Winning ugly was beautiful for North Melbourne, given the alternative was heinous.

The Kangaroos and Western Bulldogs could only manage four goals between them in the first half of Sunday’s AFL match under the Etihad Stadium roof.

North eventually broke clear in the last term to win by 29 points, with veteran Brent Harvey’s 29 disposals and three goals a standout performance.

While Kangaroos coach Brad Scott acknowledged the first half was a dour scrap, it was what his team needed.

Essendon made North look second-rate in round one and that meant a week of criticism.

The ‘Roos simply could not afford to go 0-2 and they had to show a much better work rate.

“I don’t think the first half is going to make any highlight reels,” Scott conceded.

“We’ve played games in the last few years where we’ve kicked over 120 points and looked fantastic and lost.

“This feeling feels a lot better.

“As a side we needed to grind it out.”

Scott said they lacked polish when going into attack, but felt that should be easy to fix given their skill levels are good.

What they could not repeat was the lack of intent they showed against the Bombers, a stunning lapse for a side aiming for a return to the finals this season.

“What was lacking today was pretty easily fixable, but at the core it was pretty good,” Scott said of Sunday’s win.

“Regardless of how the game looked, I was pretty proud of our boys today.”

The two teams have big assignments again next weekend at Etihad Stadium.

The winless Bulldogs play Richmond on Saturday afternoon and North host red-hot Port Adelaide the following day in a twilight fixture.