IKON Park -- It felt like Arden Street had been airlifted into the stadium on Saturday night, with a sea of blue and white filling the stands to create an electric Grand Final atmosphere.
Brisbane came out hot and threw the first punch, with complete territory dominance and aggressive ball movement that had North wobbling early. They forced repeat forward-half stoppages, looked cleaner with the ball and momentarily silenced a Kangaroos-heavy crowd with the first goal of the game.
But as the game settled, the question wasn't 'can Brisbane challenge North?' It was 'can they sustain it?'
North did what North do; they absorbed pressure, took away the space space, and made Brisbane's early energy look wasteful. By half time, the Kangaroos led by 22 points despite the Lions having more inside 50s.
From there, the invincible Roos slammed the door shut and locked it, powering to a 9.2 (56) to 2.4 (16) win -- and with it came back-to-back AFLW premierships.
Here's what we learned from the match.
North absorbed pressure, then Sheerin stole the show
Brisbane applied all the heat early, forced North into uncharacteristic fumbles and owned 68% of time in forward half during the opening stages of the Grand Final. But there's a massive difference between pressure and control, and once North's structure kicked into gear, the Lions' dominance turned into empty territory.
Emma Kearney set the tone with five early intercepts, patrolling half-back like her usual composed self. The emotional shift arrived with a crunching hit she laid on Belle Dawes that ignited her teammates and then the scoreboard tipped.
Shannon Campbell, under pressure and visibly unsettled, conceded a double 100-metre penalty that gifted Kate Shierlaw a walk-in set-shot goal. Momentum had completely shifted.
From there, North resisted the Lions' pressure, and punished it. They dominated stoppage clearances (21-8), turned first possessions into clean exits and gave Tahlia Randall and Shierlaw the space to wreak havoc, even without needing to mark everything. Their work at ground level, the one-percenters, pulled Brisbane's defensive structure apart.
Everything in this game belonged to North. But the tempo? That belonged to Eilish Sheerin.
Playing just her second game back from injury, Sheerin produced a Grand Final masterclass -- 28 disposals, two goals, and 10 contested possessions.
"Honestly, I kind of felt like this was always going to happen," Sheerin told ESPN post-game.
"Maybe it sounded like a pipe dream 12 months ago, but it was part of the plan. We just trust our system -- pressure isn't panic for us."
Jasmine Garner added another defining Grand Final moment, finishing with a goal and multiple score involvements fitting for the league leader in that stat. Kearney, the spiritual architect, was once again the emotional compass. Randall and Shierlaw gave Brisbane's defence nightmares all night. And Sheerin stamped herself as North's newest big-stage star.
Brisbane brought effort and chaos, but without polish it means nothing
This wasn't a Lions side that lacked effort, intensity, or belief. They matched North in contested ball (121-128), nearly equalled tackles (67-66) and actually finished with more inside 50s (38-34).
They fought -- but they didn't finish.
In the third quarter, the Lions surged again, generating eight of the last nine inside 50s, spending over 70% time in forward half, and finally breaking through via Ruby Svarc, who ended North's run of six straight goals. The crowd found its voice. The TV cameras found Dakota Davidson. For a few minutes, it felt like something might happen.
North turned 34 inside 50s into 9.2 (56). Brisbane turned 38 inside 50s into just 2.4 (16).
Too often, Brisbane's entries were rushed, wide, or easily intercepted. Their tall forwards -- normally matchup nightmares -- were blanketed. Davidson and Taylor Smith didn't take a single contested mark inside 50, and North's backs simply feasted on panicked kicks.
The Lions made North look human, even if only briefly. But they never made them look vulnerable.
This is a dynasty that feels like the beginning, not the end
It's rare to see a team dominate a season like North did; 27 wins in a row now, not to mention a perfect season is basically unheard of in professional sport.
They finished the season unbeaten, were the No.1 defence, No.1 clearance team, and now have back-to-back premierships -- with a core built not on superstars alone, but on structure, depth and committed role players.
"I just love being part of this team," Sheerin said. "It's a special group. We don't just play together -- we grow together."
They aren't just premiers. They're a standard. And right now, nobody else is close.
It's hard to argue they are the best AFLW team in history.