N MELBOURNE 6.5 11.6 15.7 21.10 (136)
W BULLDOGS 2.3 5.4 11.7 18.8 (116)

GOALS
North Melbourne: Campbell 3, Grant 3, Harding 3, Harvey 3, Thompson 2, Hale, Jones, Lower, McMahon, Sinclair, Thomas, Wells. Western Bulldogs: Johnson 5, Giansiracusa 3, Harbrow 3, Hahn 2, Murphy 2, Cooney, Griffen, Welsh.

BEST
North Melbourne: Harvey, Petrie, Harding, Wells, Rawlings, Firrito, Harris. Western Bulldogs: Johnson, Cooney, Giansiracusa, Cross, Boyd, Murphy.

INJURIES
North Melbourne: Simpson (hip) replaced in selected side by Watt. Western Bulldogs: Hudson (back) replaced in selected side by Street.

UMPIRES
Vozzo, Stevic Hendrie.

CROWD
31,957 at Telstra Dome.

ON any given day, a 20-point margin means a tight game. One that could have gone either way.

And when the Western Bulldogs somehow found themselves only 14 points in arrears of North Melbourne — and charging — with 4½ minutes still on the clock, it was easy to forget they had been comprehensively outplayed for much of the game and had, only a quarter and a half before, been 51 points adrift.

In the end, the true order of the day was restored, Shannon Grant booting two in as many minutes to settle the matter for the Kangaroos. And really, they hadn't done much wrong all day and any other result would have been a severe injustice.

The Kangaroos continue to be under-rated and it is something coach Dean Laidley appears to enjoy. The Bulldogs didn't bring their A-grade game yesterday but, to be fair North Melbourne, was a cut above in all departments.

In fact, about the only thing it let slip was the almost nine-goal lead, a margin it should have extended to bury the Bulldogs. That's not to say it stopped, more that the Dogs finally sputtered into life. And to be fair, they simply couldn't have kept playing as poorly as they had — eventually they had to find something.

The tone was set early. The Kangaroos leapt out of the blocks to have five behinds on the board before the Bulldogs even looked like scoring. They could, and should, have been five goals.

And it wasn't long before they fine-tuned the radar. Their next 11 scoring shots were all majors to go into half-time break 38 points ahead.

When Lindsay Thomas and Ed Lower kicked the first two of the second half, the lead was a match-winner.

The Kangaroos came switched on. In contrast, the Dogs spent the first 2½ quarters in dreamland. Where the Kangaroos were getting first use of the ball and using it beautifully, the Dogs were chasing tail.

Coach Rodney Eade pointed out after the match that if they don't play at their peak, they can be badly exposed. In particular, when their trademark run and fast break is left in the locker room. That was so for much of yesterday.

Faced with a Hawthorn-style zone, the Bulldogs froze like rabbits in the spotlight.

In contrast, the Kangaroos' workrate was first class, Leigh Harding setting a fine example by running off Jason Akermanis at one end and goalling at the other.

He did it more than once and his goal in the last term from a centre bounce that touched the hands of Drew Petrie, Jess Sinclair and Ed Lower in between him getting it twice was one of the goals of the day.

Not that it will beat Brent Harvey's goal-of-the-year effort. Chasing his own smothered kick, he soccered it on the run off his own point line, gathered, handballed to Nathan Thompson, ran hard to receive the handball and somehow screwed it over his left shoulder.

That was only one reason he was best on the ground. His other 26 flawless possessions and gut-running made up the rest. He will feature prominently on Brownlow night.

The Roos engineroom worked beautifully yesterday. Brady Rawlings getting leather poisoning, Daniel Harris continually ferreting the ball out and Daniel Wells playing with the type of intensity and verve that has long been hoped from him. Drew Petrie was outstanding.

But no forward was more important than Nathan Thompson, who spent most of the match hobbling on an ankle he injured early.

With the help of injections he still managed to present well, take a tall defender and kick the goal after the three-quarter-time siren that probably won the Roos the match.

At that point the Bulldogs, whose workrate had lifted dramatically in the third term, had kicked the last three goals to be only 18 points down.

Bulldog skipper Brad Johnson was back to his best form, snaring his 500th career goal with his second of the day. He finished with five.

Despite the Bulldogs' third consecutive loss, Eade was not willing to admit that these are dangerous times for his side.

However he did admit that it was in a trough that it needed to climb out of soon.

THE UPSHOT
The fight for fourth spot looks like it will go down to the wire with Sydney and Adelaide both winning over the weekend to remain strong contenders. St Kilda blew its chance with a poor effort against the Magpies on Saturday night. A bonus for the Kangaroos is that they are in good shape physically, with Hamish McIntosh (knee) and skipper Adam Simpson (hip) not far from returning. The Bulldogs have slipped to third.

TALKING POINT
Gary Ablett may be topping the Brownlow betting but Brent Harvey continues to stake his claim as one of the big challengers. His performance yesterday will likely net him three votes and even if he doesn't win, he will take out goal of the year award for his effort not only to snap the ball brilliantly over his shoulder but to keep it alive with a deft soccer kick, then worked hard to receive Nathan Thompson's return handball.

HOT AND COLD
After the match, Rodney Eade did his best to appear almost jovial, but it was obvious he was wound tight inside. Yesterday was the Bulldogs' third loss in four rounds and while he was quick to quash any suggestions the illness was terminal, he admitted his side's malaise was a "trough" and needed to be addressed forthwith. North, on the other hand, has won five on the trot.