Brisbane coach Michael Voss called it eight quarters of hard effort for four AFL premiership points.

Six days after pushing unbeaten St Kilda, the Lions returned to Etihad Stadium and beat North Melbourne by 18 points on Saturday in a tight struggle.

The 15.9 (99) to 12.9 (81) win leaves improving Brisbane with six wins from 10 games, while the Kangaroos are rapidly losing touch with the top eight on 4-6.

"We've looked at it to say the four points equals eight quarters, because the effort that we had last week for four quarters was pleasing," Voss said.

"But you walk away unsure how to feel and then you have another four quarters where you've got to earn the four points - the guys have worked doubly-hard to try and earn this win."

First-year star Daniel Rich was awesome for the Lions, while young ruckman Mitch Clark and Simon Black also played crucial roles.

This was also a win for Brisbane's fitness staff, as that trio were coming off light training schedules to ease the wear-and-tear on their bodies.

"Some guys that we've been nursing along a little bit in the last couple of weeks really came out today and played well - Daniel Rich, Simon Black ... Mitch Clark," Voss said.

Black was particularly influential in the second half, breaking the game open for Brisbane and kicking a goal.

He had only six disposals to halftime after a solid matchup from Adam Simpson, but broke clear after halftime and finished with 23.

While North coach Dean Laidley noted that his side smashed Brisbane at the clearances, 41-28, Clark again impressed as he handles the bulk of the ruckwork.

Like Patrick Ryder at Essendon, Clark has relished the responsibility forced on him by injuries to team-mates.

Laidley made his players watch a video of their handball errors soon after the match, saying this was the main reason they lost.

Asked what cost North, Laidley replied: "turnovers by hand - 31 ineffective or 'clanger' handballs, just wanting to give that extra handball, instead of going down the line."

North again could not be faulted for their spirit and determination, but Laidley, like Voss, does not want to know about honourable losses.

"We don't want to be known as a side ... 'aw you've done a good job today', or the people go home who have been shopping on a Saturday afternoon and see 'gee, North got within three goals, that must have been a good effort'," he said.

One of the most galling features of the loss is that Josh Gibson held Jonathan Brown to two goals and Scott Thompson restricted fellow Brisbane key forward Daniel Bradshaw to just one goal.

Rhan Hooper kicked four goals for Brisbane and Ben Warren had the same return for North.

Laidley admitted his heart was in his mouth in the final quarter when Simpson landed awkwardly.

It was the sort of incident that could easily have meant a season-ending knee reconstruction, but Simpson was cleared of any damage.

While the Kangaroos try to improve their skills, the low-key Lions keep impressing.

"There are a lot of people talking about other teams, we're happy with that and we'll keep doing our business," Voss said.

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