West Coast has snapped its 16-game losing streak with a five-point win against North Melbourne at Optus Stadium.

Following a nightmare period for the last-placed Eagles, which has seen scrutiny on the team and its leaders reach fever pitch, the players delivered the circuit breaker that has been desperately needed with a 10.12 (72) to 10.7 (67) win.

It also represented an overdue reward for the 38,231 fans who turned up on Sunday and have remained loyal through the club's lowest on-field period and a record losing run.   

The result extends North Melbourne's own losing streak to 17 games, with the club's last win coming against Fremantle in Round 2 as they end Round 20 equal with the Eagles on two wins but significant percentage ahead of their last-placed opponents. 

The Kangaroos mounted a final-quarter fightback from 32 points down but couldn't kick the last goal needed to snap their own losing run, with premiership Eagle Elliot Yeo winning an important contested ball in the middle of the ground to seal the win.   

It remains unlikely the Eagles will move from the bottom of the ladder without another win or drawn match, with a significant percentage gap still existing between them and the 17th-placed Kangaroos. 

The loss for North Melbourne ended coach Brett Ratten's 0-10 tenure in charge of the club – which included several near misses – with Alastair Clarkson set to take charge again from Monday. 

EAGLES v KANGAROOS Full match coverage and stats

The Eagles were outstanding early, building a 31-point lead early in the second quarter after a run of six unanswered goals built on confident ball-movement and hard tackling when they didn't have it. 

North Melbourne small forward Paul Curtis reignited the match with four goals in the second quarter to cut the half-time margin to just seven points.

Three unanswered goals in the third term showed the Eagles were up for the challenge as midfielder Tim Kelly took charge in the middle with 10 contested possessions for the quarter and Jamie Cripps proved influential.

Kangaroos forward Nick Larkey, who had been well held up until the final term, kicked two goals in the final-quarter fightback before some magic from Harry Sheezel in the pocket set up Luke Davies-Uniacke to move the visitors just seven points behind at the 22-minute mark.

Sheezel and Curtis both missed chances in the dying minutes before Yeo intervened with a defensive mark and a contested ball that sealed an emotion-charged win. 

North stoppage domination
The Kangaroos produced their second-best contested-ball quarter of the season in the second term (41-30) and dominated the clearances to get themselves back in the game. It was Davies-Uniacke, Jy Simpkin (five contested possessions) and Todd Goldstein (six) who did the damage, with the ruckman and Simpkin also winning four clearances for the term to get their team back in the game. Davies-Uniacke finished with an equal game-high eight clearances, with the Kangaroos winning the indicator 46-33.

WEST COAST                  4.2     7.5     10.11     10.12 (72)
NORTH MELBOURNE     1.1     6.4     6.4     10.7 (67)

GOALS
West Coast: Cripps 2, Allen 2, Hunt, Hewett, Darling, Long, O'Neill, Petruccelle
North Melbourne: Curtis 4, Xerri 2, Larkey 2, Davies-Uniacke, Turner  

BEST
West Coast: Kelly, Hunt, Williams, Cripps, Cole, Allen, Darling
North Melbourne: Davies-Uniacke, Sheezel, Curtis, Simpkin, Goldstein, Scott

INJURIES
West Coast: Nil
North Melbourne: Goater (knee)

SUBSTITUTES
West Coast: Yeo (replaced Bazzo in the second quarter)
North Melbourne: Ziebell (replaced Goater in the third quarter)

Crowd: 38,231 at Optus Stadium