He may be in scintillating form on the field, but Dayne Beams is still doing it incredibly tough off it.

Beams' world came crashing down in early March when his father Philip lost his prolonged battle with bowel cancer.

The 28-year-old stood down as captain indefinitely in May "in the best interests for myself and my family", and in his six games since has been one of the best players in the competition, kicking eight goals (including a haul of five against North Melbourne in round 11) and averaging 29 possessions.

Beams said footy has been pivotal in helping him deal with the loss of a man he loved and admired.

"I still have (low) moments; those moments are coming fewer and further apart, but they're still there," Beams said on 3AW on Sunday.

"Game days are difficult for me, my dad was a big part of my footy career and I associated footy with him.

"I still get quite emotional before games. But once I'm out there I feel really free and it's 2-3 hours of the week where I can just run around and play footy; whether we win or lose … footy's actually quite therapeutic at the moment."

Beams was arguably best on ground in Saturday's huge win over Carlton at the Gabba – the star midfielder racked up 40 possessions, taking nine marks and booting a goal.

Beams was rapt that the Lions were able to notch their third victory of the season, but revealed he was somewhat downcast following the win.

"I was quite emotional after the game yesterday. I was doing my recovery and I started crying," Beams said.

"I started thinking about things; where I kicked that goal yesterday was pretty much right where dad used to sit, and those sort of things go through your head.

"Yes, it's nice that I was able to kick a goal where dad used to sit, but at the same time, gee I wish he was there to see it."

Beams was full of praise for the Lions during this difficult time, adding: "I'm lucky that I've got really good teammates. Cam Rayner is an 18-year-old kid; he came and sat down next to me and put his arm around me. It just shows the culture and environment we’re building at the footy club."