The Western Bulldogs' win over North Melbourne is set to leave North Melbourne at least one game outside of the top eight by the end of the weekend, with just two matches remaining in the home and away season.

While the win is the second in as many weeks for the Western Bulldogs side, the loss is almost certain to go down as the one that got away for North.

Having witnessed finals rivals Geelong and Port Adelaide stumble on Saturday, the Kangaroos looked poised to control their own September destiny with victory at Docklands.

But, despite holding a 28-point half-time buffer, not everything had gone the Kangaroos' way.

Skill errors had crept into North's game, with undisciplined acts from Kayne Turner and Majak Daw resulting in costly back-to-back 50m penalties to the Dogs.

It was perhaps a sign of the nerves North was grappling with, as the prospect of moving one step closer to an unlikely finals berth appeared on the horizon.

Ultimately, it came back to bite them.

Five goals in 15 minutes to start the second half quickly saw the Bulldogs wrestle back the momentum – and the lead – with North's resolve severely tested.

Luke Beveridge's side ultimately piled on eight of 10 goals in the third quarter in a term that broke North Melbourne's back.

In a scrappy final term that reflected much of the match, neither side could wrestle the momentum firmly in their favour, which was an outcome that suited the Dogs to a tee.

With the Kangaroos out of legs, they failed to make up any ground.

Brown, Waite and Wood were solid up forward, combining for 8 goals, while the midfield group of Goldstein, Cunnington, Higgins and Anderson also impressed.

MEDICAL ROOM

North Melbourne: Mason Wood suffered a cut above his eye but played out the match.

NEXT UP

North Melbourne will look to keep its finals hopes alive in a tough interstate encounter against Adelaide in next Sunday's twilight game.

NORTH MELBOURNE             2.2       9.5       11.10   12.13 (85)
WESTERN BULLDOGS            1.4       4.7       12.9     13.14 (92)

GOALS

North Melbourne: Brown 4, Waite 2, Wood 2, Walker, Turner, Atley, Higgins

BEST 

North Melbourne: Cunnington, Anderson, Goldstein, Higgins, Brown, Thompson

INJURIES 

North Melbourne: Nil

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Hosking, Schmitt, Hay

Official crowd: 27,031 at Etihad Stadium