Saturday night's Kardinia Park capitulation only added to a frustrating trend for the Western Bulldogs, who have seen their finals chances wane in the wake of their 28-point loss to Geelong.
The defeat was the Bulldogs' ninth of the year, with Luke Beveridge's side now an outside chance to book their place in the September action.
The Dogs are scheduled to face the Dockers, Giants and Hawks to conclude their home and away campaign, a run that should garner at least two victories.
It remains likely the Bulldogs will require wins in all three matches to solidify their place in the top eight, battling with St Kilda, Richmond and Carlton for the last two spots in the finals frame.
The Dogs will be needing to put a halt to their opposition's ability to pile on unanswered goals throughout key periods of the game to best set themselves up for a post-season berth, having surrendered alarming lapses in seven of their nine losses this year.
Their latest loss saw the Cats boot nine successive majors in the second half, starting with Tyson Stengle's first goal of the game in the opening two minutes of the third quarter.
From there, Geelong added eight more goals against a hapless Dogs rearguard, seven coming in the premiership quarter before Jeremy Cameron concluded the run seven minutes into the final stanza.
"I'm not going to use any dramatic words because it will be the headline tomorrow about that third quarter; I think you guys can choose your own," Beveridge said after the match.
"Simple grassroots intensity and skill and game sense aspects of the game they just overwhelmed us in that third quarter."
While the Geelong goal-fest was the Dogs' largest run for no answer, it wasn't the first time Beveridge's side struggled to stop a swing of momentum.
The club's most recent loss prior to the weekend saw the Dogs' defence allow fellow finals contenders Sydney to boot the opening five goals of the match.
The week prior, with the game on the line midway through the third term against the Lions, the Dogs saw the Queensland club boot seven successive goals to win the game by 41 points at the Gabba.
Going further back, the Dogs' corresponding game against the Cats earlier in the year saw Geelong shoot out to a 33-point lead at quarter time, with Chris Scott's side scoring the opening six goals of the game.
Their season-opener against the Demons and a Round 8 loss to Port Adelaide also had the Dogs behind the eight-ball early, giving up the first four goals of both games.
The 17-point defeat to Port Adelaide in early May was a result of two four-goal runs for the Power, the second of which again came in the third quarter.
And finally, the Western Bulldogs' Round 4 loss to Richmond saw Beveridge's side slip in the second half, conceding seven straight goals after trailing by just three points early into the second half.
They would go on to lose the game by more than six goals due to the lapse, and may now be reflecting on their struggles to limit their enemy's forward freedoms as the reason they now face the likelihood of missing the eight.
It's seemingly too little, too late to correct their frustrating flaw, with Beveridge and company relying on the results of others to pave their way to September.
