like it, but it's going to happen, and it's happened at other clubs.

"It's happened to other players, and you've got to fight through it."

Bomber midfielder Jye Caldwell was ruled out of the match in the third quarter with an ankle injury, while wingman Saad El-Hawli broke his collarbone.

A rare positive for the Bombers was the return of utility Nik Cox, who played his first game in 630 days following a run with concussion issues.

Cox slotted a goal late in the final quarter and was mobbed by teammates.

Emerging forward Nate Caddy could have had a career-best day if he had kicked straight, finishing with 3.5 against the first-class Lion defence.

After moving to 5-3 for the season, the Lions host Carlton at the Gabba next Friday night.

Brisbane will be without Ty Gallop against the Blues after the emerging key defender suffered a concussion.

Veteran Linc McCarthy suffered hamstring tightness and is also in doubt for round nine.

Essendon (1-7) travel to face GWS at Engie Stadium next Saturday.