On an important night for both teams, the Bulldogs secured a 49-point win over a spirit-filled Kangaroos outfit.

The Dogs’ fourth consecutive win was the perfect way to celebrate Libba’s 250th milestone.

Here are some of the talking points from the game.

Naughton finds his groove:

It was a hallmark Aaron Naughton performance on Thursday night, with the tall forward’s efforts putting the Dogs back into the contest when they needed it most.

Naughton answered the external criticism of his on-field impact throughout the 2025 season with an impactful five-goal performance, which also included 10 score involvements and nine marks.

The Dogs’ deputy vice-captain’s influence did not come as a surprise to senior coach Luke Beveridge, who believed Naughton has been important throughout the year and integral to the team’s two-pronged tall-forward line-up alongside Sam Darcy.

“I think he gets critiqued fairly hard. It’s not always about the goals kicked,” Beveridge told media following the game.

“We played Geelong down there and he was in our best three players. He only kicked three goals but he was outstanding.

“The next week he had a down game and he just gets chewed up.

“It’s a hard position play – you can’t shoot the lights out every week.

“No doubt that he’s probably taken his marks, he was probably dropping a few earlier in the year. He’s obviously converting reasonably well, he’s having a pretty steady year for us.

“On a night where maybe things weren’t rolling for Sam, Naughts was getting on the end of it and capitalising on some of our transitions.

“He’s been going pretty well. He’s worked his way through it with Matty Spangher and the forwards. He’s a difficult match up.”

Adjustments on the fly:

It was an unforgettable first half for North Melbourne’s star forward Nick Larkey.

The tall forward tormented the Bulldogs’ defenders with five first-half goals and looked poised to help North Melbourne run away with the game. However, the Dogs were able to make the necessary adjustments both around the centre contest and in the backline to limit Larkey’s impact to just two touches after half-time.

Speaking in the member-exclusive “Coaches’ Brief”, midfield coach Brendon Lade praised the efforts of both the midfield group and defender Rory Lobb in readjusting after the first half.

“I thought he was going to break Fred Fanning’s record there for a while,” Lade said.

“He got a few out the back early and we didn’t help our defenders out with our pressure and we definitely lifted that in the second half.

“Lobby was quite good as well, kept him where he wanted him and was able to spoil the ball well.

“He took his influence right out.”

“My favourite teammate”:

It was a night for one of Footscray’s favourite sons.

Tributes for Tom Liberatore’s 250th game poured in throughout the week, with friends and family joining past and current teammates to share the love for a Western Bulldogs icon.

It didn’t stop on Thursday night either, with young Bulldogs midfielder Ryley Sanders speaking of the tremendous impact that Libba has had on his career.

“He means so much,” Sanders said post-match.

“He’s such a great person. He’s my favourite teammate that I’ve ever had.

“That’s all I want to be, hopefully as I get older I can be half of the mentor and leader he has been for me.

“Just how selfless he is – he’s obviously a superstar, but he always puts the team first and that’s something I want to do as I get older.

“He’s all about winning, all about team and all about being a good person. I couldn’t speak highly enough of him to be honest.

“Same with Marcus last week. The way they’ve helped me, and been such a good influence to me, is just unbelievable.”