The Demons went down 8.9 (57) to 15.19 (109).
Geelong led by 46 points at half-time and extended their lead to 55 points after an uninspiring third term before Melbourne fought back in the final quarter, narrowly outscoring the Cats with 3.0 to 1.9.
Tom Hawkins, Geelong’s prized father-son NAB AFL draft pick, was brilliant before the main break with four goals in just his second game, three of them kicked in the second quarter.
The Demons’ forward line was clearly undermanned in the absence of the injured David Neitz and Russell Robertson, and they struggled to find the goals all afternoon.
Brad Green, with Melbourne’s only two goals of the second quarter, was a shining light up forward, and finished with four majors, including one after the final siren.
Only four Demons kicked goals, with ex-Cat Brent Moloney snaring two in as many minutes in the first quarter and Travis Johnstone and Simon Godfrey kicking singles in the second half.
A good sign for Melbourne was a return to form for key midfielder Johnstone. Cameron Bruce was also a solid contributor.
The Cats were inaccurate early in the match and, like Essendon against Carlton at the same venue on Saturday, could almost have sealed the contest in the first quarter, when they had 13 scoring shots to three but led by only 25 points. They made up for their poor kicking for goal in the second term, scoring six goals straight.
The Cats scarcely missed Nathan Ablett, who was a last-minute withdrawal after suffering a lower back/hip injury in the warm-up. He left the field only three minutes before the first bounce and was replaced in the selected side by Joel Selwood.
Selwood made it onto the Cats bench after about 10 minutes of the first term had gone.
MELBOURNE 2.1 4.4 5.9 8.9 (57)
GEELONG 5.8 11.8 14.10 15.19 (109)
Goals: Melbourne: B Green 4 B Moloney 2 T Johnstone S Godfrey. Geelong: T Hawkins 4 B Prismall 3 A Mackie T Varcoe B Ottens S Byrnes C Mooney P Chapman D Milburn C Ling.
Best: Melbourne: B Green C Bruce B Moloney T Johnstone J McDonald N Carroll. Geelong: J Bartel B Prismall G Ablett C Ling T Hawkins P Chapman.
Umpires: M Ellis C Hendrie M Avon.
Official Crowd: 38,438 at the MCG.
