THE Western Bulldogs' season may have turned on one wobbly kick.

Brad Johnson's miss from 35 metres after the siren at Telstra Dome yesterday brought an end to the Bulldogs' unbeaten streak of eight games to start the season, and takes the air out of their sails as they confront the still-unbeaten Hawthorn in Launceston on Saturday.

North Melbourne coach Dean Laidley could not bear to watch as Johnson, the Bulldogs' captain, marked a chip pass from Daniel Giansiracusa with one second remaining, and the Roos leading by four points. Laidley was on his way down a public aisle as Johnson took the kick to win or lose the game.

"I thought, well, that's what happens," said Laidley. "I thought we did everything that we possibly could. I thought we played super footy, and if that had of happened well …

"I didn't (see). Usually I use the elevator to keep out of harm's way, but it broke or something this afternoon. Halfway down the aisle all I saw was our boys put their hands in the air. That's how I found out."

As it happened, Johnson, customarily one of the Bulldogs' more reliable converters, mishit the drop punt, sending it wide to the right and throwing his hands to his face in horror as the North Melbourne players celebrated a three-point win that keeps them firmly in the top eight. Johnson had hit the post twice in the quarter — once from just 10 metres out — although he also kicked the goal that gave the Bulldogs a chance to haul North Melbourne in, two minutes from the finish.

The skipper knows all about the other side of the game; he kicked the last three goals in time-on to get his club up against Adelaide in round one, his 300th AFL game. Last night, he declined to talk to the media and was said to be decimated.

Bulldogs' coach Rodney Eade was philosophical about the missed opportunity. "He (Johnson) is a bit disappointed, there's no doubt about that," he said. "I suppose there's not too many blokes in the team you'd think it would be safer. At the end of the day that's not really all that loses you the game, there are other factors during the game and individual efforts. Unfortunately it comes down to that last kick, but we had our chances at times."

North Melbourne's win allowed it to mark the 250-game milestone of champion on-baller Brent Harvey, who was knocked out by an accidental knee to the head at the four-minute mark of the first quarter. But Harvey had some treatment and came back on to the ground to kick two inspirational goals.

Laidley called Harvey "one of the all-time greats of this football club", and paid tribute to the runner's ability to get back on the field. "Look, he's knocked senseless there," said the coach. "He had the staggers. To regroup and come back on and do the things that he did at critical times, I thought again was a testament to the way he's matured. It's a real privilege for me to coach him."

The Roos paid a heavy price for the hard-fought win, with midfielder Daniel Wells breaking down with a medial ligament strain in the left knee during the third quarter. Wells had to sit out the last quarter yesterday, and is expected to miss a fortnight. Laidley called North's injury list "a bit of a train wreck", with Jess Sinclair rolling an ankle in the VFL at the weekend and not available for senior selection.

"It takes a toll because each week we've done it, we've done it with 21 men," said Laidley. "Statistically whenever you lose one player, particularly a midfielder, your chances of winning a game diminish by about 15% straight away. So our resolve to share the workload has been first class."

Eade said he thought the Bulldogs might have done enough to win. "We've won a couple of close ones and we've lost a couple," he said. "I think when it's a less-than-a-goal game both team teams could say if they lost they could have won. We had our chances in the end, not only with that last shot but other chances.

"Four goals up at half-time, you probably think you've worked hard enough. Obviously we had a good first half and they had a good second half.

"We said the six weeks after the break would be tough. There's interstate travel and we're playing good teams, most of the teams are in the eight. It's a pretty tough period for us. That's fine, that's what footy's about so we're looking forward to it."

Champion centreman Scott West, who has a knee injury, is still at least two weeks away from resuming.