WHEN Nic Naitanui soared high above the pack for the West Coast Eagles in their thumping victory over Carlton last week, many had thought the mark of the year had been taken. There was debate over whether the young Eagle ruckman or Collingwood's dynamo Andrew Krakouer would win the award at the end of the season, but another contender has emerged.

Melbourne forward Ricky Petterd flew high above Western Bulldogs defender Tom Williams during the third quarter of Friday night's clash between the Demons and the Bulldogs to stake his claim. The mark was a rare highlight for the Demons during their 64-point defeat, and it sits comfortably alongside the Naitanui and Krakouer grabs as one of the marks of 2011.

With the Demons trailing by 35 points at the six-minute mark of the third quarter, Nathan Jones kicked Melbourne into attack. Petterd launched onto Williams' shoulders before being given a lift from the Bulldog and rising further into the air. He took the cleanest of marks, and admitted later he even had a split second to think about the dismount and making sure he fell safely back to earth.

''’Jonesy’ put it in a pretty good spot for me and I saw the space in front of me,'' Petterd said after the match.

''I always get told to go for my marks, so I just did on that occasion.

''When you are up and you take a mark like that, you do feel the ride a little bit. I did feel like I got pushed up a little bit and I did feel that little rush of adrenalin. I was just trying to focus on finishing it off and then kicking the goal; that was important.''

Petterd said after he had completed the mark, he made sure to settle his breathing and kick the much-needed goal. Although the mark was replayed several times on the big screens at Etihad Stadium, Petterd said he only got the briefest of glimpses of a replay.

''I didn't want to be caught out looking at the camera too much; I don't like that,'' he said.

''I will have a look during the week.''

The 22-year-old said his great grab is the best of his footballing life, but doesn't think it will be enough to win the mark of the year title.

''I think you have got Naitanui and Krakouer's, they are going to be the fans' favourites … I saw Naitanui's last week and that was pretty impressive.''

The mark capped off an impressive night for the forward, who even took a run in the midfield in the minutes after the grab. He had 18 disposals, seven tackles and kicked two goals to be one of Melbourne's most influential players.

While the mark will go down as a career highlight, Petterd was disappointed over the result of the match. With both clubs looking towards September action, the loss was a bitter blow for the Demons, who again find themselves on a rollercoaster ride of great wins followed by poor losses.

"We have been trying to level that rollercoaster that we have been on and in the last couple of weeks we have,'' he said.

"We just need to find out how to shut down teams when they get a roll on (and) how to shut the game down and make the momentum swing back our way.''