THE WESTERN Bulldogs have withstood a late charge from Collingwood to win by 18 points at Etihad Stadium on Sunday, leaving the Magpies with a challenge ahead just to play finals.

The Bulldogs move a game clear inside the top eight with their 10th win of the season and two games clear of 11th-placed Collingwood, who have lost five straight games for the first time since 2005.

The 15.14 (104) to 13.8 (86) result could even help the Bulldogs move into top-four calculations as they draw level on points with fifth-placed Richmond.

In front of 40,581 fans, the Bulldogs' biggest home crowd since 2010, Luke Beveridge's team produced a high-octane first half before grinding out the match.

Click here for full match coverage

The Magpies' only rally came at the start of the fourth quarter, when teenage forward Darcy Moore sparked a three-goal run that cut the margin to 11 points.

Moore was the shining light for Collingwood, kicking five goals in just his third game, playing with confidence to take contested marks and convert his chances.

The Bulldogs were led by Lachie Hunter, who stepped up and played his best game for the club to finish with a career-high 32 possessions. 

Veterans Robert Murphy (26 possessions and seven inside 50s) and Matthew Boyd (38 and 12 marks), were the Dogs' anchors, with sharpshooter Tory Dickson booting 4.0. 

Liam Picken continued his excellent season with 33 possessions and eight tackles, while Mitch Wallis dominated the stoppages with an equal game-high nine clearances. 

Moore, please

"We were able to keep up the pace for four quarters, which was quite outstanding by our players," Beveridge said. 

"I was a bit worried the game was so quick that we were going to drop off … and Collingwood capitalised a few times on some blatant turnovers that we'd like to clean up.

"But we had a really even contribution from all our players, and that always points you in the right direction."

With the AFL spectacle a hot talking point, the Bulldogs and Magpies put on an entertaining, fast-paced first half.

Stoppages were down to 21 in the first half, down on an AFL average of 36 this season, and both teams capitalised on turnovers to move the ball quickly and kick running goals.

The Bulldogs did this best in the first quarter, playing on at every opportunity to rack up 65 handball receives to 35.

Murphy was the architect early across half-forward and moving like a player in his prime.

Forward Stewart Crameri was also on his game early, taking big contested marks and finding space inside 50.

Trailing by two goals and clearly on the back foot at the first change, the Magpies needed a fix and it came with increased pressure on the ball carrier after quarter time.

They used the Bulldogs' blueprint of forcing turnovers and playing on to work back into the game, with Moore benefiting from the new approach to kick his first AFL goal.  

The 19-year-old then grew in confidence and worked into dangerous positions.

In the third quarter he swept onto a loose ball and exploded past Shane Biggs to kick his second, and five minutes later he took a big contested mark to set up his third.

The alarm bells sounded for the Bulldogs when Moore converted a 50m set shot in the opening five minutes of the final term to cut the margin to 22 points. It was the first of three straight goals the Magpies kicked in a seven-minute burst.

However, when Wallis and Bailey Dale converted opportunities the game was over and the Magpies were sent back to the drawing board in their search for a win.

The Magpies were best served by Steele Sidebottom (33 possessions and a goal), Dane Swan (33 and nine clearances), Tom Langdon (22 and six rebound 50s) and Scott Pendlebury (29 and a goal). 

Coach Nathan Buckley said the Pies' inability to hold up the Bulldogs' running defenders had proved costly. 

"They were clearly flicking it around a little bit and we expected that, we welcomed that," he said.  

"We rate our ability to put pressure on the opposition, but to their credit they stuck to it and were able to get through a bit more often that we'd have liked. 

"We tackled at just over one-in-two effective tackles. We need to be tackling better." 

Liam Picken handballs under pressure from Dane Swan. Picture: AFL Media

WESTERN BULLDOGS      5.5   9.6    13.9   15.14   (104)  
COLLINGWOOD           3.4   7.7      9.7   13.8   (86)    

GOALS
Western Bulldogs: Dickson 4, Crameri 2, Murphy, Bontempelli, Dahlhaus, Hunter, Redpath, Stringer, Daniel, Wallis, Dale
Collingwood: Moore 5, Grundy 2, White 2, Pendlebury, Varcoe, Greenwood, Sidebottom 

BEST 
Western Bulldogs: Hunter, Boyd, Picken, Dickson, Crameri, Biggs, Murphy
Collingwood: Sidebottom, Swan, Moore, Langdon,  Pendlebury 

INJURIES 
Western Bulldogs: Nil
Collingwood: Nil 

SUBSTITUTES
Western Bulldogs: Jarrad Grant replaced Josh Prudden at three-quarter time
Collingwood: Jarryd Blair replaced Adam Oxley in the third quarter 

Reports: Jack Macrae (Western Bulldogs) reported for rough conduct on Brayden Maynard (Collingwood) in the last quarter. 

Umpires: Dalgleish, Stevic, O'Gorman 

Official crowd: 40,581 at Etihad Stadium