North lost key midfielders Leigh Adams (dislocated left shoulder) and Daniel Wells (calf) within two minutes of each other late in the first quarter of Sunday's game at Etihad Stadium.
But despite being one man short on the interchange bench from that point on, North came back from a two-point half-time deficit and remarkably overran the Bombers in the second half.
Scott said the win was a sign that North's young list was headed in the right direction. ?
"It just reaffirms our confidence in the players we've recruited to the club and reaffirms our confidence in the leaders we've got, none more so than the bloke sitting next to me (former skipper Brent Harvey)," Scott said.
"[It was] just an outstanding effort under an enormous amount of duress ... at various stages we were challenged and the boys stood up.
"That's a fantastic base to build on. For a player group when you get through games like that under significant duress that holds you in good stead for the future.
"And when you're really under the pump in the future you can draw back on those type of wins."
North's players were understandably buoyant after the win that saw them climb above Geelong on percentage into sixth on the ladder and, at 12-7, a game clear of eight-placed Essendon and ninth-placed Fremantle.
However, Scott was in no mood to claim North had effectively secured its first finals spot since 2008, saying simply that the club would need more than its current 12 wins to do so.
But Scott was more expansive about the growing midfield depth that had allowed North to cover for Wells and Adams' injuries and the absence of Jack Ziebell through suspension.
"There's some real depth there through the midfield which we didn't have a couple of years ago," Scott said.
"It's a credit to our development team."
Scott praised three players in particular - Ben Cunnington (22 disposals and a game-high nine clearances against the Bombers), Cruize Garlett (21, 8 and two goals) and mature-age recruit Sam Gibson (26).
Scott said Cunnington's recent good form was building his self-belief that he belonged at AFL level.
"We've always been really confident in Ben Cunnington," Scott said.
"He's a very capable player. [He] needed to get some runs on the board at senior level to really prove to himself that he was good enough.
"Internally, we've always known he's good enough. But he stepped up."
Scott also praised forward Lachlan Hansen's ability to come back strongly from his first-quarter head clash with Bomber Nathan Lovett-Murray, saying he challenged Hansen pre-game to play with intensity against the Bombers.
"He has come under a lot of criticism, some fair and some unfair, but I thought that some of his efforts today were fantastic," Scott said.
"To come back and play... he just really performed a critical role for us."
Nick Bowen covers North Melbourne news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_Nick
