The British & Irish Lions met an early blue wall before shifting gears and leaving the Western Force in their wake at Optus Stadium.
The Lions' 54-7 victory was a masterclass of running rugby with backrower Henry Pollock, lock Joe McCarthy and flyhalf Finn Russell all in fine fettle.
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However, there were more than a few green shoots for the Force with wing duo Dylan Pietsch and Mac Grealy impressing among the sea of Wallabies hopefuls.
Here's what we learned:
To say the Lions' Australian leg started with a bang would be a gross understatement.
Optus Stadium practically exploded as the Lions and Force traded tries inside the opening 10 minutes in front of 46,656 screaming fans - a Force crowd record.
Lions skipper Dan Sheehan crossed just 90 seconds after kick-off to send the Sea of Red into a frenzy before Perth's Sea of Blue roared back as Nic White sniped over to level it up.
Henry Pollock's line break to set up Tomos Williams in the 16th minute poured fuel on the fire and set the tone for a high-octane 80 minutes to follow.
While the Force failed to match the Lions' intensity after half time, there were more than enough fireworks throughout with Nick Champion de Crespigny and Dylan Pietsch laying some brutal shots on the tourists.
Whether you love him, hate him or grudgingly rate him, there's no denying Henry Pollock is something special.
The firebrand rookie sparked the game's first furore with a cheeky post-try push on Nick Champion de Crespigny and then promptly found himself in the bin for repeated team infringements.
But Pollock's highlights far outweighed his lowlights with the Englishman topping the Lions' forwards for carry metres and racking up two line breaks and a try assist.
Pollock's first break from a Josh van der Flier offload to send Williams over was sublime but his second half chip and regather to put Joe McCarthy away was even better.
The kid's a baller - plain and simple - and fans are better for his presence on tour.
Welshman Tomos Williams was one of the Lions' best with a two-try showing in the starting nine jersey.
However, a suspected hamstring injury has soured his success and leaves coach Andy Farrell with a conundrum ahead of next week's clash with Queensland.
Williams now joins Irish ace Jamison Gibson-Park in the halfback casualty ward with England's Alex Mitchell now the only full-fit nine on tour.
Farrell will be sweating on Williams' quick recovery - his service and footspeed gave the Force headaches up until his 48th minute exit - while Gibson-Park will be desperate for game time as the clock ticks towards Test selection.
He's the forgotten man on Australia's edges but make no mistake - Dylan Pietsch won't die wondering
The burly winger was an attacking standout in Force blue with nine tackle busts and two line breaks to go with his 65 post-contact metres.
Mac Grealy matched his wing partner for tackle busts (nine) and saved countless Lion raids with his composure out back while Nic White was a popular try scorer early, darting from the ruck base and over.
Champion de Crespigny didn't hurt his Test hopes either with a typically industrious 78 minutes.
James Lowe, Elliot Daly and Mack Hansen could well be the wing-fullback trio required to deliver another Lions Series win.
The Irish duo were hard to handle on the counterattack, particularly in the post-contact zone, and kept the Force turning around with clever kicking.
Meanwhile Elliot Daly's experience shone through with a double capping off his sharp all-round performance in the Red #15.
Together, the trio booted their hosts into submission (430 combined kick metres) and carried the returns with interest.
Don't be surprised to see this combination reprised in a Test scenario.
