The Western Bulldogs have trounced North Melbourne by 71 points at Etihad Stadium to shore up fourth spot and put a considerable dent in the Kangaroos' finals aspirations.
The Bulldogs were too classy for a North Melbourne side that provided little resistance after half time in what was a crunch game for the club.
Barry Hall renewed hostilities with nemesis Scott Thompson but this time let his boots do the talking with seven goals and eight marks, including seven inside 50.
Matthew Boyd had the ball on a string in the midfield with 40 touches and was accompanied by Adam Cooney (27) and Ryan Griffen (21) who also booted three goals.
Despite Hall's bag, the Dogs managed to share the load up forward with 10 individual goal kickers as they ran all over the top the Kangaroos.
Down back, the Bulldogs were equally solid with Brian Lake (27) adding to his 41-disposal game against the Roos in round 9 while Dale Morris was equally impressive and barely lost a contest all day.
Liam Jones enjoyed a victorious debut for the Dogs and kicked a goal from his 10 touches.
For the Roos, there was little to crow about after half time.
Brent Harvey was one of very few for the Roos who fought out the match, and picked up 27 disposals and three goals, while Leigh Adams continued his development up forward with 24 possessions and two goals.
Brady Rawlings showed all his steel and run to pick up 31 touches and five rebound 50s but there was little else for the Kangaroos to take from the game.
The Kangaroos went into the clash with their finals hopes hanging by a thread but were helped enormously by losses to their three closest rivals Carlton, Hawthorn and Sydney.
After letting one slip against the Bombers last week there was no hiding the enormity of the opportunity handed to the Roos.
A win would see them draw level on points with Sydney (8th) and Carlton (7th) but with an inferior percentage, and two points behind Hawthorn (6th), while for the Bulldogs it was a chance to consolidate their top four position and creep closer to the staggering Saints in third.
All eyes were on Hall before the bounce as he had the privilege of another afternoon in Thompson's company.
As Hall waltzed down to the Dogs' forward line it was clear it wouldn't take much to reignite the tensions that arose after the pairs' heated clash in round 9, despite both coaches doing their utmost during the week to douse any potential flames.
Within five minutes a rampant Hall had already ironed out a defender and soon provided the first goal of the game for Higgins.
Thompson copped an earful.
Moments later another assist for Hall lead to a Daniel Giansiracusa goal and the Dogs were soon two goals up.
Hall was in everything and his first and the Dogs third came compliments, yet again, of North Melbourne's high defensive zone.
There was no doubting the Kangaroos were playing with real zest, taking risks at every opportunity and taking it up to the more experienced Dogs.
Yet, too often Bulldogs' forwards were allowed to roam free just behind the last line of defence as the Kangaroos looked to pack the midfield.
Although dicing with danger, the Roos pressed on and Hamish McIntosh's audacious snap from the boundary followed by back-to-back goals from Brent Harvey early in the second term, cut the margin to just four points.
Hall continued to provide the focal point up forward, booting a third before half time as Giansiracusa did likewise to extend the margin to 15 points.
Try as they might, the Kangaroos couldn't quite bridge what was often a two-goal buffer and Hall, now manned by Josh Smith, continued to cause headaches up forward for the Roos.
He benifited from an open forward 50 and some precise delivery to bag his fifth late in the third quarter and with the margin creeping out to 29 points, any hope of a North Melbourne revival was fast dissipating.
The Dogs rubbed salt into the wound in the final term and didn't let up as they piled on nine goals to two to run out 71-point winners.
WESTERN BULLDOGS: 6.2, 9.3, 13.7, 22.11 (143)
NORTH MELBOURNE: 3.3, 6.6, 8.8, 10.12 (72)
GOALS: Western Bulldogs: Hall 7, Giansiracusa 5, Griffen 3, Grant, Higgins, Johnson, Jones, Moles, Wood, Williams
North Melbourne Harvey 3, Adams 2, Wright 2, Edwards, Hansen, McIntosh
BEST: Western Bulldogs: Boyd, Hall, Lake, Morris, Cooney, Cross, Griffen, Giansiracusa
North Melbourne: Harvey, Rawlings, Adams, Greenwood, Firrito
INJURIES: Western Bulldogs Nil
North Melbourne: Nil
REPORTS: Nil
CHANGES: Western Bulldogs Jarrod Harbrow replaced by Andrejs Everitt, North Melbourne Matt Campbell replaced by Ryan Bastinac
UMPIRES: Rosebury, Nicholls, Wenn
CROWD: 28, 038 at Etihad Stadium