1. Todd Goldstein's excellent season continues

Up against the talented Stefan Martin, he had the best of the ruck duels, particularly early when the heat was on. By half-time, he had the clear edge in hit-outs 17-12 and was more dangerous around the ground. Martin fought back in the second half, but you'd give Goldstein the honours.

2. The Kangaroos are now 7-4 and on track for September

The 54-point winning margin helped them improve their percentage from 120.5 to 125.1. They still have some tricky games to negotiate on the run home, starting with the Cats next Saturday at GMHBA Stadium. The rivalry with Geelong has stepped up since the Scott brothers took over the respective clubs and the Kangaroos will head down the highway keen to even the ledger, having won five of 11 against the Cats since 2011. If they have designs on securing the double chance come September, this is a huge game. But they're in form, have few major injury concerns and should be confident.

3. Sam Wright should be in line for goal of the week honours

In the second quarter, he was flat on his back in the goal square, but somehow put the ball to boot, swing his leg over and the ball went through the goals. And it was his first AFL goal since the same round three years ago. He also popped through a second later on. Remarkable.

4. Brisbane is a terrible first quarter team

The Lions entered Sunday's game having lost all their opening stanzas. North Melbourne knew this and went to work from the get go, winning every key category, notably clearances (13-6), inside 50s (15-10) and contested possessions (38-30). They led by 33 points at the first change, having kicked 5.7 to 0.4. Had they kicked straighter earlier it could have been an outright slaughter.

5. The Lions might as well have stayed home

Not only were the Lions listless from the start, but they were decimated on the injury front. Allen Christensen (concussion) went down in the first term, while Charlie Cameron (foot) and Hugh McCluggage (Achilles) were gone by half-time. And that with Jarrod Berry (hamstring soreness) withdrawn before the game. When the third quarter started, Alex Witherden cut a lonely figure, sitting on the interchange bench all on his lonesome. As it was, there was no coming back for the Lions although they ran the game out well, all things considered, despite having serious restrictions on their ability to rotate players.