NORTH Melbourne has fallen 22 points short of the Western Bulldogs in a true arm wrestle at the MCG on Sunday afternoon.
The Kangaroos led by seven points in the third quarter but were hurt by the third-placed side's stronger finish, which saw it kick four goals to one in the final term to win 17.6 (108) to 12.14 (86).
The Roos have now lost their past four matches, and their past two against the Bulldogs, after previously holding a five-game winning streak over the men from the Melbourne's west.
Rubbing salt into the wound, the Roos look to have lost Ben Warren to a suspected broken fibula. The young forward left the field in the first quarter and was taken straight to hospital.
It was their debut outing under caretaker coach Darren Crocker, and captain Brent Harvey's first game since suffering a dislocated elbow in round five.
Harvey ended with 28 touches after being pitted against tenacious defender Liam Picken once again.
Young Western Australian Liam Anthony made an impressive debut, and also ended with 28 possessions after a big third term.
Leigh Harding (six tackles, four clearances) and Drew Petrie (three goals) were among the Roos' best, while Andrew Swallow (seven tackles, six clearances), Josh Gibson (seven rebounds) and Hamish McIntosh (20 hit-outs) did all they could.
But the Bulldogs simply didn't make as many mistakes as the young Kangaroos, and were buoyed by strong second halves from Daniel Giansiracusa and Josh Hill.
Second-gamer Cruize Garlett kicked the first goal of the afternoon one minute in, but Shaun Higgins was quick to cut that back before Callan Ward followed it up.
The Roos held their nerve and slotted their second through Swallow as Warren was helped from the field, and then hit the front after a pair of points to Lachie Hansen and Gavin Urquhart.
Goals were traded and the lead was bandied about three more times before Petrie marked in front of Higgins and kicked the Roos' fourth to regain the advantage 28 minutes in.
North dropped off slightly as the term wound down, with late on-the-run goals to Lindsay Gilbee and Jason Akermanis giving the Dogs a nine-point lead at quarter-time.
Scott Welsh kicked his second three minutes into the next and opened up the biggest lead of the game – 15 points – but Harding responded with a six-pointer of his own after Michael Firrito won the centre clearance.
The Dogs wasted a few opportunities before Mitch Hahn finally converted, but their inaccuracy haunted them soon after when the Roos snared back-to-back majors through Hansen and McIntosh.
Higgins slotted his second just inside time on, but on this occasion it was the Roos who finished off the quarter stronger. They had the last three scoring opportunities of the half, and despite translating them into 1.2, trailed by just two points at the main break.
Daniel Cross made the Roos' deficit eight points early in the second half, and a clever snap from Corey Jones shortened it again. Giansiracusa and Harding then traded goals before the latter moved the Roos seven points in front after a spate of behinds.
The term became an tight tussle as the Dogs struggled to score, the Roos made costly turnovers, and both sides missed opportunities in front of goal.
Hill had the final say on the quarter when he took a soaring grab over Scott McMahon in the goal square. His kicked the goal which gave the Bulldogs a five-point lead at three-quarter time.
Hill's second in the opening stages of the fourth looked set to again have a strong influence over the result, as his input did in round two.
After five minutes, Hill and Giansiracusa had put the Dogs 16 points clear, which proved a gap too big to bridge, despite a goal to David Hale after seven minutes.
North Melbourne will now travel to the Harbour City to play the Sydney Swans at the SCG on Sunday afternoon, while the Bulldogs will play Hawthorn on Saturday night at Docklands.
NORTH MELBOURNE 4.4 8.8 11.13 12.14 (86)
WESTERN BULLDOGS 6.1 9.4 13.6 17.6 (108)
GOALS
North Melbourne: Petrie 3, Harding 3, Garlett, Swallow, Hansen, McIntosh, Jones, Hale
Western Bulldogs: Giansiracusa 3, Welsh 2, Higgins 2, Akermanis 2, Hill 2, Eagleton 2, Ward, Gilbee, Hahn, Cross
BEST
North Melbourne: Harding, Swallow, Harvey, Petrie, Gibson, Ross, McIntosh, Anthony
Western Bulldogs: Boyd, Giansiracusa, Lake, Murphy, Hargrave, Higgins, Cross
INJURIES
North Melbourne: Warren (suspected broken fibula), Jones (cut head)
Western Bulldogs: Nil
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Chamberlain, Meredith, Findlay
Official crowd: 31,470 at the MCG
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club.
