It was a tense, finals-like atmosphere out on Etihad Stadium on Friday night according to Bulldogs midfielder Jack Macrae.

47,622 fans packed out the Docklands venue to see the Bulldogs and North Melbourne battle it out for top spot on the league ladder, the Roos prevailing in a hard fought contest by 16 points.

The Bulldogs hadn’t played in the coveted Friday night slot for four years, a year before Macrae made his debut, the 21-year-old telling westernbulldogs.com.au in the rooms post match that he and his younger teammates took plenty out of the experience.

“It was a pretty brutal contest, a bit like finals footy, which is a great lesson for our young team and all of the players, he said.

“They’ve got some big bodies and some good players and they really stood up when it counted.”

Macrae said that the Dogs were left ruing missed opportunities, after holding the Roos to just 61 points for the game, exactly half of their season-to-date average score.

“It was a pretty low scoring affair, and I think if we had of taken some of our chances going forward and around the goals, it would have put a bit more scoreboard pressure on them.

“Unfortunately we didn’t, so it’s one of the things we’ll go to work on this week.”

Macrae said it was a positive Luke Beveridge in the rooms after the game as he prepares his side to face the Adelaide Crows next Saturday night back at Etihad.

“[He said] we did a lot right against a really good team.

“So, go to work on your individual and team things that you need to work on and keep positive and look forward to next week.”