Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge has flagged Rory Lobb as a solution to his injury woes in defence after the ruck-forward's strong form behind the ball in the win.

Captain Marcus Bontempelli was also a shining light, shrugging off a back complaint to collect 35 disposals and 11 clearances, while the Lobb experiment was hailed as a success.

With the return of tall forwards Aaron Naughton (knee) and Sam Darcy (suspension) against the Kangaroos, the former Docker and Giant's place in the side had been brought into question once again.

But Beveridge sprung a surprise when the 206cm Lobb lined up at full-back in the ongoing absence of regular defenders Alex Keath (hamstring) and Ryan Gardner (wrist).

Lobb had game-high tallies of five intercept marks and 12 intercept possessions alongside fellow tall backs Liam Jones and James O'Donnell.

"He was very good. We're really happy with that outcome and how well Rory played," Beveridge said.

"He was pretty composed when he had the ball for most of the night, so that’s a win for us.

"He's too good a player to miss out week to week. Depending on the make-up of opposition forward lines, we want to have that complexion of that back-end looking like a group that can not only defend but move the footy as well, and Rory can do both.

"He was excited by the prospect (of playing defence) and his confidence will get a real boost from this game this afternoon."

The win gives the Bulldogs' a positive 8-7 record in the hunt for a finals berth, ahead an away clash with Port Adelaide in round 17.

"We're in the mix but the thing is, we've won eight (games) but we've lost seven so we should be on edge every week," Beveridge said.

"As much as we will enjoy the opportunity and the challenge, we've got to make sure we make hay every week so we've got some really exciting challenges coming up."