For Rodney Eade, this was the sort of result that ends careers.

Because his Western Bulldogs were pulverised in about the most humiliating way possible by West Coast today, conceding the club's highest score in 24 years. In fact, their performance was an affront to the noble breed of dog whose name they have appropriated: they didn't give a yelp. They just rolled over, put all four paws in the air and waited for a pat on the tummy. In other words, they gave up.

How else do explain the fact that the Bulldogs went scoreless in the last quarter at Paterson's Stadium, while conceding 10.4 at the other end?

How else do you explain the fact that, after Daniel Giansiracusa slotted their seventh goal 10 minutes into the third quarter (to get within 22 points of the home side), the Dogs had just two more scoring shots for the rest of the game, against the Eagles' 23? Translated, that means they scored one of the game's last 18 goals. Or, put another way, West Coast kicked 17 of the last 18.

How else do you explain the fact that this team, touted by many as a premiership threat to Collingwood this season, were outscored by 45 shots to 12 at a ground where they won their last encounter with West Coast by 10 goals?

How else do you explain that this was the greatest score the club had conceded since Round 2, 1987 when the Sydney Swans banged 27.25 (187) past them at the SCG?

In the end, the Eagles' winning margin of 123 points - eclipsing the previous record against the Bulldogs of 118, set on a Friday night at the WACA 20 years ago when Peter Sumich booted 13 goals - was about right. The visitors didn't deserve to get any closer.

It was party time in the Eagles forward line as Josh Kennedy kicked a career-best 10 goals, Mark Le Cras joined in the fun with 29 possessions and three goals and the super-impressive Luke Shuey, a priority draft selection from Oakleigh in 2008, racked up 27 possessions and five goals.

Sure, forward Barry Hall, midfielder Adam Cooney and defender Brian Lake were missing from the Bullies' line-up, but that was no excuse for this utterly toothless display. The Scraggers were coming off an encouraging win over Richmond last week, so how could it have all gone so horribly wrong?

Shaun Higgins, Robert Murphy, Lindsay Gilbee and Tom Williams were among the worst offenders. They all had fewer than 10 possessions today and will want to quickly focus on redeeming themselves against Hawthorn at Etihad next Sunday.

Not so long ago, the prospect of playing on a hard, fast, big ground would have brought a twinkle to the eye of the Bulldogs players. They were the masters of the hard-running, highly-skilled game plan that was able to be given full rein on grounds such as Paterson's Stadium, nee Subiaco Oval, where they'd routinely run opponents of their feet on the way to racking up cricket scores.

But the game of football moves more quickly than any team these days.

And, if the Bulldogs were at their peak in 2008 and 2009, they are now very much coming down the other side of that mountain. It shows just how fleeting successful eras can be in the modern game, and how hard the fall when it finally comes.

This was a performance so devoid of spirit that, rightly or wrongly, the spotlight will fall on Eade this week. And the question will inevitably be asked: has he lost the Bulldogs players in the same way he lost the Sydney side towards the end of his tenure there in 2002?