North Melbourne's VFLW side has lost their first game of the year to a switched-on Western Bulldogs outfit, after being defeated by 39 points.

The Bulldogs got off to a red-hot start kicking six unanswered goals to start the game, and the Kangaroos struggled to have an impact as they trailed at every break.

"We let them get the jump on us really early," VFLW coach Steph Binder told NMFC Media post-game.

"They outworked us in the first quarter, they have a lot of really good players, and we just weren’t able to match it."

Emily Paterno kicked the first for the Kangaroos 11 minutes into the second quarter after taking a strong mark and converting the set shot. Paterno has become a reliable goalkicker for North Melbourne having kicked a goal in every game of the VFLW season so far.

BULLDOGS V KANGAROOS Full match coverage and stats

New AFLW draftee and club debutant, Ruby Tripodi fought hard in the midfield with 14 disposals, but it wasn’t enough to help shrink the Bulldogs' lead.

"Ruby's fit in so well, we started her up forward but then we just needed her amongst the ball, so we put her into the midfield and that really helped us tie up the clearances and contested ball," Binder said.

North Melbourne was outclassed in the first half, trailing by 32 points at the main change and ultimately it was too much to come back from.

With Marianna Anthony being drafted in the AFLW supplementary draft it left a big hole to fill, with the coach saying it was a huge loss.

"She (Marianna) gave us another look as an inside mid, she has a lot of speed and was able to explode from the pack and we really missed that today," Binder said.

Zara Flanigan kicked the second and final goal for the Kangaroos seven minutes into the third quarter with both teams failing to register a goal in the final quarter.

Jess Mourney had the equal most disposals on the ground with 18 while Annabel Scott and Reni Hicks had 15 each.

WESTERN BULLDOGS      4.3    6.4    8.5    8.6    (54)
NORTH MELBOURNE     0.1    1.2    2.3    2.3    (15)

GOALS
Western Bulldogs: McFarlane 3, McLeod 2, McCarthy, Carbone, Cameron
North Melbourne: Paterno, Flanigan

BEST
Western Bulldogs: McFarlane, Meier, Skinner, Carbone
North Melbourne: Mourney, Tripodi, Fitzgerald