Burgeoning superstar Sam Darcy has kicked three goals on return from his knee injury to help lift the free-scoring Western Bulldogs to a comprehensive 72-point win over St Kilda.
Less than eight weeks after fearing his season was over, Darcy was an ever-present threat in the Bulldogs' thumping 20.12 (132) to 8.12 (60) victory at Marvel Stadium on Thursday night.
The Dogs seized control early and comfortably improved their record to 7-6, while St Kilda fell to 5-8 with the top-eight slipping away.
Bailey Dale (26 disposals), Matt Kennedy (28) and key defender Rory Lobb (17) were all influential as the Bulldogs outscored their opponents in every quarter and posted their highest total of the season.
Darcy finished with 3.2 from 19 disposals, while Aaron Naughton (three goals), Ryley Sanders, Buku Khamis and Kennedy (two each) also hit the scoreboard.
Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge thought Darcy fought well through some physical treatment from St Kilda's defenders.
"He was pretty good, 'Darc'. Obviously they paid him a fair bit of attention," Beveridge said.
"It's something that he's going to have to deal with week to week.
"As long as he's just treated like every other key forward, that's all that matters."
Marcus Bontempelli was restricted to 14 disposals under close attention from Marcus Windhager, and took a nasty knee to the ribs in a second-quarter marking contest.
Windhager (16 disposals, one goal) worked tirelessly for St Kilda, with Callum Wilkie strong in defence and Jack Sinclair (30 touches) busy in his 200th game.
But the Saints were well beaten, losing a lop-sided inside-50 count 68-40.
And they have cause for concern over Hunter Clark, who faces scrutiny from the match review officer for a dangerous tackle on Matt Kennedy.
Zak Jones could also be looked at over an off-the-ball bump that floored James O'Donnell.
Darcy was rated the No.1 player in the competition before he went down injured in round six and provided an instant presence on return.
Teammates weren't shy about targeting the 205cm forward early and he had several 'nearly' moments, settling for one goal as the Bulldogs took a 4.2 to 1.4 lead to quarter-time.
Without a touch in the first term, Naughton twice out-muscled direct opponent Wilkie and kicked goals as the Dogs' buffer ballooned to 41 points in the second quarter.
Three late majors kept the Saints' slim chances alive at half-time, but they were brushed aside after the main break.
St Kilda fans in the crowd of 20,508 were incensed by a 15-7 free-kick count in favour of the Bulldogs in the first half.
But they could have few complaints about the result after seeing their team thoroughly outplayed.
"We're better than what we displayed tonight but they seem to have our number," Saints coach Ross Lyon said.
"Even when we're doing everything right ... they were just slicker and more polished and they've got more quality and run deeper.
"That's where we aspire to get to, but there's no magic bullet in the AFL.
"You've got to do the work, do the time, and you've just got to keep adding talent."
It was the Bulldogs' fifth win in six outings against St Kilda since the clubs met in an elimination final at the Gabba in 2020.
