The Western Bulldogs have celebrated captain Brad Johnson's club games record-breaking match in style with a 31-point win over Fremantle at Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

Johnson's 342nd match was won by the Doggies 17.9 (111) to 11.14 (80) but they would be kicking themselves for not making the most of a golden opportunity to receive an important percentage boost with the battle for top-four spots destined to heat up in the final month of the season.

The Dogs headed into the match with a percentage of 123.7 and led by 44 points 14 minutes into the second term, but they took their foot off the pedal and by the end of the match it had only grown to 124.4.

The Bulldogs did most of the damage in the first half when they slammed on nine of the first 10 goals of the match.

Jason Akermanis kicked three of his five goals in the second quarter and put in a best-on-ground performance with 23 disposals (eight contested) and seven inside 50s.

And Akermanis had a lively sidekick up forward with second-gamer Brennan Stack kicking four majors.

The Dockers, who have now lost 11 of their past 12 matches at Etihad Stadium, gave the Dogs far too much freedom around the ground in the first half and subsequently fell victim to their superior running game and skill level.

And what slim hope Fremantle had of staying in the contest in the first half evaporated due to some woeful kicking for goal with Chris Mayne, Matthew de Boer, Aaron Sandilands and Nick Suban all missing sitters.

Mayne, in his first game back for the year from injury, was the worst offender kicking a behind from 10m out on the slightest of angles in the forward pocket under no pressure whatsoever.

But he was ultimately the Dockers most dangerous forward option with three goals in a solid performance.

At the other end of the ground, the Dockers couldn't deal with the defensive pressure applied by the Bulldogs as Josh Hill, Stack and Akermanis all kicked goals from set shots which arose from Fremantle defenders being penalised for being caught holding the ball.

The Dogs did as they pleased rebounding from defence and through midfield in the opening two quarters as they registered 42 more handball receives (96-54) and racked up 148 uncontested touches to 104. And that was a recipe for disaster for Fremantle with the difference in talent between the two sides so vast.

Daniel