The Brisbane Lions have confirmed their status as genuine finals contenders with an emphatic 46-point victory over a disappointing St Kilda outfit at the Gabba on Sunday.
The margin blew out to as much as 75 points 10 minutes into the final quarter but the Saints managed to score seven of the last nine goals before losing the match 14.12 (96) to 21.15 (141).
The contest was all but over by half-time thanks to a six-goal-to-one second quarter with the likes of Josh Drummond, Simon Black and Tim Notting instrumental in ensuring the Lions' decisive 40-point lead at the main break.
Drummond was fantastic off the half-back line in the first half, creating countless forward thrusts and racking up 19 possessions in the process.
Black - who finished with 28 possessions and a goal - stamped himself on the contest in the middle two quarters and was the chief architect of the resounding win with his precision ball usage severely damaging the visitors.
The Lions midfield, led by Black, Jed Adcock (30 touches) and Luke Power (23), covered for Travis Johnstone who was held to only 14 disposals after racking up 32 and three goals last week.
Brisbane's engine room used the ball much better than St Kilda's throughout the afternoon and found itself under much less pressure for the majority of the match.
Despite the best efforts of Lenny Hayes (33), Robert Harvey (27) and Luke Ball (26), the Saints simply couldn't get any fluency into their game.
Brisbane's application of pressure across every line on the field was a telling factor in the victory and the home team showed why it is the No.1 tackling team in the business as it racked up almost double the amount of tackles as St Kilda, 58-32.
St Kilda's key forwards Justin Koschitzke and Nick Riewoldt weren't done any favours by the delivery that they were receiving and must have looked on with envy as they witnessed the amount of quality supply that their opposing attacking options, Daniel Bradshaw and Jonathan Brown, were enjoying.
Bradshaw - who registered his 400th career goal late in the game - and Brown kicked 12 goals between them with the latter putting an exclamation mark on his team's match-winning second-quarter effort with a four-goal third quarter.
Riewoldt also had to contend with the close-checking of Brisbane defender Joel Patfull with the young Lion putting in a fantastic performance by keeping the star Saint goalless until the 31-minute mark of the final quarter.
However, it looked as though the contest was going to be an even one early on.
When Justin Koschitzke kicked his second goal of the afternoon at the eight-minute mark of the second term, the Saints only trailed by nine points.
But any hopes of a memorable encounter – for Saints supporters anyway – were extinguished soon after when Brisbane slammed on the next nine goals of the match unanswered.
BRISBANE LIONS: 3.6, 9.10, 17.11, 21.15 (141)
ST KILDA: 2.4, 3.6, 6.8, 14.11 (95)
GOALS: Brisbane Lions: Bradshaw 6, Brown 6, Hooper 2, Corrie, Clark, Brennan, Roe, Harding, Power, Black
St Kilda: Koschitzke 4, Milne 2, Birss 2, Dal Santo 2, Goddard, S.Fisher, Montagna, Riewoldt.
BEST: Brisbane Lions: Black, Drummond, Notting, Brown, Patfull, Adcock, Bradshaw.
St Kilda: Hayes, Harvey, Koschitzke, Ball
INJURIES: Brisbane Lions: Nil
St Kilda: Nil
REPORTS: Nil
CHANGES: Nil
UMPIRES: McLaren, Chamberlain, Head
Crowd: TBC at the Gabba
Sportal AFL Player of the Year votes:
3. Simon Black (Brisbane Lions)
2. Josh Drummond (Brisbane Lions)
1. Tim Notting (Brisbane Lions)