Darcy fires as Dogs take finals step by smashing North

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Darcy fires as Dogs take finals step by smashing North

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.

Jamarra Ugle-Hagan (three goals), Aaron Naughton and Cody Weightman (two each) were also among the Bulldogs’ six multiple goal-kickers.

With No.1 ruckman Tim English (ankle) sidelined, versatile tall Rory Lobb was handed the job against All-*********** 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 midfield unit.

North Melbourne managed just three goals after quarter-time in their heaviest defeat of the season and lost Charlie Comben (concussion/leg) and his replacement Miller Bergman (concussion) to injuries.

Both were 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 also had concerns over spearhead Nick Larkey (knee) when they trailed by 10 points at the first break.

Larkey was cleared to return but the Bulldogs broke the game open before half-time as Darcy and Ugle-Hagan combined to kick all four goals of the second term.

The margin ballooned to 41 points by the main break on the back of the Dogs’ midfield dominance, which resulted in one-sided counts for inside-50s (35-18) and marks inside 50m (10-4) to that point.

The switched-on Bulldogs even led tackles (27-18) despite controlling the bulk of possession.

It only grew worse in the second half for the Kangaroos, who coughed up nine consecutive goals through the middle of the match and fell away badly.

Jy Simpkin’s huge mark on Tom Liberatore’s back was a rare highlight in the dying stages.

Kangaroos midfielder Luke Davies-Uniacke (30 disposals) never stopped trying and Robert Hansen kicked two goals.

It was the Bulldogs’ seventh consecutive win over North Melbourne, who complete their season against finals hopefuls Hawthorn in Launceston on Saturday.

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