There are few fairytales in football. Even the very best players rarely get to leave the game in the manner they deserve and desire. Jonathan Brown got the least that he deserved; one last lap (ever so slowly, and on foot) of his beloved Gabba in front of his home crowd, who stood to applaud their fallen champion.

Brown had, at least, lived his fairytale early: three premierships in his first four years in the game, when his size and physical presence, even as a teenager, stood out among men like Michael Voss and Leigh Matthews. Only Joel Selwood has experienced anything like the same early career success.

The other thing about fairytales is that, like superstar key forwards, they don't come around too often. North Melbourne last experienced sustained success in the late 1990s, in the halcyon years of Wayne Carey. It will surely be a long time before the Lions see Brown's like again.

The Lions' season, of course, has been one of defeat and hopeful development long before Brown succumbed to one concussion too many, and no one pretends there is anybody remotely ready to replace him. Against North, they started defender Daniel Merrett in the forward line alongside Michael Close, in his sixth game.

No one could accuse the Lions of lacking endeavour. At the end of just the first quarter, they had laid 29 tackles, had more of the ball and matched the Kangaroos' hardest nuts for contested possessions. But they had notched just two scoring shots to eight. (Merrett, a defender to the last, failed to score from two attempts.)

They weren't out of the game, though, because North, frankly, looked like they expected the result as a matter of course after dominating play for the first 10 minutes of the match. They became both stagnant and unaccountable, failed to work for each other, and laid just seven tackles in the entire second quarter.

It was truly a soft performance, unworthy of a team with any pretensions to be a serious contender in September, and the Lions made them pay. From nowhere, they kicked 7.3 for the quarter, Josh Green irrepressible, the classy James Aish hitting the scoreboard twice from long range, and even Merrett finding his range.

They were served especially well by Pearce Hanley, who rediscovered his 2013 speed and running power, and Rohan Bewick, who covered Brent Harvey while rebounding from half-back to telling effect. By half-time, the Lions had a 21-point lead and Brown - grinning like a man suddenly at peace - was revving up the crowd.

Then came a solid band of rain that swept across the city, making the Kangaroos' already sizeable task harder. The expected walk in the park turned into a trudge as a previously free-flowing game briefly closed down early in the third quarter. It's the kind of duress that North too rarely has shown itself capable of rising above.

And the Lions - the same side that was barely allowed to penetrate its attacking zone against Fremantle last week - were playing with rare belief. Twelve minutes into the second half, they had doubled North's score, with 10 of the last 11 goals, Claye Beams and Close extending the margin to 33 points.

That was the cue for North's leaders, finally, to stand up. Drew Petrie may have been fortunate to get two easy goals out the back late in the last quarter, but he still made sure not to waste those rare chances. That made it 20 points at the last change, Andrew Swallow making it 14 from the first clearance of the last quarter.

When Boomer Harvey shook Bewick to slot through his first, the margin was back to eight points, and the Lions' energy had dissipated; with 20 minutes to play, they were trying to save the game rather than win it. Nerves began to take over. Eventually Matt Maguire, one of the Lions' most experienced players, gifted Lindsay Thomas a goal.

But the Roos had the jitters, too. Petrie, all clear and 40 metres from goal, squared the ball needlessly, sending it well over Ryan Bastinac's head to waste an opportunity as the clock ticked under three minutes. The Lions were still five points up, and the crowd found its voice again.

With seconds to play, the Lions almost suffered a horror ending, with first-gamer Daniel McStay stepping on the goalline while trying to kick out, forcing a ball up. But his teammates were able to lock the ball in, sealing a game they deserved to win. Who said there are no fairytales in footy?