The Western Bulldogs are facing a personnel crisis in defence after injuries to key backs Liam Jones and Tim O'Brien took some gloss off their 21-point win over North Melbourne.
Jones fractured his left forearm when he received an accidental kick from opponent Paul Curtis while trying to gather a loose ball in the opening minutes of Sunday's match.
Already without running defenders Jason Johannisen and Ed Richards because of hamstring strains, the Bulldogs lost O'Brien to a similar issue before halftime.
The latest setbacks forced coach Luke Beveridge to shift leading goal-kicker Aaron Naughton and wingman Bailey Williams into defence but didn't prevent the Dogs snapping a three-match losing run with a 15.15 (105) to 13.6 (84) victory at Marvel Stadium.
"Historically, losing one key defender is difficult enough ... so I was really pleased with the way everyone adjusted," Beveridge said.
"North were really good; their contest, their intensity and how they confronted us with their game was impressive.
"That was another important element to the fact that the boys endured in the end under a bit of duress."
The result ensured the Bulldogs (8-6) will retain their spot in the top eight through their mid-season bye in round 15, and extended North Melbourne's losing streak to 12 matches.
Naughton was important in the Dogs' first win since round 10, kicking two first-half goals before his positional switch, while Cody Weightman celebrated his 50th game with a career-best six goals.
Weightman's haul included three majors in the third quarter, helping to break the game open.
The high-flying small forward also produced the day's biggest highlights with soaring marks over Griffin Logue and Luke McDonald in the second half.
Marcus Bontempelli (32 disposals, 11 tackles, eight clearances, three goals), Tom Liberatore (27 touches, nine tackles, eight clearances), Adam Treloar (34 touches, seven clearances, one goal) and ruckman Tim English (24 possessions, six clearances, one goal) were also strong contributors.
North held a 15-point advantage early in the second term but trailed by three at the main break, and a run of five straight Bulldogs majors straddling three-quarter time effectively ended the contest.
The Dogs had twice as many forward entries (72-36) and dominated the tackle count (77-49) as their more experienced midfield got on top.
Harry Sheezel (32 disposals, five clearances), Tarryn Thomas (24, three) and Will Phillips (22, six) fought hard for the Kangaroos, while Nick Larkey and Jaidyn Stephenson finished with three goals apiece.
"Our ability to hang in has improved," North caretaker coach Brett Ratten said.
"The game got away from us, they kicked (three goals in five minutes) at the start of the last quarter.
"We've had five weeks of pretty competitive footy ... but we've got to become better than that.
"That's about digging in and scrapping. That's got to become the norm."
