The Brisbane Lions went down to North Melbourne 18.17 (125 to 9.8 (62) at Etihad Stadium on Sunday night.
North set up the victory by firing the first 11 scoring shots of the match in the opening 22 minutes, blazing 4.7 to nothing.
To exacerbate matters for the Lions, playmaker Pearce Hanley left the field in the third quarter with a suspected knee injury, while Jack Redden was reported after bumping Leigh Adams.
Meanwhile, Roos forward Drew Petrie was booked after making late contact with Rohan Bewick.
The Lions also suffered an early casualty with Ashley McGrath being given the red vest after sustaining a shin injury.
Lions coach Michael Voss lamented his team's loss as "completely unacceptable".
"Despite trying to achieve a couple of different things and approaching them a different way, nothing seemed to work for very long," he said.
"It was certainly something we walk away and say, well, that's unacceptable and we've got to be able to go away and make sure we've got to work harder."
The best for the visitors were ruckman Matthew Leuenberger and Tom Rockliff, who battled manfully against overwhelming odds.
After winning the NAB Cup Grand Final at Etihad Stadium, the Lions have been well beaten in both of their subsequent matches at the Docklands venue.
Among the few positives for the Lions were the efforts of their two debutants – Sam Docherty, who was among his side's best ball-winners, and Marco Paparone, who kicked three goals after starting as the substitute.
Next week, the Lions host Melbourne at the Gabba.
NORTH MELBOURNE 5.10 8.13 15.16 18.17 (125)
BRISBANE LIONS 1.2 4.5 6.5 9.8 (62)
GOALS
North Melbourne: Thomas 4, Petrie 4, Daw, Macmillan, Thompson, Wells, Adams, Hansen, Gibson, Ziebell, Mullett, Wright
Brisbane Lions: Paparone 3, Bewick 2, McKeever, Rockliff, Green, Zorko
BEST
North Melbourne: Thompson, Ziebell, Wells, Thomas, Atley, Gibson
Brisbane Lions: Rockliff, Adcock, Leuenberger, Hanley, Docherty
INJURIES
North Melbourne: Daw (concussion)
Brisbane Lions: McGrath (corked calf), Hanley (corked knee)
SUBSTITUTES
North Melbourne: Majak Daw (concussion) substituted out for Liam Anthony at quarter time
Brisbane Lions: Ash McGrath (corked calf) substituted out for Marco Paparone at quarter time
Reports: Jack Redden (Brisbane Lions) reported for high contact against Ben Cunnington (North Melbourne) in the third quarter. Drew Petrie (North Melbourne) reported for rough conduct against Rohan Bewick (Brisbane Lions) in the second quarter.
Umpires: Burgess, Schmitt, Pannell
Official crowd: 22,776 at Etihad Stadium
