SATURDAY was always going to be a fascinating match at the MCG.

Hawthorn was the last installment of Melbourne’s trilogy of matches against the ‘2012-14 Grand Final teams’ from rounds five to seven.

Having already lost comfortably to Fremantle (65 points) and the Sydney Swans (38 points) the previous two rounds, Melbourne confronted one of its greatest hurdles of the modern era: Hawthorn (remembering the Demons had lost their past 11 matches against the Hawks and hadn’t beaten them since round eight, 2006).

The fact that Hawthorn was on the rebound, after being upset by Greater Western Sydney the previous round, made it slightly vulnerable or more realistically, extremely dangerous.

It proved to be the latter.

Hawthorn smashed Melbourne by 105 points, proving once again it rarely drops two in a row – certainly in this era.

Fremantle and the Sydney Swans were clearly a cut above Melbourne. But how far ahead are the Hawks?

In form key defender Tom McDonald – a proud, determined individual who rarely concedes – said quite simply that Hawthorn is an outstanding team. And he emphasised strongly, the word ‘team’.

“They’re a very talented side. They’ve got amazing skill that they do very well as a team – just kicking the ball and moving the ball,” he told Dee TV.

“I just find that they play together so well. I think individually they’re not better than us, as I think every player that plays AFL has a level of talent. They play so well together … and when we don’t, it makes it extremely hard to compete.

“I think if you matched us up individually, the talent is there to go with them. But when they play together and work together … it’s impossible to win, no matter the talent difference. They are an extremely good side and they have been for a long time.”

Coach Paul Roos was matter-of-fact about the loss to the Hawks.  

He said there was no point reviewing the three-figure defeat, as Hawthorn had an ability to crunch any team. 

And he pointed to last year’s Grand Final, when the Hawks smashed the Swans by 63 points as an example.

“We’ve improved in a lot of areas, [but] I think the circumstances we were in – we [were] just belted [by Hawthorn] and we got a lesson from a team that when they’re playing like that, [they can do it to anyone],” he said.

“We saw last year’s Grand Final and they did that to the second best team in the competition.”

Although Roos said there was no hiding from the fact that his side was “belted”, he was adamant that his team’s effort was there in the first half.

But, in the end, he said Hawthorn’s skill level was so elite that it ended up being a walk in the park.  

“We were actually competing really, really well, but after half-time they went on a rampage as they can do. They’re the best kicking team in the competition and their ability to keep the ball off the opposition is fantastic,” he said.

“The effort wasn’t great – don’t get me wrong – but was it because the guys are really tired after a tough three week block, having played the three best teams in the competition and we’ve [also] got six blokes out since round one?

“That’s something I’ve got to identify, but we’re not happy with the performance at all.”

The test will now be to bounce back against the much-improved Dogs.

It’s a chance for Melbourne to write another chapter and learn from a tough three-part series.

And now that trilogy’s over, it’s time to reboot the story.