Brisbane have produced a strong response to a difficult week, keeping themselves in the hunt for a coveted AFLW top-two position with a 36-point thrashing of North Melbourne.
Severe flooding in southeast Queensland meant some Lions players had to fight to save houses in the days before their home game was moved from Maroochydore to Melbourne's Whitten Oval.
The venue switch cost them an advantage but didn't matter as the reigning premiers rode a wave of emotion to post a convincing 7.8 (50) to 2.2 (14) victory on Sunday.
"It has been a tough week with what people have gone through in Brisbane, particularly Bre (Koenen) and Emily (Bates) having their houses inundated," Lions coach Craig Starcevich said.
"That's been really tough but the girls have rallied around those two and were able to get the job done."
Bates and Ally Anderson became the first AFLW players to reach 50 career games and were key contributors in Brisbane's win.
Sophie Conway, Greta Bodey and intercept defender Natalie Grider were also prominent, with Conway's two first-half goals critical in the Lions' ability to break the game open.
Midfielder Maria Moloney returned to the team as a small forward and made the most of her opportunity, kicking two goals.
The result means Brisbane can still snatch a top-two spot on the ladder and earn direct passage to the second week of the finals with a win over the Western Bulldogs next Sunday.
But they must also rely on either Adelaide or Melbourne slipping up in the final home-and-away round.
On a dirty day for North Melbourne, Lexi Hamilton was reported for rough conduct when she flattened Conway during the second quarter.
Kangaroos ball magnet Jasmine Garner briefly got away from minder Cathy Svarc to boot the opening goal of the day but Brisbane responded quickly, kicking the next three majors to build a handy lead by quarter time.
The trend continued in the second term as the Lions took complete control.
They led by 28 points at the main break and were never seriously challenged in the second half despite the best efforts of Ash Riddell, who had 11 disposals in the third quarter alone.
The Kangaroos star finished with a game-high 28 disposals, while teammate Emma Kearney had 19.
"You've got to be in for the arm wrestle and I felt that got away from us far too quickly," Kangaroos coach Darren Crocker said.
"The reason we couldn't get the game on our terms was that Brisbane were far better than us in the contest and then they outnumbered us outside."
North Melbourne take on bottom side West Coast on Saturday and can still earn themselves a home qualifying final.
