EARLY in the final quarter, Brisbane was still within touching distance of the unassailable North Melbourne.

The margin was 17 points - the gap that the Roos couldn't close in the 2023 decider - and one goal to the Lions could have swung momentum their way.

AFLW GRAND FINAL Full match coverage and stats
MATCH REPORT North completes unbeaten season to win first flag
'PRETTY SPECIAL' Night Grand Final wins strong support
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BEST ON GROUND Garner's record haul earns Best on Ground Medal
CROCKER’S RELIEF Roos deliver under weight of expectations
'PRESSURED INTO SUBMISSON' Lions crumble under Roos' dominance

"It was like, all you need is one here. If you get one, you get within 11 points and it's game on," Brisbane coach Craig Starcevich said of the third quarter.

"Easier said than done, but all we needed was the score in the third quarter to keep us in it, but that didn't come."

As the ball bobbled around Brisbane's forward 50 arc, no-one in a maroon guernsey could cleanly gather.

That wasn't a problem for Jasmine Garner, though. The North Melbourne star fired a nifty little handball out to ruck Emma King, who was equally quick in getting it to Sarah Wright.

In the flash of an eye, the Roos were out and sending the ball up the corridor.

Wright's kick landed in the hands of Jenna Bruton standing alone in the middle of the centre circle. Bruton, who played all of three minutes in last year's Grand Final after going down with a nasty Achilles injury, linked up with Kate Shierlaw.

A quick one-two, and Bruton was off with a pinpoint kick to Irishwoman Vikki Wall 30m from goal.

The speed in which the Roos won the turnover, then transitioned the footy had the Lions' heads spinning, and all Jennifer Dunne could do was stand the mark as Wall calmly went back to slot her second goal of the night.

As the crowd erupted, there was a clear sense of occasion. They knew that their beloved club in the blue and white had just secured its first premiership since 1999, and the first for its perennially-challenging AFLW program.