Brown had another dominant night, with each of his six goals met with rapturous applause by the Gabba faithful.
However, the biggest roar of the night was reserved for a moment late in the third term, when he returned from what initially appeared to be a serious lower leg injury.
After Brown had been assisted off ground 15 minutes into the third quarter, North Melbourne added extra momentum to a post half-time fight back – cutting what had been the best part of a seven-goal margin to just 19 points.
But Brown’s resurrection seemed to galvanise the Lions, and when forward partner Daniel Bradshaw booted his fourth and fifth goals of the evening the lead was back out to 32 points at the last change.
The Roos’ got the first goal of the final quarter through Daniel Harris but the Lions held firm to record their sixth win of the season.
The victory was a deserved one. Had the Kangaroos managed to continue the comeback and post an unlikely win, the result would have been as much about the Lions’ inability to convert opportunities as anything the visitors had done.
Leigh Matthews’ side kicked 15.17 up to three-quarter-time and, while Brown was in sublime form, the All-Australian captain was the somewhat unlucky prime culprit.
Brown was pushing Simon Black for best afield but he kicked 5.6 through the first three quarters. He should almost certainly have had eight goals, having struck the post flush three times from set shots.
At the other end, the Kangaroos stayed in the game mainly through accuracy and opportunism.
Scott McMahon kicked the first goal of the game following a free kick for a seemingly innocuous bump from Anthony Corrie.
And in the second term North Melbourne booted three goals within five minutes after going goalless for half an hour. Brent Harvey, who had been fairly quiet up to that point, popped up to supply two of them – one a trademark effort with the outside of the right boot.
At half-time Dean Laidley’s side had 15 less scoring shots, but a score of 6.2 saw them trail by less than seven goals.
For the Lions, Simon Black continued his rich vein of form with a game-high 30 possessions, while Brown outplayed both Josh Gibson and Michael Firrito.
The Roos defenders were similarly unsuccessful against Bradshaw, with Luke Power, Tim Notting and Jamie Charman also valuable contributors. Daniel Merrett continued his excellent season with another fine defensive display opposed to Nathan Thompson.
Adam Simpson and Harvey were solid throughout for North Melbourne, while former Lion Daniel Pratt worked hard across half-back, and debutant and Queensland product Gavin Urquhart amassed 21 disposals.
Brisbane Lions 4.7 11.12 15.17 18.21 (129)
North Melbourne 2.2 6.2 12.3 15.8 (98)
GOALS
Brisbane Lions: Brown, Bradshaw 6, Sherman 2, Johnstone, Notting, Charman, Corrie
North Melbourne: Harvey, Petrie, Campbell 3, Pratt, Harris, McMahon, McIntosh, Hale, Jones
BEST
Brisbane Lions: Black, Brown, Power, Notting, Bradshaw, Charman, Merrett
North Melbourne: Pratt, Simpson, Harvey, Harris, McIntosh, Urquhart
INJURIES
Brisbane Lions: Roe (hamstring), McGrath (hamstring), Drummond (hamstring)
North Melbourne: Nil
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Rosebury, Armstrong, McInerney
Official crowd: 22,118 at the Gabba
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
