RYAN Nyhuis has sealed a dream debut for Fremantle with two late goals that helped the Dockers hold on for a heart-stopping four-point win over North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

Nyhuis only came into the Dockers' team when former skipper David Mundy was a late withdrawal with illness, but the 20-year-old defender was a revelation in attack, kicking four goals, the last of which at the 28-minute mark put Freo six points up.

WATCH: The thrilling last two minutes

The Dockers weren't home, however. A Jack Ziebell shot on goal two minutes later appeared to be going through before it was touched on the line, then in the dying seconds Todd Goldstein looked set to steal the win for North when he received a free kick 25m from goal after being held in a ruck contest.

Freo dodged a bullet when the Roos ruckman pulled his set shot to the right and hung on for a fighting 13.8 (86) to 12.10 (82) win that broke a five-game losing streak.

Full match coverage and stats

Entering Sunday's game, the Dockers had not won since their round nine victory over Carlton at Domain Stadium.

And they started the game like a team that was sick of losing, ramming on four consecutive goals in the opening 14 minutes to jump to a 25-point lead.

Five talking points: North Melbourne v Fremantle

Freo never led by more than that margin, however, and with Tommy Sheridan (leg) having been sidelined since half-time, looked in trouble when North cut its lead to nine points at three-quarter time.

North hit the lead for the first time at the 18-minute mark when Ben Brown snapped a clever goal, and appeared to be running away with the game when it had the next two scoring shots – behinds to Goldstein and Jack Ziebell.

WATCH: Nyhuis' dream debut

But Nyhuis cut the Roos' seven-point lead to just one when he goaled on the run from 50m at the 25-minute mark before kicking the match-winner from 45m after marking strongly in front of Roo debutant Daniel Nielson.

Freo skipper Nat Fyfe (33 possessions, six marks and one goal) played one of his most influential games this season, and was well supported in the midfield by Connor Blakely (32 possession and seven inside 50s) and Lachie Neale (27 possessions and seven clearances).

Michael Walters (20 possessions, three goals and seven rebound 50s) was class personified, especially when he found his way into space, and Bradley Hill's run stretched North's defences.

Dockers coach Ross Lyon acknowledged his team had some luck at the end of the game, but was pleased with his players' work ethic and will to win. 

"(It was) pleasing the way we went about it. There's a bit continuity in that now, there's a real understanding of the effort you've got to bring and the intensity (required) to compete at AFL level because we had that three-week period where we didn't do what was required," Lyon said.

"Nathan was fantastic today and all of our leaders. We lost Mundy, (he) got on the plane and felt sick and had the flu and didn't recover, so we brought in Ryan Nyhuis so that threw us around a little bit but he clearly delivered as a forward.

"I think you've got to acknowledge that (if) Goldstein kicks the goal we're in all sorts of pressure.

"There were things we could have done better – kick-in structures and those things – but you need a little bit of luck and we had some with that miss. But our desire and our will to win was really strong, so that was incredibly pleasing and satisfying."

North's loss was its fifth in a row, but the Roos lost few supporters with their brave comeback.

Brown stood tall in attack for the Roos with four goals, while his defensive pressure was also outstanding and saw him run down Freo speedster Bradley Hill in the middle of the ground early in the third term.

Shaun Higgins (26 possessions and seven inside 50s) was influential through the midfield despite being shadowed by Docker Nick Suban most of the day, while skipper Jack Ziebell (28 possessions, nine clearances, eight tackles and one goal) and Ben Cunnington (28 possessions, eight clearances and eight tackles) drove the Roos' comeback in the second half.

Aaron Mullett (two goals) also gave North damaging rebound across half-back and was well supported by Shaun Atley (one goal).

North coach Brad Scott lamented his team's costly slow start, but took solace from the fightback that put the Kangaroos in a position to win the game.

"I feel really disappointed for our players and our fans. I think a win is always a great antidote to a few losses, so no doubt we're disappointed," Scott said.

"But it was all within our control. We gave ourselves opportunity.

"The game is about creating opportunity and to Fremantle's credit they created it early and we didn't do enough to defend it. We created it late and we didn't take our chances.

"I can live with the execution, because that's what you just keep working on, but we've got to make sure we don't have such a lacklustre start to the game in this case."

The Dockers burst from the blocks at the start of the game, kicking four consecutive goals in the opening 14 minutes – two through Walters – to open up a 25-point lead.

Spearhead Brown kicked North's only goal for the term after clunking a strong mark at the 16-minute mark. Neither team could manage another major before quarter-time, with Freo taking a 19-point lead into the first break.

Nyhuis extended Freo's lead to 25 points when he kicked his second goal inside the opening 30 seconds of the second quarter.

But with Brown providing a strong target in attack, North hit back with four of the next six goals – including a brilliant 35m left-foot dribble goal just inside the boundary by Shaun Higgins – to cut Freo's lead to 12 points at the 22-minute mark.

Late goals to Darcy Tucker – set up by a courageous Fyfe mark running back with the flight of the ball – and Brennan Cox stretched Freo's lead back to 25 points before North speedster Atley converted on the run in the dying seconds to reduce the half-time margin to 19 points.

MEDICAL ROOM
North Melbourne: The Roos emerged with a clean bill of health.

Fremantle: Joel Hamling limped from the ground after a marking contest midway through the first quarter and received treatment on his right hip on the interchange bench. After going down to the rooms, Hamling returned at the start of the second quarter but was clearly restricted. The key defender played out the game but was switched from original opponent Ben Brown. "He had a bit of a hip that he tweaked. He just lost some power in it. He wasn't in any pain, but he just lost that power," Freo coach Ross Lyon said after the game. Tom Sheridan limped from the ground just before half-time with a hamstring injury and played no further part in the match. "It doesn't seem like a tendon (injury), it seems like a standard 21-day hamstring," Lyon said. "I could be wrong. Normally I would hear they're concerned, but I haven't heard that." Brady Grey left the ground just before three-quarter time with a shoulder injury but returned with the joint heavily strapped at the start of the final term and played out the game.

NEXT UP
The Kangaroos have a six-day break before they travel to Adelaide Oval to take on Port Adelaide. It will be the first time the teams have clashed at the new home of South Australian football, but North has lost all four of its matches there against Adelaide. The Dockers host West Coast at Domain Stadium next Sunday, when they will be looking to break a four-game losing streak in the Derby.

NORTH MELBOURNE     1.2   6.3   8.4   12.10 (82)
FREMANTLE                   4.3   9.4   9.6   13.8 (86)   

GOALS

North Melbourne: Brown 4, Mullett 2, Mountford, Swallow, Atley, McDonald, Higgins, Ziebell
Fremantle: Nyhuis 4, Walters 3, Kersten 2, Kersten 2, Fyfe, Cox

BEST 

North Melbourne: Brown, Higgins, Ziebell, Wagner, Mullett, Atley
Fremantle: Fyfe, Nyhuis, Blakely, Walters, Neale, Tucker

INJURIES 

North Melbourne: Nil
Fremantle: Grey (shoulder), Hamling (hip), Sheridan (hamstring), Mundy (illness) replaced in selected side by Nyhuis

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Donlon, Haussen, Hosking

Official crowd: 19,267 at Etihad Stadium