NORTH Melbourne has kept its September dream well and truly alive by notching its second consecutive victory with a 45-point win over the Brisbane Lions at Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The Lions didn't make it easy for the Kangaroos; they led for about half of the first term, broke even four times in the second and hit the front twice, and reduced a 10-point third-quarter advantage to nudge ahead by one point.

But a three-goal burst, kick-started by Daniel Wells at the 14-minute mark of the third, gave the Roos the breathing space they so desperately needed to ensure the 17.20 (122) to 11.11 (77) win.

The victory follows on from the Kangaroos' 31-point win over the Western Bulldogs last week, and keeps them well in touch with the teams vying for a berth in the top eight.

It also accounts for the Roos' round nine 14-point loss to the Lions at the Gabba - Michael Voss' side's first triumph for the season - which Brad Scott described at the time as "bitterly disappointing".

In Saturday's rematch, Andrew Swallow was enormous at the stoppages with eight clearances while Ryan Bastinac had the ball on a string from the first quarter onwards and finished up with 29 touches.

Brent Harvey, after being kept quiet in the second quarter by a variety of opponents but namely Cheynee Stiller, worked his way back into the game after half-time for a total of 22 possessions.

Todd Goldstein took responsibility for almost the entirety of the Roos' ruck work and recorded 42 hit-outs, although Matthew Leuenberger wasn't disgraced with 35.

Meanwhile, the Lions - with a new Jonathan Brown-less forward structure that commenced with Mitch Clark and Aaron Cornelius deep and Todd Banfield and Patrick Karnezis high - were competitive for the third straight week without getting the four points.

Cornelius started well and kicked two goals in the first quarter but was quiet after halftime - and shanked a sitter midway through the final term - while Karnezis booted two and Banfield a late goal.

Simon Black was important in keeping the Lions in the game in the second quarter after being tasked with a full-time midfield role, while Jack Redden and Tom Rockliff also played a hand in breaking back at the stoppages.

Andrew Raines was good against Wells, although the dynamic Kangaroo kicked a second important goal eight minutes into the final act that put the margin out to 28 points after he marked in the goal square.

The only negative for the Roos was defender Michael Firrito being reported for striking Black at the end of the second quarter. 

Influential players
Bastinac and Swallow led the possession count for the Roos but it was Jack Ziebell that stood clear when it came to wrapping up Lions. He had 10 tackles for the game - beaten only by Redden (12) - and made his midfield contribution worth the effort with five clearances.

Scott McMahon, after being -1 in Dream Team points in the first quarter, recovered to be important after half-time in instigating drive from defence with a total of eight rebounds. Aaron Edwards also took a game-high six leading marks.

Redden and Rockliff, behind Black - who Voss later described as his "pin up boy for the next five weeks" - were particularly important in keeping the Lions alive before half-time. The former had eight clearances, 25 touches - 13 contested - while the latter picked up 29 possessions, seven clearances and five tackles.

Pivotal moment
At the 25-minute mark of the third quarter, Petrie had just wasted an opportunity to put the Roos 20 points clear when he shanked a very gettable set shot. After the miss, his team applied the pressure to the Lions' backmen and forced a turnover, with Stiller run down by Pedersen about 45 metres out. The Roos won the free, Edwards took the kick, slotted the goal - and the margin was suddenly a game-high 21 points.

Good move
Lachie Hansen couldn't get his hands on the ball in the first half in attack, with three touches and two inside 50s to his name by the main break. After a heated spray from Scott at halftime, he was moved into the backline for the third quarter and tripled his possessions across the one term. He also took nine marks after he failed to grasp one in the opening half. It was an important move for the Kangaroos with neither defence stamping its authority on the game until shortly before three-quarter time.

What the banners said
North Melbourne - "Last week we showed we have plenty of pride, we'll take the Lions and continue the ride".
Brisbane Lions - "Show no mercy, play with pride. Go Lions."

What the coaches said
North Melbourne - Brad Scott
"I thought today we did what we needed to do [but] not a lot more than that. But we're in there with a chance now [of making the final eight] so everything is within our control from this point in.

Brisbane Lions - Michael Voss
"You've still got to be able to go for the whole game, and we're not doing that.

"The courage to be able to keep running when you're tired is not something that is good enough for us at the moment.

"I could talk about individuals; I could talk about some of the niceties of having some of the young players, if you want to call it, coming through, but not today."

What it means
It means the Kangaroos will enter round 19 on the cusp of the eight, pending the result of Saturday night's Carlton-Essendon clash. The day's earlier game that saw the Sydney Swans beat the Western Bulldogs has made their journey to September a little easier with the Dogs all but falling out of contention with St Kilda's win on Friday night.

For the Lions, it leaves them with the challenge of not only regrouping after their second bye next weekend but with the test of setting individual and team benchmarks to hit over their remaining five games. With no finals on the horizon - and no wins in three rounds - they have to find new reasons to be motivated over the last month and a bit, and they still have the chance to right some wrongs this year with games against Adelaide and Gold Coast on the other side of the bye.
 
Dream Team highlights
North Melbourne: Drew Petrie continued his prolific Dream Team scoring to lead the Kangaroos with 127 points and it could have been even better if his 3.5 return had been more accurate. Ryan Bastinac (107 points), Andrew Swallow (104) and Jack Ziebell also cracked the ton.

Brisbane Lions: Evergreen veteran Simon Black led all comers with 130 points, while the Lions' younger midfield brigade also scored well, with Jack Redden (119 points) and Tom Rockliff (110 leading the way).

Quarter by quarter
 
FIRST QUARTER
The Lions got off to a fast start, kicking the first two goals of the game through Aaron Cornelius (brought into the Lions’ team to replace injured skipper Jonathan Brown) and Mitch Clark, to lead by 12 points after five minutes. North hit back with the next three goals, through Ben Warren, Cameron Pedersen and Drew Petrie, to take an eight-point lead midway through the quarter. By that time, the Kangaroos were dominating general play but their wastefulness in front of goal - they registered seven behinds for the quarter - meant they were unable to fully capitalise. This allowed the Lions to hit the front late in the quarter when James Polkinghorne goaled, but a Ryan Bastinac goal at the 25-minute mark ensured North would take a lead into the first break.   
North by 7 points
 
SECOND QUARTER
North’s inaccuracy continued at the start of the second quarter, with misses by Matt Campbell and Ben Warren coming either side of a goal by Lions veteran Simon Black. North youngster Kieran Harper finally snapped a goal for the Kangaroos at the five-minute mark, but the Lions hit back when Patrick Karnezis kicked truly to keep the Lions’ perfect record in front of goal (6.0) in tact. At that stage, the Lions trailed by just three points despite having eight fewer scoring shots. The Lions’ radar then started to desert them as they kicked four straight behinds. It was enough for them to take the lead by one point at the 15-minute mark. Even more encouragingly for the Lions, they were starting to dominate around the ground. In the next 10 minutes, the teams twice went goal for goal, before Aaron Edwards converted a tight set shot at the 30-minute mark to help North maintain a slight lead at half-time.
North by 5 points
 
THIRD QUARTER
North made a good start to the third term, kicking the first goal at the two-minute mark, when Cameron Pedersen converted from outside 50m. The Lions were not about to go away, however, and just five minutes later they were back in front by one point after goals to Karnezis and James Hawksley. The contest was a hot one at that point with neither able to gain the ascendancy. The Kangaroos eventually began to get on top and it was their defensive pressure inside their forward 50 that proved telling. Daniel Wells, Todd Goldstein and Aaron Edwards (after a tackle by Pedersen) each goaled after free kicks against Lions opponents for holding the ball. After Edwards’ goal at the 25-minute mark, the Kangaroos led by 21 points. Todd Banfield missed a golden chance to cut that margin when he sprayed a set shot from 40m out of bounds on the full just seconds before the final break.
North by 21 points
 
FOURTH QUARTER
Mitch Clark missed an opportunity to give the Lions the perfect start to the final term, when he missed a set shot inside the first minute. The Kangaroos then took a stranglehold on the match when Daniel Wells marked a long Todd Goldstein kick on the goalline and went back and converted. Wells’ goal gave the Kangaroos a 28-point lead. The Lions then missed another two chances to cut North’s lead when Luke Power and Aaron Cornelius missed relatively straightforward shots for goal. A goal to Ryan Bastinac at the 15-minute mark gave North a 34-point lead and effectively sealed the game. After that, North added three goals to the Lions’ one to run out comfortable winners.
North by 45 points

The next four
North Melbourne: Carlton (Etihad Stadium), Hawthorn (Aurora Stadium), bye, Fremantle (Etihad Stadium)

Brisbane Lions: Bye, Adelaide (Gabba), Gold Coast (Gabba), Collingwood (MCG)

North Melbourne    4.7 8.10 12.15     17.20 (122)      
Brisbane Lions         4.0  8.5  10.6      11.11 (77)
 
GOALS
North Melbourne: Pedersen 3, Petrie 3, Harper 2, Edwards 2, Wells 2, Bastinac 2, Goldstein 2, Warren
Brisbane Lions: Cornelius 2, Karnezis 2, Clark, Polkinghorne, Black, Power, Rockliff, Hawksley, Banfield
 
BEST
North Melbourne: Bastinac, Harvey, Ziebell, Swallow, Petrie , Adams, Edwards, Goldstein, McMahon
Brisbane Lions: Black, Rockliff, Redden, Raines, Leuenberger, Adcock
 
INJURIES
North Melbourne: Nil
Brisbane Lions: Nil
 
SUBSTITUTES
North Melbourne: Ben Warren replaced by Cameron Richardson in the third quarter
Brisbane Lions: James Hawksley replaced by Amon Buchanan in the third quarter
 
Reports: Michael Firrito (North Melbourne) reported for striking Simon Black (Brisbane Lions) in the second quarter.
 
Umpires: Dalgleish, Chamberlain, Pannell
 
Official Crowd: 20,809 at Etihad Stadium