WESTERN BULLDOGS 2.2 2.8 7.15 12.17 (89)
NORTH MELBOURNE 2.4 4.7 8.11 12.14 (86)
Goals: Western Bulldogs: J Stringer 2 L Dahlhaus 2 M Suckling 2 J Dunkley J Macrae M Bontempelli R Murphy T Cloke T Liberatore. North Melbourne: B Brown 4 J Simpkin 2 K Turner 2 J Ziebell S Higgins T Garner T Goldstein. Â Umpires: Simon Meredith, Robert Findlay, Nathan Williamson. Â
Official Crowd: 42,814 at Etihad Stadium.
Seeking to rebound after a shock loss to Fremantle, Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge lamented through the week that his team had been playing in "spits and spurts".
Well, there was certainly plenty of spitting – perhaps in disgust – in the first half of the historic Good Friday clash at Etihad Stadium, with the Dogs managing just two goals, and trailing by 11 points at the main break.
That deficit would become 29 when the Kangaroos opened the third term with three majors, but when the Dogs' "spurt" finally came, with five straight goals and the lead late in the quarter, this was suddenly the side which stormed to last year's premiership.
The worry, though, will be when the Dogs trail the elite sides, who won't allow a comeback of that magnitude.
They would have to fight greatly in the final term but their ability to handle pressure ensured a three-point win.
Kangaroos small forward Lindsay Thomas, in his 200th match, had two chances to poach victory in front of 42,814 fans, the second on the cusp of the siren but his shot notched only a point.
"It was street fight in the end - it could have gone either way," Dogs skipper Bob Murphy said.
The victory was tempered by a head knock to Tom Boyd, who copped a heavy head knock from Scott Thompson in the first term and left the field with a blackened left eye and did not return. Travis Cloke was also worse the wear after a heavy hit from Jack Ziebell.
There was more confusion about the new third-man-up rule, when Josh Dunkley was awarded a free kick on the three-quarter-time siren, after an apparent Andrew Swallow shepherd. The Roos remonstrated but, fortunately for them, Dunkley missed the set shot.
The Roos battled hard in the final term but they now have their worst start to a season since 2011.
With the contest slipping away, it was Marcus Bontempelli who lifted, having 10 disposals, including two clearances, in a third term when play finally opened up.
Ben Brown, the dominant forward on the ground, gave North the early momentum in the third term when he slotted his 100th career goal. When he followed up with his fourth minutes later, and Jy Simpkin roved a pack where Brown should have been awarded a free kick, the Roos had control. Or so they thought.
The Dogs were sparked by a long bomb from Matthew Suckling, who had endured a dirty first half. Luke Dahlhaus was also pivotal forward, and it was he who gave the Dogs the lead with a clever rove and snap.
However, there would be another twist in this thriller.
"I thought the hunger and fight was fantastic. I thought they really had a lot of belief that they could get over the line," Roos coach Brad Scott said of his team.
These clubs were involved in two low-scoring affairs last season and this shaped as no different, after the first half.
Both teams emerged keen to retain possession, but their skills did not always match - so turnovers became an all too often occurrence.
The Dogs were even held to a goalless second term, such was their inability to create and find space. They had dominated the inside-50 count 17-8 in the first term yet trailed by two points, while they still enjoyed an extra eight inside 50s by half-time, yet found themselves with only two goals on the board and trailing two goals behind.
They weren't helped by the absence of Boyd. The Dogs' ruck woes continued when Tom Campbell required treatment for a sore ankle, leaving Josh Dunkley to do the tap work, but Todd Goldstein and Braydon Preuss didn't suddenly take over the contest.
The Roos, though, were able to capitalise enough on their opponents' mistakes.
Typically, midfielders Ziebell and Ben Cunnington were in the thick of things, the former with 17 touches and six clearances, and the latter with 16 touches and three clearances.
By comparison, the Dogs were suffering from dasher Easton Wood, hard nut Tom Liberatore and Clay Smith having few touches.
Stringer provided a nice touch when he celebrated the opening goal of the night with a rabbit ears impersonation.
With space at a premium because of the defensive press, the ugly scrap prompted Collingwood great Tony Shaw to declare on 3AW: "I love our game of football but this is doing nothing for our sport."
He, surely, changed his mind after half-time.
VOTES
8: Luke Dahlhaus (Western Bulldogs)
8: Ben Cunnington (North Melbourne)
8: Ben Brown (North Melbourne)
7: Marcus Bontempelli (Western Bulldogs)
7: Jack Ziebell (North Melbourne)