North Melbourne has snatched victory from the jaws of defeat to continue its unlikely finals push, heading the Western Bulldogs with 20 seconds left off captain Jack Ziebell's goal-square finish.
The Roos looked to have put paid to the Bulldogs when they went 10 points clear in the last quarter – after trailing by 24 in the second term – but lost the lead with barely two minutes to go.
That Billy Gowers' goal should have made him the Dogs' hero and capped a superb solo display.
But Ziebell, having been inserted into the midfield after a four-disposal opening half, instead achieved that status thanks to a brilliant toe poke from Ben Brown that set him up.
The thrilling 12.5 (77) to 11.9 (75) victory was crucial in the scheme of the season, with North coming off the bye and clinging to the last spot in the top eight.
Coleman Medal frontrunner Brown booted five goals, but that final score assist was his biggest moment of the night.
A loss would have plunged the Kangas to 10th position, but instead Brad Scott's team inflicted a fifth defeat in a row on the Bulldogs.
They had five losses inside a goal last year, including two to the Dogs, so the feeling was sweet on Saturday night.
"You practice for those scenarios a lot and they don't happen that often, but clearly when they do, they're pretty important moments so you fall back on your training a little bit," Scott told reporters.
"And, to be honest, we fall back on some of our disappointments.
"We were on the wrong end of quite a few of those last year, so they're really painful at the time, but you learn from them and you then train it.
"It's great for the players to be on the right side of one of those really close games, when it looked like it had slipped away from us."
Shaun Higgins – playing against his former side – also had a say in that final match-winning thrust, as he did in most of what North Melbourne did in the second half.
The Bulldogs never saw Higgins' best when he wore red, white and blue, but they had a front-row Etihad Stadium seat to it on this night.
Injuries and a restrictive half-forward role meant Higgins only hinted at his potential rather than realising it in his 129 games as a Bulldog.
Now charged with leading the Arden St cause, the 30-year-old came alive after half-time to be pivotal in the result.
Higgins had only 10 of his eventual 32 disposals in the first two quarters, when midfield mate Ben Cunnington held the fort, but was spectacular in the fightback.
He booted two of the Roos' five third-quarter goals – one a wonderful snap after crumbing and the other a steady set shot – as they slashed the Dogs' lead from 18 points to two.
Cunnington finished with 30 possessions (22 contested) and, like Higgins, complemented his touches with eight clearances in another reminder of his ability.
Defenders Majak Daw and Robbie Tarrant came up big as well, but it was Luke McDonald who hung onto a defensive-50 grab to halt the Dogs' final foray after Ziebell's major.
MEDICAL ROOM
North Melbourne: Ben Jacobs was a late scratching for the Roos – replaced by ex-Hawk Billy Hartung – after suffering from delayed onset concussion, with symptoms presenting after training during the week. Hartung limped from the field midway through the second term with a game-ending left hamstring injury.
NEXT UP
North has eight days to prepare for Essendon at the same venue on Sunday week.
WESTERN BULLDOGS 2.1 6.3 8.7 11.9 (75)
NORTH MELBOURNE 1.1 3.3 8.5 12.5 (77)
GOALS
Western Bulldogs: Gowers 3, Williams 2, Naughton 2, Boyd, Wallis, Cordy, Richards
North Melbourne: Brown 5, Ziebell 3, Higgins 2, Anderson, Atley
BEST
Western Bulldogs: Crozier, Naughton, Hunter, McLean, Gowers
North Melbourne: Brown, Higgins, Daw, Cunnington, Dumont, Goldstein
INJURIES
Western Bulldogs:
North Melbourne: Ben Jacobs (delayed concussion) replaced in selected by Billy Hartung. Hartung (hamstring)
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Foot, Rosebury, Meredith, Mollison
Official crowd: 26,301 at Etihad Stadium
