He said the team would gain confidence from the way they managed to gradually gain on the ladder-leaders, fighting back slowly over three quarters.

The Kangaroos were losing to the Dockers by 24 points at quarter-time, but managed to shrink that gap to 13 points halfway through the game.

By three-quarter-time Fremantle were just six points ahead, and the Roos went on to win by 11 points at Etihad Stadium.

"We were able to grind away after quarter-time and just chip away at it and get the result," Higgins said.

"We don't just have to turn it on for five minutes and try to blow a side away. It was like a finals game and a finals performance from us on the weekend."

Higgins will play in his 150th AFL match on the weekend, having moved to the Kangaroos from the Western Bulldogs this year.

He admitted it would be emotional celebrating the milestone against his former teammates, but he had no idea who the Bulldogs would play on him.

"It makes it easier that we're 22 weeks in. If it was earlier in the year it might have been a slightly different story," he said.

"I've settled in now. It might be a bit weird early on."

Higgins said he had given coach Brad Scott insights into the playing styles of a few members of the Bulldogs team, but since Luke Beveridge had taken over as senior coach from Brendan McCartney the change had been striking.

He said the Bulldogs had a different look to them and were playing good football.

"They're defending well, they're moving the ball well, they're moving as good as anyone, we'll be up against it this week."

North midfielder Jack Ziebell will return for the game against the Doggies, after being suspended for one game for striking St Kilda's Jack Newnes.

Higgins said the incident was a one-off and Ziebell did not need to curb his aggression.

After the Doggies, North will take on Richmond, rounding out their home and away season with matches against two finals contenders.

By way of contrast, reigning premiers Hawthorn will play Carlton and the Brisbane Lions on their way to September – the two weakest teams of the 2015 season.

Higgins said being challenged in the last couple of games of the regular season might prove an advantage.

"The weekend was a really good test, which we passed," he said. "We're going to be going into finals now with really quality sides under our belt."