Inside 50s few and far between in first term
Remarkably, Melbourne almost went through the entire first quarter with just one inside 50 entry. But with just eight seconds remaining before the first break, the Demons registered their second inside 50. According to Champion Data, no team since 1999 had recorded just one inside 50 in the first term. In the wash-up, Melbourne had 30 inside 50s to North Melbourne’s 66.

Dees kick just four goals – their lowest score for the year
After kicking three of the first seven goals, Melbourne managed just one more major for the match. In fact, from the time Roo Aaron Black kicked the first of his four goals at the 23-minute mark of the second term, through until teammate Todd Goldstein made it a couple, landing the last goal, North Melbourne booted 18 goals to one. Shannon Byrnes’ goal at the 25-minute mark of the third term was Melbourne’s only other goal for the game. During this period, the Roos booted eight goals in a row and the final 10 majors of the match. Melbourne’s 4.4 (28) was its lowest score since round nine, 1997, when the Demons kicked 3.9 (27) against Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium. That game was Neil Balme’s last match as Melbourne coach. 

Hoodoo No. 1 continues
Melbourne’s terrible recent record at Etihad Stadium continued when it dropped its 15th match in a row. The Demons have played 44 games at Docklands and have won 16 times. Melbourne’s first 20 matches at the venue produced 14 wins, but since round 16, 2005, it has won just twice from its past 24 matches. Its most recent win at the stadium was round 19, 2007, when a Mark Riley-coached Melbourne defeated the Western Bulldogs by 42 points.

… As does hoodoo No.2
Melbourne’s disappointing record against North Melbourne also repeated, when it lost its 11th game in succession. The last time the Demons defeated the Kangaroos was in round 20, 2006. Along with the Roos, Melbourne hasn’t beaten Geelong, Hawthorn and St Kilda in the past seven years. Given the Dees won’t play these sides again this year, they won’t have the opportunity to end any of those streaks until at least next year.

Déjà vu for Craig
Coach Neil Craig wasn’t in unfamiliar territory on Saturday, when he reflected upon Melbourne’s dismal 122-point loss post-match. “When I was interim coach of Adelaide, we got beaten by 24 or 25 goals in Brisbane, so I’ve experienced this before,” he said. In fact, it was almost a decade ago – July 24, 2004 to be exact – when Craig, then in his fourth match as interim Adelaide coach, suffered a 141-point loss at the hands of the Brisbane Lions. (For the record, current Demon Joel Macdonald played his eighth AFL match for the Lions that day). Although that was Adelaide’s greatest loss – and still is – Craig was appointed coach at the end of the season. History shows that after his four wins from his first nine matches in 2004, Craig took the Crows to consecutive preliminary finals in 2005-06, and four straight finals campaigns. Although Craig reiterated that it was a wait and see situation, in terms of if he would like to coach Melbourne next year and beyond, he remains absolutely dedicated to the cause for the rest of 2013. “My commitment to the playing group was that I would coach as hard as I could for 11 weeks. I’ll be true to my word, and I’ll be doing that and the rest of it will look after itself.”