AN UNDERMANNED Western Bulldogs have claimed a hard-fought 16-point win over a gutsy North Melbourne in a game overshadowed by a horror fourth-quarter collision.

In sweltering conditions under the roof at Marvel Stadium, the fast-starting Bulldogs took an early lead, kicking five of the first six goals and never let it slip, claiming a 17.11 (113) to 14.13 (97) win.

BULLDOGS v KANGAROOS Full match coverage and stats

But the biggest talking point could be a nasty collision between Kangaroo Jackson Archer and Bulldog Luke Cleary.

Cleary was getting down low to pick up the ball, with Jacob Konstanty in pursuit, when Archer flung himself forward and went over the top of the Bulldog, collecting him in the head with his knee.

Cleary, 23, was knocked out and play was stopped for several minutes as he received medical attention before being taken off on a stretcher.

The incident appears certain to come under scrutiny from the Match Review Officer.

Luke Beveridge's Bulldogs were without skipper Marcus Bontempelli (calf), Adam Treloar (calf), Cody Weightman (knee), and Liam Jones (hamstring).

Forward Jamarra Ugle-Hagan is also currently unavailable for selection after spending time away from the club for personal reasons.

Ed Richards (30 disposals, one goal), Bailey Dale (29 touches, two goals), stand-in skipper Tom Liberatore and recruit Matt Kennedy were busy.

Laitham Vandermeer and Aaron Naughton (three goals apiece) hit the scoreboard along with Ryley Sanders and Lachie McNeil (both two).

Kangaroos spearhead Nick Larkey kicked five goals after coming into the game under an injury cloud.

North big man Tristan Xerri (51 hitouts) dominated the ruck against Tim English and Sam Darcy to give first use to Tom Powell (27 touches), Harry Sheezel (31) and Jy Simpkin (30).

Cameron Zurhaar kicked 1.4 in a frustrating day in front of goal while Paul Curtis booted three.

Bulldogs defender James O'Donnell was forced off with a jaw issue in the third term after a collision with Curtis.

North recruit Caleb Daniel gifted his former club the opening goal when his poor centering kick was intercepted by Naughton, who handballed to Richards to unleash a long left-foot bomb.

The Dogs pounced on poor turnovers to take a 23-point lead into quarter-time.

Alastair Clarkson's North ramped up the pressure and snagged four consecutive goals to cut the deficit to just four points, before trailing by 10 at half-time.

The Bulldogs led by just seven when Larkey kicked his fifth after the three-quarter time siren.

But the Dogs steadied with the first three goals of the final term and North couldn't reel them back in.

The Bulldogs host Collingwood next Friday night while the Kangaroos play Melbourne next Sunday.

The doctor is in the house
Richmond was so busy at last year’s Telstra AFL Draft it overlooked VFL Tiger Sam Davidson, despite the 191cm forward impressing through the season and winning the Fothergill-Round-Mitchell Medal. The Bulldogs snapped up the 23-year-old with pick 51 and saw immediate results on Saturday night as he slotted his first goal on debut. Davidson put his medical studies on hold to give footy a red-hot crack, and if his first-up performance was anything to go by, the doctoring may need to wait a while longer.

There's another loaded gun in Clarko's arsenal
Plenty of good judges thought Finn O’Sullivan the cream of last year’s draft crop, and although his debut was not quite as impressive as Sam Lalor’s, he showed enough to have Roos fans confident they’ve landed another gun. Playing off half-back O’Sullivan gathered 16 possessions at 81% disposal efficiency, looking every part a composed AFL footballer. Alastair Clarkson now has an amazing group of talented young midfielders and, if he can keep them together, it’s only a matter of time till they take North back near the top end of the ladder.

WESTERN BULLDOGS      5.3    8.5     12.7      17.11 (113)
NORTH MELBOURNE        1.4    6.7    10.12     14.13 (97)

GOALS
Western Bulldogs: Naughton 3, Vandermeer 3, Bale 2, Sanders 2, McNeil 2, Richards, Freijah, Harmes, Davidson, Darcy
North Melbourne: Larkey 5, Curtis 3, Davies-Uniacke 2, Zurhaar, Simpkin, Scott, Darling

BEST
Western Bulldogs: Dale, Richards, Naughton, Liberatore, Vandermeer, Darcy
North Melbourne: Simpkin, Powell, Larkey, Sheezel, Daniel

INJURIES
Western Bulldogs: James O'Donnell (jaw), Cleary (head)
North Melbourne: Archer (leg)

SUBSTITUTES
Western Bulldogs: Arthur Jones (replaced O'Donnell at three-quarter time)
North Melbourne: Darcy Tucker (replaced Phillips in the third quarter) 

Crowd: 34,406 at Marvel Stadium