The Western Bulldogs have ended Hawthorn’s quest for four straight AFL premierships with a 23-point semi-final triumph.

The Bulldogs mauled the Hawks in the second half on Friday night at the MCG, kicking 10 goals to five and winning 16.11 (107) to 12.12 (84).

Hawthorn looked weary as they went out of the finals in straight sets for the first time since 1977 in front of a bumper crowd of 87,823.

While the Hawks have been stopped from becoming the first team since the 1920s Collingwood machine to win four flags in a row, the Bulldogs are trying to add to their only premiership in 1954.

Jake Stringer kicked three crucial goals. Photo: AAP

The seventh-place finishers move into a grand-final qualifier against Greater Western Sydney at the Sydney Showgrounds, in a battle between the AFL’s most exciting young sides.

Bulldogs on-baller Marcus Bontempelli was best afield, while Jake Stringer and Liam Picken kicked three goals apiece.

A minute into the last quarter, Hawks captain Luke Hodge was shaping to handball when Bontempelli swooped and stole possession.

That set up Tory Dickson for the goal that put the Bulldogs 32 points up and, although the premiers never stopped fighting, a Hawks comeback was almost impossible from that point on.

It was a moment of potent symbolism — one of the Bulldogs’ young stars stealing the ball from the leader of Hawthorn’s run of three premierships in a row, and four since 2008.

Last week’s win over West Coast was hailed as one of the Bulldogs’ best finals performances, but Friday’s was even better.

Dogs finish with a wet sail

The Bulldogs wrested control from the Hawks with six goals to one in the third term, hitting the front for the first time since early in the match.

But for much of the first half, it looked like the Bulldogs would pay for missed opportunities.

They started the game perfectly, matching the Hawks’ intensity and keeping the ball in their half of the ground, only to open their scoring with a wasteful three behinds.

Too many Hawk stars failed to have an influence. Photo: AAP

A superb smother from Hawks defender James Frawley stopped a certain Bulldogs goal and the ball rapidly went to the other end of the ground.

Jack Gunston kicked Hawthorn’s second goal in a classic 12-point turnaround.

Hawthorn led by 11 points at quarter-time and extended that to 23 midway through the second as the Bulldogs kept butchering chances.

Then Luke Breust, who is usually a sure thing on set shots, fluffed his lines in the second term for Hawthorn.

The Bulldogs went on a three-goal run and Dickson’s shot after the half-time siren could have given them the lead.

He missed, a melee ensued and the Hawks led by a point at the main break but the latter half belonged to the up-and-comers.

Fittingly, boom Bulldogs rookie Caleb Daniel, who finished second in the Rising Star voting behind Callum Mills, booted the final goal of the match from right in front as the siren sounded and the crowd erupted.

Liam Shiels and Shaun Burgoyne were best for Hawthorn on a night when, for once, too many of their stars failed to have an influence.