An explosive opening half from North Melbourne has allowed them to swiftly dispatch Brisbane by a convincing 54 points at Etihad Stadium, putting them in good stead for a potential finals burst later in the year.
Shaun Higgins put on an absolute clinic with 38 possessions and a goal, while North debutants Paul Ahern (29) and Tom Murphy (14) both impressed in their first outings for the blue and white.
Jack Ziebell was equally as damaging, finishing with 19 touches and two goals.
Although the Lions only managed just the three goals in the opening half and were left to just one man on the bench at half-time, the visitors showed courage in the face of adversity, challenging the Roos with a nine-goal second half.
Dayne Beams starred for the Lions with five majors and 32 possessions, yet it was far from enough to down the prospective finalists.
North were dealt an early blow with key forward Jarrad Waite a late withdrawal after sustaining an calf injury in the warm-up, thrusting the first-gamer in Murphy into the side to take his place.
Regardless of the big absence, it didn't take long for the Roos to hit the scoreboard, with Mason Wood snapping from the 50m arc to get the home side on the board.
The pace and physicality of both sides were telling, yet North had that extra polish with their skill execution, and it showed on the scoreboard.
Shaun Higgins was the epitome of the Roos' sleekness, racking up 14 prolific touches in the first quarter and directly paving the way for his side's next major, which came off the boot of Shaun Atley.
While the Roos' kicking in front of goal could have been a little cleaner - 5.7 for the term - they still managed 12 shots on goal opposed to Brisbane's four.
The finesse the Lions continued to stand marked, after an errant kick in from Alex Witherden landed right on the chest of Jy Simpkin who subsequently converted.
As North's ball movement and stoppage work became more and more like clockwork - even with Jed Anderson absent for majority of the term with soreness - Ben Brown and Luke McDonald capitalised with goals of their own.
With a 33-point deficit at quarter-time and Allen Christensen ruled out with concussion, the Lions had a monumental task cut out for them going into the second term.
But the Roos showed no sign of slowing down, with a seven-goal quarter to bury Brisbane and obliterate their confidence.
Brown made the 50 his own after kicking his second just a minute into the quarter, before Oscar McInerney finally put through the Lions' first major of the game.
It was one of the few highlights for the Lions, with Hugh McCluggage and Charlie Cameron sidelined through injury before Todd Goldstein and Ben Jacobs restarted North's goalscoring streak just moments later.
Dayne Beams was sure to put it to a swift end with one of his own minutes later, yet it did little to inspire his team who were undermanned and under siege.
The precision of the Roos continued to shine through, with some deft footwork and evasion from Ben Cunnington feeding Atley his second goal, before Sam Wright nailed a remarkable goal through while lying on his back.
Zac Bailey managed to stem the influx of opposition majors, yet Higgins' blistering pace and evasive skills inflicted more pain on the visitors.
Led by Higgins, North Melbourne's fluid link-up play and running in waves couldn't be contained by the Lions, with the Roos' impressive stoppage work - which saw 6.6 scored by half-time - similarly as damaging to Brisbane.
The Roos' defenders similarly proved to be dangerous, with Majak Daw thwarting several Lions' entries, before Jacobs made the Roos' day sweeter; his major capping off a seven-goal term to put the home side 55 points up at half-time.
It only got worse for Brisbane from the beginning of the third term, with Jack Ziebell cutting off a defensive switch to boot through the first of what looked to be another one-sided affair.
As Billy Hartung put through yet another goal soon thereafter, it looked like the game would become a battle for the Lions to salvage some pride rather than take away the four points.
But the Lions - down, but not out - refused to give up the fight, booting four goals to put them on par with the Roos for the term.
Brisbane fought accordingly, with a resilient period of football seeing Daniel McStay go back-to-back, before Ben Keays made it three in a row for the visitors just moments later.
Despite putting up a commendable contest, the spirited patch from the Lions was ultimately brought to an abrupt end following successive 50m penalties, gifting Robbie Tarrant his first of the game which finally cracked the ton for the Roos.
Although Lewis Taylor managed to sneak through the fourth for the Lions, Higgins' prolific game reached another level as he kicked true to bring the final margin to 57 points.
Higgins' elation was cut short just before quarter's end however, after a bump from Mitch Robinson - which looked eerily similar to the one Higgins sustained against Hawthorn - caught the North star high, seeing the Lion placed on report for rough conduct.
The aggression remained from the Lions going into the final stanza, yet it was far from enough to topple the resilient Roos.
Although Beams put through the first of the term, the Roos continued to forge ahead through Ziebell's consecutive majors, the latter of which was a classy snap through heavy traffic.
It would be Beams who would once again restore some of the Lions' pride with an identical snap to that of Ziebell's, before the newly anointed skipper Zorko too showed leadership with another goal for the visitors.
As Beams slotted his third for the term, it would take some solid kicking from Cunnington and Jacobs to undo all of Brisbane's work and steady the North ship.
One last snap from the former Brisbane skipper took his tally to five, yet his impressive haul wasn't enough to finishing the game as sound 54-point winners.
North Melbourne will get a chance to prove their finals credentials when they face Geelong at GMHBA Stadium next Saturday afternoon, while Brisbane will be back on their home turf to take on Essendon in a week's time.
NORTH MELBOURNE 5.7 12.9 16.14 21.15 (141)
BRISBANE 0.4 3.8 7.11 12.15 (87)
GOALS
North Melbourne: Ziebell 3, Jacobs 2, McDonald 2, Wright 2, Brown 2, Atley 2, Hartung, Goldstein, Wood, Simpkin, Williams, Cunnington, Tarrant, Higgins
Brisbane: Beams 5, McStay 2, Zorko 2, Keays, Taylor, McInerney, Bailey
BEST
North Melbourne: Higgins, Ziebell, Ahern, McDonald, Cunnington, Daw
Brisbane: Beams, Hodge, Zorko, McInerney, McStay, Taylor
INJURIES
North Melbourne: Anderson (hamstring)
Brisbane: Christensen (concussion), McCluggage (calf), Cameron (ankle)
TALKING POINTS
1. FINALS + NORTH MELBOURNE = LOCK IT IN?
A basic equation, yet one which has a simple, albeit contentious, answer.
It will undoubtedly be the surprise of the season, but North Melbourne are destined for a finals appearance in season 2018, and today only consolidated the claim.
Their ball movement precise, their run relentless and their stars in peak form, the Roos have all the hallmarks of a finals side through their game style, and as shown previously in the season, have the ability to compete with top-four sides.
Even with Jarrad Waite out of the line-up following a calf strain in the warm-up, North Melbourne looked unaffected both on the field and on the scoreboard, finishing with a whopping 21 goals for the game.
Although Geelong next week will be more than a challenge for the Roos, a relatively simple draw awaits, with the Western Bulldogs, Essendon and Gold Coast to come over the next month.
The Roos are on the hop towards September.
2. HIGGINS AS CLASSY AS EVER
One instrumental figure in getting North on track to a their first finals campaign since 2015 will be Shaun Higgins, who was simply irresistible at Etihad Stadium.
Silky smooth and full of class, Higgins was nothing short of exceptional for the Roos, finishing with a game-high 38 possessions - 26 of which were accumulated in the first half - and a goal to boot.
Ending with 10 score involvements, six clearances, 606 metres gained and going at above 80 per cent efficiency, Higgins was undoubtedly best afield was crucial in feeding the ball inside 50 to his teammates.
Known for a long time as a classy player and one just as smooth as former teammate Nick Dal Santo, Higgins affirmed the claims as he broke tackle after tackle in his impressive performance against the Lions.
A key player for the Roos and one who will undoubtedly be crucial for their potential finals campaign in the coming months, Higgins' importance to the side can't be stated enough.
3. BRISBANE SHOW SPARK IN THE LAST WITH BEAMS LEADING THE WAY
Brisbane certainly had their work cut out for them after being blown out of the game following North Melbourne's blistering 12-goal first half.
Trailing by 55 points at the main break and down to just one man on the bench, the Lions needed to show some courage in order to avoid an absolute humiliation.
And who better than Dayne Beams to lift the Lions, with the superstar booting four of the five goals for Brisbane in the final term.
Matching the Roos' intensity around the ground in the dying stages, the visitors showed spark and a refusal to give in, despite the overwhelming odds and the onslaught of goals which rained upon them.
A disappointing performance on the whole, but credit where credit is due - the Lions' heart continues to beat week after week.
4. MITCH POTENTIALLY IN HOT WATER
The Lions could be without one of their leaders in Mitch Robinson, after the hard-nut collected Shaun Higgins high in the final seconds of the third term.
Robinson was immediately placed on the report for the incident by the officiating umpire.
Falling to ground in a similar fashion to his clash with Ryan Burton weeks earlier, Higgins fortunately was left with only a sore scone as a fiery fracas broke out afterwards.
Higgins however continued to tear the Lions to shreds, which although terrible for the Lions' final result, could be valuable for Robinson should he end up facing the Tribunal.
5. WRIGHT > MENEGOLA?
Sam Menegola had no doubt in his mind he had easily secured Goal of the Week, and even dabbled in the thought of taking out the year's top honour following his unbelievable banana against the Suns on Saturday.
Yet Sam Wright might have edged out the Geelong forward with his equally remarkable major against the Lions, similarly putting him in the running for Goal of the Year.
Somehow finding himself flat on his back with ball in hand, a quick flick on the boot sailed over the heavy traffic and through the big sticks, much to the disbelief of the young Roo and his teammates.
How Wright managed to get the ball away - let alone through the goals - is just as bewildering as the position he kicked it in, but all in all, six points is six points no matter how it gets over the line.
Goal of the Week? We're tipping Wright.
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