Having prepared for a trip to Maroochydore, the North Melbourne Kangaroos find themselves closer to home for their finals-shaping game against Brisbane this week. 

Here are four questions ahead of Sunday's match at Whitten Oval. 

Can the Kangaroos bounce into the finals on home turf? 

Thanks to last week's loss to the Demons at Casey Fields, a top two finish is likely beyond the Kangaroos with two games of the home and away season remaining. While a finals berth is now assured, the side's top concern will be to secure a home qualifying final. That requires at least a fourth-placed finish. Defeat the Lions and the Roos will be in the box seat ahead of their season closer against West Coast. Slip up and they could find themselves on the road in finals week one.

How will the change of venue affect the outcome?

When the match was scheduled to be played in Maroochydore, only one of the eight tipsters on womens.afl predicted a Kangaroos win. Swapping one of the competition's longest road trips for a hop down the road to Whitten Oval certainly swings the odds more in the Roos' favour. However, the Lions have proved themselves capable travellers in recent weeks. A gutsy win over St Kilda in Sandringham set their finals ambitions back on track in Round 7, before last week's record-obliterating rampage against the Eagles in Perth.

How do the Roos contain Brisbane's firepower? 

The Kangaroos' highest score in their eight games so far this season has been the 57 points they put past the Giants in round three. The Lions passed that total midway through the third quarter against West Coast on Sunday, and they weren't done. Their final score of 15.8 (98) smashed the AFLW record score by 11 points, and their winning margin of 74 points was another record to boot. The Lions are the competition's highest scoring team, having kicked 52 goals for the season. That's 15 more than the Roos and it's a problem for coach Darren Crocker to solve.   

How far Ash Riddell?

While the Lions are breaking scoring records, North Melbourne Tasmania's gun midfielder has been quietly setting new markers of her own. Riddell's 30 touches against the Demons propelled her to an AFLW record 229 disposals for the season.

Most disposals in an AFLW season:
229 - Ash Riddell (8 games, 2022)
222 - Brittany Bonnici (9 games, 2021)
215 - Alyce Parker (9 games, 2021)

It's an achievement made even more remarkable by the fact Riddell has played one fewer game than the previous record holder, Collingwood's Brittany Bonnici. She's averaging 28.6 touches per game, and it's no surprise she's earned coaches' votes in every game so far this season. 

The North Melbourne Tasmanian Kangaroos have received a warning shot ahead of the AFLW finals after being outclassed by Brisbane on Sunday.

The Lions produced a strong response to a difficult week, keeping themselves in the hunt for a coveted AFLW top-two position with a dominant 36-point win.

Severe flooding in southeast Queensland meant some Lions players had to fight to save houses in the days before their home game was moved from Maroochydore to Melbourne's Whitten Oval.

The venue switch cost them an advantage but didn't matter as the reigning premiers rode a wave of emotion to post a convincing 7.8 (50) to 2.2 (14) victory.

Brisbane pair Emily Bates and Ally Anderson became the first AFLW players to reach 50 career games and were key contributors in their side's win.

Sophie Conway, Greta Bodey and intercept defender Natalie Grider were also prominent, with Conway's two first-half goals critical in the Lions' ability to break the game open.

The result means Brisbane can still snatch a top-two spot on the ladder and earn direct passage to the second week of the finals with a win over the Western Bulldogs next Sunday.

But it must also rely on either Adelaide or Melbourne slipping up in the final home-and-away round.

On a dirty day for North Melbourne, Lexi Hamilton was reported when she flattened Conway during the second quarter.

Hamilton was one of several changes to the side after the previous round's defeat to Melbourne, recalled in place of injured ruck Emma King.

The Kangaroos' depleted tall stocks took another hit when Kim Rennie copped a blow to the ribs during the third quarter, but she returned to action later in the term.

North Melbourne ball magnet Jasmine Garner got away from minder Cathy Svarc to boot the opening goal of the day but Brisbane responded quickly, kicking the next three majors to build a handy lead by quarter-time.

The trend continued in the second term as the Lions took complete control.

They led by 28 points at the main break and were never seriously challenged in the second half despite the best efforts of Ash Riddell, who had 11 disposals in the third quarter alone.

The Kangaroos star finished with a game-high 28 disposals, while teammate Emma Kearney had 19.

A 20-minute masterclass

Already two goals ahead at the first change, the Lions shifted up another gear in the second quarter, playing the stylish and confident footy that propelled them to a then-record AFLW score in Round 8. They racked up 11 inside 50s for the term before the Roos managed a single foray forward. By half-time they had 5.4 on the board and the only mercy for the Kangaroos was that the damage wasn't greater. 

It was over when …

… Jesse Wardlaw kicked the Lions' sixth, four minutes after half-time. Tahlia Randall's goal 90 seconds earlier was the Roos' first in two quarters, and it ignited hopes that they could stage a second-half fightback. Wardlaw's reply swiftly extinguished those hopes. Her smooth set shot restored a 27-point lead that, for all their efforts, North Melbourne Tasmania never looked like pulling back.

What's next?

The Kangaroos have the opportunity to rediscover winning form in their last hit-out before before the finals series against West Coast on Saturday. The twilight match in front of the North faithful at Arden St kicks off at 5.10pm AEDT on Saturday, March 12.

Brisbane Lions                       3.0   5.4   6.6   7.8 (50)
North Melbourne Tasmania  1.0   1.0   2.1   2.2 (14)

GOALS
Brisbane Lions: Conway 2, Moloney 2, Davidson, Smith, Wardlaw
North Melbourne Tasmania: Garner, Randall

BEST 
Brisbane: Bates, Grider, Anderson, Conway, Bodey, Moloney
North Melbourne: Riddell, Kearney, Garner, King, Brown

INJURIES 
Nil

Reports: Hamilton (North Melbourne Tasmania) for rough conduct on Conway