Harvey was the game-breaker at Etihad Stadium, kicking two of his three goals – to go along with 25 touches – in the final term to help steer North to an important win after its first-round shocker against Essendon.

 

Harvey's inspired performance came after some commentators suggested he was prone to go missing in big games, following a quiet outing against the Bombers in round one.

 

It prompted Scott to vigorously defend the 364-game Kangaroos champion.

 

"There are certain people who take pleasure in lining people up. Brent Harvey is not one who should be in that gun," Scott said after the match.

 

"(He's played) 364 games of heart and soul effort for the North Melbourne Football Club.

 

"I've got a choice. I can ignore it - and he certainly ignores it - or I can stand up for him. And while I'm coaching this footy club, if anyone wants to come after Brent Harvey, they can come through me."

 

The Kangaroos were forced to do it the hard way against the Bulldogs on Sunday night, nursing a number of sore players through the game.

 

The most concerning issue was midfielder Jack Ziebell's injured right shoulder, which was hurt in the first term.

 

Ziebell was restricted for much of the game, spending a fair portion of his time on the ground at full forward.

 

The easy decision would have been to substitute Ziebell out of the match then and there, but separate issues to Nathan Grima, Lachlan Hansen and Aaron Black had North's hands tied.

 

"The problem was that we had Grima ill, Hansen pretty sore, Black pretty sore and then Ziebell (shoulder), so we can only sub one of them," Scott said.

 

"It was tempting (to sub Ziebell off) but the medicos assured me it was nothing structural, so there was no risk. So when there's no risk it's a matter of how he can function and when I spoke to him, he threatened me with physical violence if subbed him off."

 

After a gritty arm wrestle in the first half, the Kangaroos broke the shackles to boot 10 goals in the second half, after hitting the scoreboard just twice before the main break.

 

Scott admitted the Kangaroos' coaching staff "tinkered" with the side's structures, including trying to lessen the impact of the Bulldogs' defenders peeling off and outnumbering their forwards.

 

"We did make some changes because there were certain things to take the game away from us," Scott said.

 

"It's no good just winning the ball in the contest if you can't use it going forward."

 

Scott said he was not bothered by the unattractive style of football his side played in the first half, even indicating it would benefit his team in the long run.

 

"I don't think the first half is going to make any highlight reels, but we've played games in the last few years where we've kicked over 120 points and looked fantastic, and lost," Scott said.

 

"This feeling feels a lot better, I can guarantee you. As a side we needed to grind it out."

 

Twitter: @AFL_BenGuthrie