An undermanned Brisbane has thrown away a golden opportunity to remain undefeated and snatch a rare AFL win at Subiaco Oval, losing to West Coast by three points on Saturday.

The Lions dominated the final term despite being down to 19 fit men, but managed just seven behinds in the 12.7 (79) to 10.16 (76) loss that revived the Eagles' season.

Brisbane had a mountain of chances to win the game, none more so than Nigel Lappin's running shot from 35 metres out with 15 seconds left that went through for a point.

Brisbane coach Leigh Matthews rued the missed opportunities in the final term, when West Coast managed two goals to nil.

"We were running on strong, the last quarter and a half we started to run the game out really strongly," Matthews said.

"Guys who looked a little bit lead-in-their-legs in the first half were starting to run into space.

"But ultimately you've got to be able to score and all the shots were running shots.

"We couldn't really mark the ball within a goal-scoring range."

West Coast has now featured in four nail-biters this season, losing to Port by three points and Essendon by six, with a seven-point win over the Bulldogs in round one.

A third loss on Saturday would have seriously dented its top-four hopes but coach John Worsfold is happy with the season to date.

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