Melbourne have surged from outside the top eight into fourth with their 100-62 win over St Kilda at the MCG on Sunday.
The Dees started on fire, keeping the ball locked inside their forward 50 with 11 scoring shots to one in the first term.
If it wasn’t for inaccuracy, the game could have been over then, but the Saints slowly worked their way back into it in the second term to be down just 12 points at half-time.
While the Saints were in it on the scoreboard, they were never really close on the field and once the Dees straightened up, the margin opened up, quickly putting a gap on their opposition.
The Dees outscored the Saints by nine goals to two in the second half until the final few minutes of the last quarter where the Saints kicked three goals to make the 38-point margin more respectable.
Melbourne’s win was set up by controlling the footy in the air as they were able to move the footy cleanly and give their forwards enough opportunities.
While the Saints matched it with the Demons on-ball, they lacked the polish and ball movement to match it with the winners.
Jack Viney, Christian Salem and Max Gawn - who was under an injury cloud in the lead-up - were massive when the game was there to be won. Mason Wood, Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera and Jack Steele battled well for the Saints all day.
The Dees next host the Dockers in Alice Springs while the Saints, who are now 3-8, head to Perth on Saturday to play the Eagles.
Our player grades.
Melbourne
Max Gawn: A+
Went through a pre-game fitness test on his left calf, but that didn’t halt his output at all. Absolutely dominated his one-on-one matchup with Rowan Marshall and was best afield with a goal, 27 disposals, 10 clearances and 34 hitouts. Huge.
Steven May: A
Didn’t absolutely dominate his direct matchup in Max King but was still involved in everything down back. Also kicked a fourth term goal. Weapon.
Christian Salem: A
Picked up the footy at will with 32 disposals and 14 marks. Also ended with metres gained. The Dees love the ball in his hands.
Christian Petracca: A
Kicked two goals to go with 24 disposals as he rotated between midfield and forward.
Jack Viney: A
Was big on-ball and at stoppage with 18 disposals and two goals. Back to his best.
Adam Tomlinson: B+
Really good performance standing up in key defence without Jake Lever. Would be playing AFL footy every single week at just about any other club.
Tom McDonald: B+
Was very good in defence mainly on Mitch Owens. Finished with nine marks and 16 disposals.
Trent Rivers: B+
Started on fire with his kicking off half back and inside 50 a standout. Faded later as the Dees ran away with things.
Jacob Van Rooyen: B+
Crashed packs and kicked three nice goals.
Alex Neal-Bullen: B
Clayton Oliver: B
Solid, but not near his best playing in a close-in role on-ball.
Tom Sparrow: B
Kade Chandler: B
Kicked a goal to go with 18 disposals in a high half forward role. Gets a tick.
Judd McVee: B
Kysaiah Pickett: B
Did some brilliant things but wasn’t all that accurate in front of goal. Could have been a bigger performance.
Bayley Fritsch: B
Kicked a couple of early goals to get his team off to a flyer.
Lachie Hunter: B-
Was quite good in his first game of the season in the senior playing on the wing.
Jake Bowey: C+
Ed Langdon: C+
Has been marked a bit harshly for kicking three behinds. If he finished his chances would have rated much higher.
Caleb Windsor: C
One of his quieter days.
Shane McAdam: D
Pretty quiet in a hard role up forward.
Harrisn Petty: D
Didn’t have an impact playing up forward and struggled with an ankle issue late where he was subbed for Woewodin in the last quarter.
Taj Woewodin: N/A
St Kilda
Jack Steele: A
Really good midfield game from the skipper where he stood up with a goal and 33 disposals. Can hold his head high.
Mason Wood: B+
Picked up plenty of footy on a wing with 27 disposals. Probably his best game for 2024. Looked a bit like how he played in 2023 when he was a standout.
Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera: B+
Loves playing on the MCG. Helped himself to 30 disposals as he looked at home on the open expanses.
Max King: B+
Kicked three goals and looked better than he has in recent weeks. Had the tough task of dealing with Steven May too.
Jack Sinclair: B+
Mainly played on-ball and finished with a goal and 30 disposals. Strong outing.
Jack Higgins: B
Tried hard all day up forward but wasn't helped by the ball not coming inside very much.
Darcy Wilson: B
Is enjoying a really solid first season. Finished with another goal and 18 disposals on a wing/half-forward.
Riley Bonner: B-
Paddy Dow: B-
Finished with 21 disposals playing on-ball. Deserves to stay in this team.
Mitch Owens: B-
Started well with a goal and looked lively at stages.
Bradley Hill: C+
Callum Wilkie: C+
Helped kick Bayley Fritsch relatively quiet but didn’t do much from an offensive point of view.
Liam Henry: C+
Jimmy Webster: C+
Seb Ross: C
Had enough footy but didn’t impact as much as he would have liked to.
Liam Stocker: C
Tried to clamp Christian Petracca at stoppages.
Josh Battle: C
Marcus Windhager: C
Rowan Marshall: C
Began to fight back late but was well beaten all day by Max Gawn.
Dougal Howard: C-
Anthony Caminiti: D
Tries hard but just doesn’t get enough footy as a key forward too often.
Lance Collard: D
Only had the three touches with zero impact before being subbed off in the third term.
Cooper Sharman: N/A
Came on for Lance Collard late in the third term.