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AAP
AAP
Steve Larkin

Finals-bound Kangaroos post big AFLW win over Bulldogs

North Melbourne star Jasmine Garner has dominated in a big win over the Western Bulldogs. (Matt Turner/AAP PHOTOS)

North Melbourne have secured a coveted double-chance in the AFLW finals with a 46-point belting of wooden-spooners Western Bulldogs.

The finals-bound Kangaroos held the Dogs scoreless in the first half of their 7.13 (55) to 1.3 (9) victory on Saturday at the Whitten Oval.

Decorated duo Jasmine Garner and Ash Riddell played starring roles as the Roos took third spot on the ladder.

The Bulldogs finish their season last with just one win from 10 games.

Five-time All Australian Garner collected 31 disposals and kicked two goals in a dominant display.

And Riddell was the architect of a first-half blitz, her 18 disposals to halftime logging 407 metres gained - almost double the next-best on the ground.

The Roos' club champion finished with 36 disposals while Emma Kearney (20 touches) and Amy Smith (14, five tackles) were also influential.

North star Garner was a constant roaming threat and joined Emma King, Kate Shierlaw, Ellie Gavalas, Tahlia Randall and Erika O'Shea as goal-scorers.

"It's always a little bit of a worry when you know that you have got finals coming up," North coach Darren Crocker said.

"The eyes on the prize are probably beyond this (game) but you have still got a job to do right in front of your nose.

"You can waver a little mentally in these situations but ... the girls did pretty well to bring themselves into the present and do what they had to do.

"Our defence again held up really strongly, we're probably clearly the best defensive side in the competition.

"I do fell well-placed ... we're in a pretty good position going into finals."

King set North's tone early, booting the first of three goals in a four-minute span in the opening term.

The last in that stretch came from Gavalas, on the end of eye-catching ball movement from defence.

Garner scored the sole goal of the second term but the Roos failed to truly cash in on their control.

North sprayed 2.5 from set shots but their defence held firm to create a 4.9 to 0.0 halftime lead.

The Bulldogs' sole goal came from Britney Gutknecht's opportunist left-foot snap early in the last quarter while Ellie Blackburn (30 disposals) and Elisabeth Georgostathis (23) led their resistance.

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