Marcus Bontempelli has staged another masterclass to continue his compelling case to be considered the greatest Western Bulldog of all time, inspiring his club to a crushing 51-point win over Melbourne.
On a night when the club reverted to their original name of Footscray to celebrate the 70th anniversary of its 1954 premiership, the Bulldogs continued their charge to September with a fourth straight victory.
They dominated from start-to-finish at Marvel Stadium, with only their inaccuracy in the first-half preventing the 15.20 (110) to 9.5 (59) scoreline from being worse for Melbourne.
Bontempelli locked in a certain three votes come Brownlow Medal night, gathering 33 possessions and 16 score involvements to go with two eye-catching goals.
"At the end of his career, he just may be," coach Luke Beveridge replied when asked if Bontempelli was already the greatest Bulldogs player ever.
"But he's got a few years left in him. He was brilliant (against the Demons).
"He was quite extraordinary in that first half."
The Bulldogs captain and fellow midfield stars Adam Treloar and Tom Liberatore belted Melbourne in the middle, winning the clearances 14-3 in the first quarter.
In his 250th game, Treloar celebrated with two goals, one of them directly in front of partner Kim and daughter Georgie.
The Bulldogs could have been left to rue their performance in front of goal, heading into halftime leading by just 18 points despite having 13 more scoring shots.
However, their poor conversion didn't come back to haunt them after they slotted the first three goals of the third term to pull away to a match-winning buffer.
Footscray finished the match sitting fourth, but could slip back to eighth by the end of the round depending on other results.
Melbourne's third-straight defeat leaves them with only a mathematical chance of making the finals.
The 2021 premiers, who bowed out of the past two finals series in straight-sets, could end the round sitting 13th with three games left.
"Our clearance game hasn't been anywhere near the level for a period of time now, especially against really dominant midfield groups," Demons coach Simon Goodwin said.
"We've seen a lack of our ability to win clearance, pressurise the opposition to a level to get the game back into a scramble, which is really important around contest areas,.
"It's it's a trend in our game that has been a strength over previous years, but this year just hasn't been to the level."
To cap a dirty night for the Demons, star defender Steven May was subbed out at halftime after receiving a heavy knock to the ribs and was sent to hospital for scans.
It is the second time this season May has dealt with a rib issue after he was injured in round two against Hawthorn.
Liberatore sat out the final quarter, replaced by 2016 premiership teammate Caleb Daniel, but the Bulldogs said the move was only precautionary.
After having a five-day break before facing Melbourne, the Bulldogs will have nine days off ahead of their away trip to play Adelaide.
The Demons host finals-bound Port Adelaide at the MCG next Saturday night.
