North Melbourne has fallen short in the club's VFL/AFL Centenary game against the Western Bulldogs, going down by 49 points.

Watched by a throng of club greats at Marvel Stadium, the Kangaroos were overrun after pushing the Dogs hard for three quarters, losing 20.14 (134) to 13.7 (85).

KANGAROOS v BULLDOGS Full match coverage and stats

Already undermanned going into the game, the Roos lost star midfielder Luke Davies-Uniacke to concussion in the first quarter after a fend-off from Ed Richards collected him high.

Big man Tristan Xerri was also left nursing a series of heavy knocks during the fourth term.

Colby McKercher, who extended his contract at Arden St during the week, underlined his value to the club by winning 32 touches and a game-high 555 metres gained.

Spearhead Nick Larkey kicked four goals in the opening term, and it would have been five if not for a set shot he pushed across the face of goal from 25m out after the siren.

Larkey finished with five for the game, but not to be outdone, Dogs forward Aaron Naughton returned to form with a five-goal bag of his own.

Tom Liberatore (27 disposals, 10 tackles, six clearances two goals), celebrating game No.250, was prolific in his milestone match for the Bulldogs, and skipper Marcus Bontempelli (25 disposals, 10 tackles, two goals) was equally as influential.

Two-time North Melbourne premiership coach Denis Pagan served a vintage rev-up pre-game to steel the Roos for their Centenary celebration.

Past greats joined the current players in forming a circle around Pagan on the ground, a couple of minutes before the first bounce, for his pre-match speech.

With Pagan's words ringing in their ears, the Kangaroos started brightly, with Larkey's four goals including a brilliant coast-to-coast move.

A six-point lead at the first change evaporated as the high-flying Naughton began the second term in a menacing mood. 

The Roos stayed with the Dogs, going goal for goal, with Cam Zurhaar's thumping strike from the centre square the pick of the bunch, before conceding two costly goals deep into time-on to hand the Bulldogs a 13-point lead at half-time.

Cooper Harvey thumped home a set shot from the 50m arc on the boundary as North Melbourne closed to within two points approaching time-on in the third quarter, but from then on it was one-way traffic as the Bulldogs kicked away with the game. 

NORTH MELBOURNE         5.2     8.3      12.6      13.7 (84)
WESTERN BULLDOGS       4.2    10.4     15.10    20.14 (134)

GOALS
North Melbourne: Larkey 5, Zurhaar 2, Curtis, Harvey, Hansen jnr, Maley, McKercher, Sheezel,
Western Bulldogs: Naughton 5, Darcy 4, Dale 2, English 2, Liberatore 2, Bontempelli, Vandermeer, West

BEST
North Melbourne: McKercher, Xerri, Larkey, Sheezel, Powell
Western Bulldogs: Naughton, Richards, Liberatore, Kennedy, Dale

INJURIES
North Melbourne: Davies-Uniacke (concussion)
Western Bulldogs: Nil

SUBSTITUTES
North Melbourne: Robert Hansen jnr (replaced Luke Davies-Uniacke in the second quarter)
Western Bulldogs: Lachlan McNeil (unused)

Crowd: 25,009 at Marvel Stadium