MELBOURNE has been disappointing in its clash with West Coast, losing to the Eagles by 54 points at Patersons Stadium on Thursday night.

The Eagles got off to a flyer, restricting Melbourne to just two points in the opening term while booting 5.3 (33). They ended the game comfortable winners, 15.16 (106) to 6.16 (52).

The much-improved West Coast, which moves to a 3-2 record, won the inside-50 count 65-36 and tackled fanatically in its forward half to force Melbourne into repeated errors.

The lacklustre Demons, on the other hand, didn't tackle with anywhere near the same ferocity, and fell to their 11th consecutive loss at Patersons Stadium.     
    
Melbourne's most honorable player was ruckman Mark Jamar, who jumped into Eagles counterparts Dean Cox and Nic Naitanui all night but had little support at ground level.  

Eagle Matt Priddis (33 possessions, 20 contested) was the game's dominant midfielder, with important Demon Brent Moloney convincingly beaten at the stoppages. Aaron Davey was also shut out of the game by Adam Selwood.   

The Demons were ambushed from the first bounce and they didn't respond, conceding the first five goals and failing to kick a major of their own in the first quarter.

The second term appeared much like the first, but without the scoring. West Coast continued to control the contest, Cox got more involved and Darling gave the side a 37-point lead with his second goal.

Colin Sylvia and Davey kicked back-to-back goals late in the term to bring the margin back to 26 points and Melbourne went on to win the quarter.

If the visitors were to go on and win their third consecutive match and break their Perth hoodoo, the Demons needed to hit the ground running in the third term.

They didn't, conceding three goals to one for the term before a fourth-quarter formality.

Key match-ups
The Selwood brothers did what they do best, locking down key Demons Brent Moloney and Aaron Davey to give the Eagles their midfield edge. Moloney, with Scott Selwood as his opponent, finished with 18 possessions and one clearance, ending a two-week run of hot form. Davey managed one goal and just 17 possessions.

What it means
A tough week awaits for the Dees, who entered this clash on the back of consecutive wins but with question marks over their four-quarter application. They barely played one good quarter of competitive footy on Thursday night, so many questions will be asked of the playing group.

Dream Team highlight
 Jack Trengove top scored for the Demons with 99. Colin Sylvia (90) and Jack Grimes (86) rounded out Melbourne's top three.  

West Coast  5.3  7.8  10.12  15.16 (106)
Melbourne  0.2  3.6  4.8  6.16 (52)
 
GOALS
West Coast: Darling 3, Lynch 3, Embley 3, Kennedy 2, Nicoski 2, LeCras, Rosa
Melbourne: Jones, Sylvia, Davey, Moloney, Watts, Dunn
 
BEST
West Coast: Priddis, Kerr, Cox, Ebert, S Selwood, A Selwood, Nicoski
Melbourne: Garland, Jamar, Grimes, Jones, Watts
 
INJURIES
West Coast: Priddis (dislocated finger)
Melbourne: Nil
 
SUBSTITUTIONS
West Coast: Mark LeCras replaced by Andrew Gaff at three quarter-time
Melbourne: Jordan Gysberts replaced by Lynden Dunn in the third quarter
 
Reports: Nil
 
Umpires: Donlon, Rosebury, Stewart
 
Official crowd: 36,298 at Patersons Stadium

The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL