MELBOURNE has overcome the Brisbane Lions and a tropical storm to emerge winners in the NAB Challenge match at Cazaly Stadium on Friday night

The Demons took control in the second quarter and were never headed from there, running out 37-point winners, 11.7 (73) to 4.12 (36)

The presence of tropical cyclone Hamish off the north Queensland coast meant the ground was subjected to a torrential downpour for most the game.

But Melbourne handled the conditions better than their opponents and showed more poise, particularly around goals.

Forward Micahel Newton put his hand up for full time duties as the Demon's full-forward with three goals.

He was joined on the score sheet by Lynden Dunn and Ricky Petterd, who kicked two goals each.

Defender Matthew Warnock showed he is ready to bvuild on his impressive form of 2008 with a strong showing.

Melbourne coach Dean Bailey was happy to walk away with a win but there was still work to do before the season kicked off.

"It's always good to get a win but the Lions guys had bested a few of those blokes at half time," he said.

"But we still played well enough to win the game so that's a good reward for the guys."

Lions coach Michael Voss admitted the his team had struggled to cope with the rain and said both defenders and forwards needed to improve as the season progressed.

"There are some things over the course of the year that we've got to improve to become an elite side," he said.

Melbourne         2.1    6.3    10.3    11.7 (73)
Brisbane Lions    2.3    2.5    4.7    4.12 (36)

GOALS
Melbourne: Newton 3, Petterd, Dunn 2, Jetta, Moloney, Bruce, Jones.
Brisbane Lions: Clark, Brown, Hooper, Dalziell.

BEST
Melbourne: Newton, Warnock, Dunn.
Brisbane Lions: Johnstone, Adcock, Dalziell.

Injuries
Melbourne: Nil.
Brisbane Lions: J Brennan (quad).

Umpires: H Kennedy J Mollison B Ryan.

Crowd: 4,000 approx. at Cazaly Stadium.