THE WESTERN Bulldogs suffered a 17-point loss to Melbourne in tough weather conditions at Mission Whitten Oval on Saturday night.

On a wet and slippery night at Mission Whitten Oval, the Dees outscored the Dogs 5.7 (37) to 2.8 (20).

The loss means the Dogs drop out of the top four after their five-game winning streak came to an end, but are still certain to play finals after locking in their spot with last week's win over Carlton.

They will also await a medical update on co-captain Isabelle Pritchard, who left the match just prior to three-quarter time and played no further part in the game after injuring her knee.

The Bulldogs came out with their signature pressure, with their energy around the contest putting the Demons under the pump early.

After being unable to make the most of early entries, the dam wall finally broke when the pressure of their small forwards caused a turnover and Elaine Grigg capitalised, slamming the ball through from the goal line.

As the grey skies got darker and the rain drizzled down, the Dogs looked to gain territory by getting the ball forward, often kicking the ball off the immaculate Whitten Oval deck.

Melbourne continued to play its uncontested game style despite the conditions, but both sides had difficulty scoring, and neither were able to convert in the second term.

Alyssa Bannan broke the deadlock midway through the third quarter, converting from a set shot 20m out and almost straight in front before kicking her second shortly after, providing the Demons with breathing space heading into the final term.

With the game on the line, the Bulldogs lifted in the final quarter but a missed shot on goal by Ellie Blackburn quickly went end to end and Kate Hore kicked a momentum-killer.

Sarah Hartwig scored the Dogs' second of the night when she flew for a mark and brought the ball to ground before snapping on her left.

But it was too little, too late, with a long-range goal by Irishwoman Aoife Horisk sealing the win for the Demons.

Pioneering clubs celebrate a century of games

Pioneer clubs Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs both celebrated their 100th home-and-away game on Saturday night. The two clubs were heavily involved in women's football prior to the introduction of the AFLW competition, with the Demons and the Dogs playing exhibition matches from 2013 through until 2016. Some players from those pre-AFLW matches are still playing and on Saturday night there were four - Paxy Paxman, Tayla Harris, Ellie Blackburn and Lauren Pearce.

FILL

Up next
It's Cats v Dogs next week, with the Western Bulldogs heading down the highway on Friday night to play Geelong in the final round of the home and away season. Melbourne has an eight-day break before it plays Adelaide at Unley Oval on Sunday afternoon at 2.35pm ACDT.

WESTERN BULLDOGS    1.1   1.2   1.6  2.8  (20)
MELBOURNE                  1.3   1.6   3.7  5.7  (37)

GOALS
Western Bulldogs: Grigg, Hartwig
Melbourne: Bannan 2, Hanks, Hore, Horisk

BEST
Western Bulldogs: Pritchard, Grigg, Woodley, Laloifi, Hartwig
Melbourne: Chaplin, Hanks, Bannan, Purcell, Allen

INJURIES
Western Bulldogs: Pritchard (knee)
Melbourne: Goldrick (hamstring), Heath-Barker (concussion)

Reports: Nil

Crowd: 2,247 at Mission Whitten Oval