North Melbourne's VFL program came out on top in a nail-biting finish against Footscray on Friday afternoon as they held off a fast-finishing Bulldogs side to win by six points.

After leaping out to a 28-point half-time lead, injuries to Louis Cunningham and Marty Hore plus the management of Will Phillips and Jed Anderson left the Kangaroos with just one player on the interchange for much of the second half.

The Bulldogs fought back to level the scores late in the game, but Charlie Comben kicked a goal in the final minute to secure the victory.

VFL senior coach Leigh Adams says he's proud of the manner in which his team responded from their Round 2 defeat to Brisbane.

"I thought defensively we were a lot better today, and that's an area we were really poor in against Brisbane. Hopefully today can become a bit of a trademark of what our game is going to be going forward," Adams told North Media.

"The boys set the game up really well in the first half by playing some really good footy. After we went down a few rotations the second half was just pure guts really.

"We were smart with the ball when we had to be, we took on the contest when we needed to and we made the most of our chances. The Dogs had a fair few scoring shots and they could have made us pay if they had been a bit more accurate, but that's footy sometimes."

Along with his game-winning goal, Comben put together another strong performance at centre half-forward.

While he finished with four goals, Comben's impact wasn't just felt on the scoreboard. It was his willingness to chase, tackle, shepherd and work from contest to contest that saw him put in a complete performance.

Adams says the young forward is using his strong pre-season as a platform to push for AFL selection.

"Charlie's been super this season. He's had a full pre-season and he's been able to show the talent he's got since he's built that tank up a little bit," Adams said.

"He was really good and what I really like is his work-rate is really increasing and he's getting to more contests, and even though he looks like marking it every time when he's not marking it he's bringing the ball to ground really well. 

"He got his reward today for some really hard work."

Comben wasn't the only Kangaroo to finish the game with four goals. First-year player Paul Curtis continued his impressive run of form with four majors of his own.

A deadly target running out the back of the defence, Curtis lit the first half up with his goalkicking while knuckling down and relishing the contest for much of the final two terms.

"Paul just looks a class above. He looks like he could slot into an AFL team right now. What I loved about his game today is his ability to run out the game because he's struggled with that a bit in the last few weeks," Adams said.

"To play the amount of game time he had to because of our rotations and still be laying tackles and putting pressure on shows that his tank has improved and today he was able to have a really good impact on the game."

Will Phillips and Jed Anderson made their competitive returns to football and formed the bedrock of the Kangaroos' midfield on what was a heavily contested day.

Phillips was placed on ice after just one half of football as he continues his recovery from glandular fever, while Anderson took part in just over 75 per cent of the clash.

"They both contributed pretty well. I'm not totally sure what's next for them both at this point but I'd assume Will will be looking to play at least three quarters next week in the VFL and Jed might need a few weeks to get a bit more continuity and match play in his game," Adams said.

"We know Jed's a really good player who's played a lot of AFL footy so it's good to get him back when we can. I don't know how long we'll have him for.

"Hopefully Will can get a few games under his belt because we know how good a footballer he can be, so hopefully they'll be knocking on the door of AFL selection soon and putting a bit of pressure on the boys up top."

Key defender Matt McGuinness played his first full game of competitive football since going down with a foot injury early last season and he put together one of his best games ever in a North jumper.

With fellow key defender Marty Hore exiting the game after a heavy marking contest, the task of marshalling the defence fell to the young Tasmanian and Adams says McGuinness stood up to the challenge brilliantly.

"Matty looked really good in the backline and he was a bit of a general back there. He reads the ball really well in the air and is able to cut angles really well. When he's taking that first option he's a really good user of the ball," he said.

"He was really composed back there which was nice. He just needs to get some consistency in his football and get some games together. If he continues to play like that hopefully he'll be pushing for selection soon."

Playing assistant coach Dom Tyson led from the front in the clash, with his 26 disposals and two goals elevating him to amongst the best players on the ground.

The former AFL-listed star has gone from strength to strength so far this season and has been one of North's most consistent performers despite juggling his playing commitments with coaching.

Adams says the ability to have such a good footballing brain on the field bodes well for the Kangaroos' emerging stars.

"Dom proved when he was on AFL lists that when he could get on the field he was a really good player, he just couldn't get on the field. We've been really lucky this year to be able to bring him in and get games into him," Adams said.

"He's obviously a great player at this level and he's just so smart. He just goes to another level when he needs to and he kicked two really important goals at crucial times.

"He's been super as a coach and a leader and he's a great bloke to have around our footy club. Particularly when we've got so many young AFL-listed blokes on our list to have him to help oversee them and be out on the ground to help them is really good."

NORTH MELBOURNE          4.2     8.4     10.5     13.7     (85)
FOOTSCRAY BULLDOGS     1.3     3.6     8.14     10.19     (79)

AFL-listed:

Jed Anderson: 23 disposals, two tackles, six clearances
Miller Bergman: 20 disposals, six marks, two tackles
Aiden Bonar: 20 disposals, 11 marks
Callum Coleman-Jones: 16 disposals, 15 hitouts, two marks, three tackles, five clearances
Charlie Comben: 14 disposals, four goals, seven marks, two tackles, two clearances
Paul Curtis: 10 disposals, four goals, three marks, seven tackles
Jacob Edwards: Seven disposals, six hitouts, two tackles
Josh Goater: 13 disposals, five marks
Kyron Hayden: 18 disposals, four marks, two tackles
Charlie Lazzaro: 14 disposals, five marks, six tackles
Matt McGuinness: 28 disposals, 12 marks
Will Phillips: Nine disposals, two tackles
Pat Walker: 19 disposals, four marks

Best of VFL-listed:

Harry Jones: 28 disposals, six marks, five tackles, one clearance
Dom Tyson: 26 disposals, two goals, nine marks
Sam Collins: 19 disposals, seven marks