WHILE Gold Coast was up for the fight on Saturday night, the Demons were finally able to get their game going.

In the 17-point win at GIANTS Stadium, Melbourne did most of the attacking and looked to gain some confidence back after a slow start to 2020.

Here are some of the figures which helped shape the contest in Round 6.

Around the ground

Contested Possessions:

Melbourne: 127 | Gold Coast: 103

Clearances:

Melbourne: 31 | Gold Coast: 21

Time in possession:

Melbourne: 47% | Gold Coast: 36%

Metres gained:

Melbourne: 4910 | Gold Coast: 4333

Benefiting from Max Gawn’s supreme ruck work, the Dees were the better side in the middle of the ground and won the inside battle against a strong contested team.

Weideman up for the fight in return

Going forward

Inside 50’s

Melbourne: 48 | Gold Coast: 35

Inside 50 efficiency:

Melbourne: 42% | Gold Coast: 54%

Marks inside 50:

Melbourne: 12 | Gold Coast: 4

Forward half possession gains:

Melbourne: 25 | Gold Coast: 15

Sure, the Demons could still capitalise on more of their inside 50s, but they were the second highest scoring team of the round and looked much more dangerous in the forward half of the ground.

Second quarter dominance

Scores:

Melbourne: 4.4 | Gold Coast: 2.2

Inside 50s:

Melbourne: 17 | Gold Coast: 6

Ground ball gets:

Melbourne: 26 | Gold Coast: 13

Centre bounce metres gained:

Melbourne: 233 | Gold Coast: 92

In Round 5, it was the second term which brought about Melbourne’s downfall, but on Saturday night, it was quite the opposite.

Proud of response: Goodwin

Individual efforts

Harley Bennell:

Score involvements: 6 (equal team-high)

Time on ground: 78%

Clayton Oliver:

Clearances: 8 (game-high)

Inside 50s: 6 (game-high)

Jake Lever:

Intercept possessions: 9 (team-high)

Steven May:

Metres gained: 458 (game-high)