The Western Bulldogs have moved to top spot on the ladder after downing North Melbourne 16.12 (108) to 11.13 (79) at Marvel Stadium on Sunday evening.
It was a much-improved performance from the Roos after the 128-point Good Friday massacre, as they took the fight to the now top-placed Dogs for four quarters.
Robbie Tarrant and Cameron Zurhaar were particularly impressive for North - but the gulf in class between the two sides was too big as the Dogs flexed their muscles every time David Noble's young side threatened to challenge.
When Zurhaar kicked his fourth goal midway through the final term the margin was just 22 points, but the Dogs' quality and experience saw them over the line.
Aaron Hall won a team-high 31 disposals for the Kangaroos, while skipper Jack Ziebell (28) and the evergreen Cunnington (26) also found plenty of the football.
Marcus Bontempelli's ball-winning abilities and Cody Weightman's three first-quarter goals provided the early spark that ignited the Dogs and the new ladder leaders did enough during an even second half to close out their 12th victory of the season.
The only negative for the Dogs was losing star forward Aaron Naughton to concussion late in the second quarter and the 21-year-old will be forced to sit out next week's clash against the Swans at Marvel Stadium due to concussion protocols.
With Naughton subbed out it was left to Mitch Wallis, Josh Bruce and Weightman to fill the void and the trio performed admirably, with Weightman's high marking and lively play in particular standing out in his career best four-goal haul.
Bontempelli finished with 27 disposals to be in the mix for another best on ground performance, while the ever-consistent Jackson Macrae (31 touches) and Tom Liberatore (25) also won a lot of the ball.
Kangas can do some damage during run home
Experienced defenders Robbie Tarrant and Luke McDonald have made an impact since returning from injury in recent weeks and David Noble will have some more key personnel to call on for the remainder of the season that could easily help lead to a couple more wins. Running defender Jared Polec has now had two games in the VFL after a hamstring issue and is sure to come into contention for senior selection shortly, while midfield bull Jed Anderson got through his first game back from injury unscathed in the VFL on Sunday and could also make an impact in the closing rounds.
VOTE FOR YOUR BEST IN THE MAZDA EXCELLENCE AWARD
WESTERN BULLDOGS 5.1 9.6 13.8 16.12 (108)
NORTH MELBOURNE 3.1 5.6 7.5 11.13 (79)
GOALS
Western Bulldogs: Weightman 4, Wallis 3, Bruce 2, Dale 2, Liberatore 2, Garcia, Hannan, Williams
North Melbourne: Zurhaar 4, Cunnington 2, Goldstein 2, Davies-Uniacke, Scott, Thomas
BEST
Western Bulldogs: Bontempelli, Weightman, Dale, Liberatore, Macrae, Williams
North Melbourne: Zurhaar, Tarrant, Cunnington, McDonald, Hall, Thomas
INJURIES
Western Bulldogs: Naughton (concussion)
North Melbourne: Nil
SUBSTITUTES
Western Bulldogs: Lipinski (replaced Naughton)
North Melbourne: Ford (unused)
Crowd: TBC at Marvel Stadium
