Carlton Senior Coach Mick Malthouse was firm in his appraisal of the Western Bulldogs, claiming the away side was more desperate and deserving of the four points on Saturday.

The ninth placed Carlton were unable to defend their finals chances, falling to the Bulldogs by 28-points at Etihad Stadium.

“The Bulldogs were far too hungry, far too good, led far better and made a mockery of our defensive mindset,” Malthouse said.

“When there’s so much at stake and you want to demonstrate that this game means a lot and the Bulldogs ran over us – and should have been, could have been four or five in front [at quarter time].”

Jarrad Grant was influential in the Bulldogs forward line, with four majors and nine score involvements, while Luke Dahlhaus, Daniel Giansiracusa and Liam Jones all kicked multiple goals.

Injuries limited the number of rotations available to Carlton in the second half but the three time premiership coach said the Bulldogs performance warranted the win.

“The Dogs totally and utterly deserved their victory regardless of how many injuries… we had,” he said.

The Bulldogs now set their sights towards Adelaide Crows for the round 21 clash at Etihad Stadium on Sunday twilight.