North Melbourne has pipped Essendon in a VFL thriller, edging its old rivals by 11 points at the NEC Hangar on Sunday afternoon.

Despite looking dead and buried late in the game, three quick goals to Charlie Lazzaro, Connor Downie and Tyler Sellers saw the Roos take the lead and seal an epic 12.8 (80) to 10.9 (69) win.

After trailing by as much as 28 points early in the second term, the Kangaroos started their fightback from there and eventually took the lead late in the third quarter.

The Roos held a 10-point buffer at three-quarter time, but the surging Bombers refused to give up and were destined to win when Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti snapped through his second.

But the Kangas never threw in the towel and the stunning victory now sees them leap up to seventh on the ladder.

North Melbourne senior coach Tom Lynch was thrilled with his team's effort all afternoon.

"I was super pumped for the players," Lynch said.

"To play in a win like they did today is obviously a great experience for them to feel and to be a part of.

BOMBERS v KANGAROOS Full match coverage and stats

"We had a great contribution from everyone today, a real even contribution, and that was probably the most pleasing thing about getting the result the way we did.

"It was on the back of everyone playing their role."

A brilliant second term set up the comeback as the Kangaroos kicked four goals to one to stay within striking distance at the main break.

Daniel Howe was immense with 30 disposals, nine clearances and six tackles, while Lazzaro had 25 disposals, seven tackles and a crucial late goal as they pressed their claims for an immediate recall to the seniors.

"Some of our younger players up forward had some really important touches like Cooper Harvey and Blake Drury," Lynch said.

"Charlie Lazzaro was really important late in the game as was 'Cunners' (Ben Cunnington) and 'Howey' (Howe).

"A lot of our AFL-listed players had really strong contributions late in the game, but also the contribution we got from some of our VFL-listed players was unreal.

"Tyler Sellers was super important for us today, Louis Butler and Connor Downie both played really important roles on the wing and our playing coach Jarrod Lienert was really important in being a mature head on the ground for us."

Jackson Archer pulled up well from playing a half as he builds up his match loads in his comeback from a groin injury, while Paul Curtis was left sore from a late collision hit but should be OK for next week.

Round 12 will see the Roos host the GWS Giants at Arden Street Oval on Sunday afternoon.

ESSENDON                     4.4     5.6     7.7     10.9     (69)
NORTH MELBOURNE     1.2     5.4     9.5     12.8     (80) 

GOALS
Essendon: Wanganeen 2, Cootee 2, McDonald-Tipungwuti 2, Tsatas, Davey jnr, Hunter, Voss
North Melbourne: Curtis 2, Downie 2, Sellers 2, Harvey, Turner, Bath, Perez, Lowson, Lazzaro

BEST  
North Melbourne: Sellers, Howe, Downie, Lazzaro, Butler, Curtis

INJURIES
North Melbourne: Nil