Gisborne all but secured the BFNL minor premiership on the back of a 58-point win over Strathfieldsaye on Saturday.
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A Pat McKenna masterclass was the highlight of the 17.14 (116) to 8.10 (58) win as the Bulldogs completed a home and away sweep of the Storm for the first time since 2011.
The Dogs are two games and 103 per cent clear of the Storm with four rounds remaining and would need to completely lose their way to miss out on their first minor premiership in a decade.
Saturday's win was impressive, albeit against a Strathfieldsaye side ravaged by COVID cases and injuries.
Kal Geary, Shannon Geary, Jake Moorhead, James Schischka, Ben Lester, Lachlan Gill and Caleb Ernst were among the Storm players sidelined.
"They had a number of quality players out, but we knew they'd come out firing early and that's exactly what they did,'' Gisborne coach Rob Waters said.
"They kicked the first two goals of the game, but I thought we hung in well and kept our pressure up.
"We just had to grind away and eventually the game opened up for us."
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It was McKenna who split the game open.
Not that we needed reminding that McKenna is the most valuable player in the competition, but we hadn't seen a performance like this for some time because of injury troubles in 2022.
McKenna kicked eight goals despite spending a fair amount of time on the wing.
"He's got great kicking skills and he's hard to match-up on,'' Waters said of the decision to play McKenna up the ground at times.
"It's an advantage for us to throw him around like that.
"It was great for his confidence because he's missed so much footy this year, he just hasn't been able to get a good run at it because of injuries."
Ruckman Braidon Blake continued his great touch for the Bulldogs.
He gave the Gisborne midfield first use of the footy and they took full advantage.
The Bulldogs' midfield unit outworked the Storm and was far more efficient forward of centre.
Storm skipper Lachlan Sharp (five goals) played a lone hand inside forward 50 for the visitors.
The Storm were within 16 points of the home side entering time-on in the third quarter, but a McKenna mark and goal against the run of play made the margin 22 points at the final change.
The final term was one-way traffic as Gisborne piled on seven goals to two.
Storm co-coach Darryl Wilson said the Bulldogs deserved their victory.
"I thought we were plucky for three quarters and we had a few chances in the first quarter to kick a few more goals and put the pressure on,'' Wilson said.
"They were very well-drilled and beat us in all facets of the game. They showed they are a good side and they had a few players out as well.
"We have a lot of respect for the way they go about it.
"There's no excuses from our end. We dropped away and dropped away badly."
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