A “proud” Rhyce Shaw has praised his team’s fighting spirit, after North Melbourne recorded its first win since round two on Saturday.

Six straight losses had the Roos sitting in 17th place on the ladder, but they bounced back in style against Adelaide with a dominant 69-point win.

“We’ve been working really hard as a football club and as a team, and the boys have never shirked the issue,” Shaw said after the game.

"We've had six losses, but we've licked our wounds, reviewed the game, we've done it all properly and they've come out today and got reward for that hard work.

“It's just good to play the footy we want to play. That's the footy we want to play."

Shaw said North's midfield brigade set the tone for their teammates.

“The plan going in was to play our brand of footy. We want to be really solid at the contest and I thought a couple of guys really stood out in that area, in Jed (Anderson) and ‘Froggy’ (Dumont),” he said.

“They were just really contested beasts there for periods and got us going, then everyone else just played their role, and we played the footy we expect to play.

“We didn’t wait until we were challenged, we got on the front foot, which was really pleasing.”

North burst out of the blocks and led by 23 points at the first change, before a seven-goal final term capped off a comprehensive display.

The win made all the more special with the successful return of Majak Daw, almost two years since his last game.

“It’s really pleasing for Maj. We know what he’s been through and that’s been well talked about,” Shaw said.

“I think we did it the right way; we were patient with him and made him work for it, but he put the work in and got the result he deserved.

“It was just fantastic to see.”

Daw’s fourth-quarter goal sure to be replayed for years to come.

“As a coach and as a coaching staff when you see Maj kick the goal and all the boys get around him, that’s genuine. That’s what we’re about at our footy club,” Shaw added.

“I was really proud of everyone, and really proud of Maj today. He did a fantastic job and he well and truly repaid us today.”