Sam Darcy has kicked a career-best seven goals as the Western Bulldogs all but secured an AFL finals berth with a 96-point hammering of North Melbourne.
Darcy was under pressure after kicking a wayward 1.5 in the previous round but responded superbly in the 20.18 (138) to 6.6 (42) victory at Marvel Stadium on Sunday.
The 208cm target took advantage of his teammates' midfield dominance and the Kangaroos' undermanned defence, finishing with 7.1 in a win that tightened the Bulldogs' grip on a top-eight spot.
The Dogs (13-9) sit sixth and are guaranteed to play finals if they beat GWS in Ballarat in round 24, but could still qualify regardless of that result.
Darcy took nine marks, including four contested, and had 20 disposals on his way to kicking the second-biggest bag of goals by any player this season.
Fellow talls Jamarra Ugle-Hagan (three goals) and Aaron Naughton (two) were also among the Bulldogs' six multiple goal-kickers.
North Melbourne battled away after losing key defender Charlie Comben (concussion/leg) and substitute Miller Bergman (concussion) to injuries.
"It was not ideal for the Kangas to lose Comben like they did, so if we got the supply right and gave (our key forwards) a bit of a look it was always going to be a bit of a challenge for them to defend him," Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge said of the 21-year-old Darcy.
"But ultimately, as far as the game between the ears goes, to see the way he was able to take a deep breath and convert and not even really worry too much about last week, that was a good step for Sam."
With No.1 ruckman Tim English (ankle) sidelined, versatile tall Rory Lobb was handed the job against All-Australian candidate Tristan Xerri and helped the Bulldogs midfield generate a landslide 69-34 advantage in inside-50s.
Adam Treloar (33 disposals), Marcus Bontempelli (29), Joel Freijah (29) and Tom Liberatore (23) had plenty of touches in a dominant on-ball division.
The Bulldogs restricted North Melbourne to just three goals after quarter-time in a strong response to their shock loss to Adelaide a week earlier.
"We needed to get a few things back on track after what happened last week, and so the way the game panned out after (quarter-time) was important and pleasing for us," Beveridge said.
North Melbourne's heaviest defeat of the season was made worse when Comben and Bergman were both hurt in marking contest collisions.
Comben, who missed most of last season after breaking his left leg, was taken to hospital during Sunday's match after injuring the same leg.
North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson was unsure of the extent of the damage when asked about it after the game.
Jy Simpkin's huge mark on Liberatore's back was a rare highlight for the Kangaroos, while Luke Davies-Uniacke (30 disposals) never stopped trying and Robert Hansen kicked two goals.
Clarkson found few positives out of his side's seventh consecutive loss to the Bulldogs.
"They're a really good side and they made us hurt in the middle of the ground," he said.
"Their capacity to control the ball by hand and foot was outstanding today."
