12 total goals to three quarter time, followed by 12 goals in the last quarter alone; Saturday’s clash against the Western Bulldogs opened up in a burst after a tight opening.

Unfortunately for North Melbourne it was on the receiving end of a seven goal final term to end its seven game winning streak.

Where the game turned was from the stoppages. Heading into the match, both sides ranked inside the top four for scoring efficiency from clearances over the last seven weeks.

Of the Bulldogs’ seven goals for the final term, five came from clearances, with coach Luke Beveridge highlighting its importance in his post-match media conference.

Despite the dominance of Todd Goldstein in the ruck over the course of the entire evening – 54 hit-outs, 20 to advantage – North’s midfield was unable to capitalise at ground level.

The high percentage (37) of hit-outs to advantage from Goldstein would normally lead to a better success rate than three goals from 35 clearances.

However the Bulldogs were able to ‘shark’ 14 of Goldstein’s hit-outs, an abnormally high number which perhaps spoke to Brad Scott’s words in his media conference.

"I haven't seen our mids probably that flat for a while, but that's unusual, I don't think that's something that's going to affect us going forward," Scott said.

"They've been up for a long time. They've been terrific for us and it's not something that's happened much before, so I'm not concerned about it."

Despite the performance of the midfield, North’s forwards and defenders could hold their head high. In particular the key forwards caused headaches from start to finish for the Bulldogs’ backs.

Drew Petrie, Jarrad Waite and Ben Brown took 23 marks between them.

Brown played further up the ground, while Petrie and Waite kicked three goals each.

If the two sides meet again in a fortnight’s time, the aerial ability of the trio could end up a trump card, especially if they are utilised - a fact Scott lamented afterwards.

Petrie is only three goals away from 400 for his career, while Waite is closing in on his highest ever tally in a single season. His 35 sits only behind the 36 he managed in both 2005 and 2010 while playing for Carlton.

Down back Robbie Tarrant had career highs in both disposals (24) and marks (14). A lot of his work was done cutting off the Bulldogs’ forward thrusts with 11 intercept disposals and five intercept marks.

Now having played 19 games for the season, the continuity in Tarrant’s football has allowed him to become a vital part of the North defensive unit. He also had seven rebound 50’s on Saturday, finding the vital balance between both areas of his game.