MATT Burgan looks at the stories, stats and surprises in his weekly column.

Summary
After two disappointing rounds, Melbourne bounced back with an impressive six-goal win over Essendon. With the Demons coming off a five-day break and the Dons a four-day break, it was always going to be fascinating to see how the game panned out. In the end, Melbourne ran away with the match, producing a stunning second half to notch up its third win of the season. It was a strong result by the red and blue, given both sides entered under the media microscope. The Demons have now recorded victories over the Brisbane Lions, North Melbourne and Essendon, with losses coming against Geelong Cats, Hawthorn and Richmond. It’s the same win/loss record, at the same stage as 2017, only Melbourne was eighth on the ladder, as opposed to 12th this year.

How’s stat?
Incredibly, Melbourne booted 12 goals to one from the 17-minute mark of the second quarter (when Charlie Spargo kicked his second), until the 14-minute mark of the final term (when Tom McDonald landed his second). In the second half, the Demons booted 12.5 to 5.6, and at the 22-minute mark of the final term, they led by 49 points when Dom Tyson registered a behind.

The number
7 – individual goalkickers notched up 16 goals for Melbourne. Interestingly, every player kicked at least two majors: Bayley Fritsch and Mitch Hannan booted three goals apiece, while Max Gawn, Jesse Hogan, Tom McDonald, Jake Melksham and Charlie Spargo secured two majors each.

Experience differential
Games: Essendon (1939) v Melbourne (1890)
Goals: Essendon (1200) v Melbourne (889)
Average age: Essendon (25 years, 91 days) v Melbourne (24 years, 215 days)

Did you know …
Melbourne has now won its past three matches at Etihad Stadium – all under coach Simon Goodwin. In fact, the Demons have won four of their five matches at the venue under Goodwin. It’s also the first time since round 15, 2002 to round three, 2003 that Melbourne has won three in a row at Docklands.

3 votes: Max Gawn
The ruckman continued his outstanding season, with 42 hit outs. His work in the middle was first class, with Melbourne dominating the centre clearances. He took six marks and pushed forward again, kicking two cracking banana goals from the pocket – much to the delight of one Essendon fan!

2 votes: Mitch Hannan
After playing in the opening round of the season, Hannan returned to the side and made a genuine impact. He booted three goals and had a hand in others. Finished with 18 disposals in a fine display.

1 vote: Charlie Spargo
What a debut! The youngster was outstanding and stood up when Melbourne was under the pump during the second term. Spargo kicked two goals and was provided plenty of spark, with 18 touches.

Apologies to …
Neville Jetta, Michael Hibberd, Bayley Fritsch, Oscar McDonald, Christian Salem, Nathan Jones and James Harmes who all could’ve been among the votes.

Good to see …
The inclusions all make an impact. Melbourne made five changes at the selection table, including two forced, and they all played their part. Jordan Lewis returned from a broken hand to collect 19 disposals, while it was the return of Bayley Fritsch (three goals), Mitch Hannan (three), Tom McDonald (two) and Charlie Spargo (two) that proved critical, as the quartet managed 10 of the 16 goals between them. It was a big tick for the match committee.

Oppo’s best: David Zaharakis
The midfielder collected 28 disposals and jostled with teammate Zach Merrett as his side’s best. Zaharakis laid seven tackles, had three inside 50s and four rebounds to be a standout for his side.

Pic of the day


Teammates get around Charlie Spargo after his debut goal (Photo: Adam Trafford, AFL Media)

Facebook post of the day

Instagram post of the day

Shower time #RaiseHell

A post shared by Melbourne Football Club (@melbournefc) on

Tweet of the day

Video of the day

In the mix
Playmaker Christian Petracca is set to return after missing round six due to an infected finger from a dog bite. Co-captain Jack Viney (foot) is still a couple of weeks away and small forward Dean Kent (hamstring) will miss a few more matches. Talls Cam Pedersen, Tim Smith and Sam Frost continue to be around the mark for a recall, while goalsneak Jeff Garlett, defender Josh Wagner and high-flyer Joel Smith will be in the mix. First-year Demon Oskar Baker and utility Tom Bugg also showed good signs in the VFL and are hovering.

Next round
Melbourne returns to Etihad Stadium, where it will aim for its fourth win of the season – and its fourth consecutive victory at the venue. Not since 2000-02, when Melbourne won six in a row at Docklands, has it achieved at least four successive wins at the ground. The Demons take on the Saints – a team they beat twice last year, after losing 14 straight from 2007-16. St Kilda has won just one match this year – the opening round against the Brisbane Lions at Etihad Stadium. It also drew against the Giants in round five at Docklands, but otherwise a 35-point loss to Hawthorn in Launceston on the weekend was its ‘best’ loss. But the fact that they drew with the third-placed Giants means that St Kilda can’t be taken for granted. Melbourne will enter as favourites, but it must back-up its win over Essendon.

In the press box …
It was all systems go and nothing out of the ordinary on this occasion. Pre-match, Melbourne great Garry Lyon popped his head in, before attending to Fox Footy duties. Oh, and on a side note, the full-size Four’n Twenty pies and barista were appreciated! Good to see them back at Etihad this year!

In the rooms ...
Pre-match, a fantastic moment took place, when Charlie Spargo was presented his Melbourne jumper by his father, Paul, the former North Melbourne and Brisbane Bears player. Paul spoke about his son’s journey to the AFL, with the Spargo family in attendance. Post-match, the look of happiness, relief and sheer genuineness on Charlie’s face was something to see, as Melbourne’s youngest listed player soaked up the joy of victory in the rooms.

Song to sum up match
The Tra La La Song (One Banana, Two Banana) – The Banana Splits

Simon Says...
“Our second half resembled the way we want to play. Our hunt and our pressure, and our contested work and clearance work came back and we started to connect better with the ball. That made a massive difference to us in the end. We acknowledge that Essendon had to come off a four-day break, but it was a step in the right direction for us last week and I thought today we carried that through.” – Simon Goodwin