If the virus that has swept through the Whitten Oval for the last week or so was worse than previously thought, then there is a tiny ray of light at the end of the tunnel for the Western Bulldogs.

If not, then the Dogs are as good as cooked.

There will be no coming back from this for Rodney Eade's side. You don't lose by 101 points to a fellow premiership contender three weeks out from the finals (and at your home ground) and expect to take the silverware home at the end of September.

The Bulldogs are 0-for-2 against Collingwood this year and lost their only encounters to St Kilda and Geelong. They also lost to Hawthorn in the brief period this season when the Hawks were playing at the same level as the premiership favourites.

It all adds up to another season where the Bulldogs will come close, but not close enough. They'll earn the double chance, probably win a final in the second week, but if they finish fourth and be seeded to play Geelong in a preliminary final, we can't imagine the Cats shaking in their boots on the basis of what we saw tonight.

Perhaps that explains the haunted expression on the face of Bulldogs president David Smorgon after the match. Not one for Jeff Kennett-like public tongue-lashings, Smorgon will know his club loaded up for a flag in 2010, only to again fall short. We wonder how circumspect he will be behind closed doors.

The Cats were fabulous, again thumbing their noses at those starting to write the obituaries. Their 10-goals-to-none second term had to be seen to be believed and the signs were everywhere that they're ready for the pointy end of the season - dominant backline, hard-running and complete dominance of the centre corridor and a bunch of scoring options close to goal.

Five goals to Steven Johnson will delight Mark Thompson, while James Podsiadly's three goals suggested that perhaps, just perhaps he can deliver the Cats a decent return at a venue other than Skilled Stadium.

It's looking increasingly like a Geelong-Collingwood grand final. The Saints are still in the mix somewhere, but their best footy isn't at the level of what the Pies and the Cats, at their best, have dished up so far this year.

But we can say with reasonable conviction that the Bulldogs will be looking on again on the final September Saturday of the year.