MELBOURNE'S finals hopes have been dealt a blow as it continued its poor recent record against Hawthorn with a 54-point loss at the MCG on Sunday afternoon.
Hawthorn kicked the opening five goals and never looked back, cantering to an easy 20.12 (132) to 12.6 (78) win.
Hawthorn superstar Lance Franklin kicked five goals opposed to Melbourne defender James Frawley and moved to the lead in the race for the Coleman Medal with 51 goals.
In the midfield, former Hawks skipper Sam Mitchell (30) continued his superb form, while Brad Sewell (33) and Jordan Lewis (24) were also influential in their return from injury and suspension respectively.
Melbourne's midfielders struggled to gain possession with Brent Moloney held to 17 touches, while Nathan Jones (23), ruckman Stef Martin (21) and forward Brad Green (17) led the disposals for the Demons.
Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson said limiting the influence of Melbourne's midfielders was one of the key components of the win.
"We were able to limit the influence of Moloney and their important players. He only had 18 or so touches when usually he's more prolific than that," Clarkson said after the match.
The defeat is the first time since 1980-84 the Demons have lost eight consecutive matches against the Hawks, with Melbourne's last win coming in round eight, 2006, when forward David Neitz kicked six goals.
Melbourne is one of four clubs outside the top eight competing for a finals spot.
Essendon and North Melbourne have eight wins, while the Western Bulldogs and the Demons sit on seven (although Melbourne has played one less game after completing both of its byes).
The Saints are just inside the eight on percentage following their 103-point win over Adelaide on Friday night.
With matches against Geelong, Carlton and West Coast in the next month, Melbourne faces a tough challenge to finish inside the top eight.
Influential players
Nathan Jones (23) did most of the grunt work in the midfield but it was Demons captain Brad Green who was the standout. The skipper had 17 touches, kicked four goals and provided a much-needed focal point up forward.
The tribute
As a highlights reel of his career played on the scoreboard, both clubs paid tribute to the late Allan Jeans with a minute's silence before the game. Earlier in the week, the three-time Hawthorn premiership coach took a final lap around the MCG.
What the coach said
Dean Bailey (Melbourne): "You want to create easy or fast turnovers and you want to cough up slow turnovers where it's contested possession after contested possession and go to a stoppage.
"We hand-delivered a couple but you've got to give them credit for reading the play as well. They were able to capitalise on it and they did it very well.
"They started particularly well. You're not going to win too many games giving teams a five-goal head start."
Dream Team highlights:
The statistics weren't too kind for the Demons, with Stefan Martin the only player to score in triple figures. He finished with 101 points for his work as a ruck/forward.
QUARTER BY QUARTER SUMMARY
First quarter
It was all Hawthorn's way in the early stages, with five unanswered goals before Lynden Dunn finally put one through at the 19-minute mark for Melbourne. Dunn's goal started a purple patch for the Demons as they kicked the next two to move to within 10 points of the Hawks. Sam Mitchell was dominant in the midfield for the Hawks, gathering eight possessions despite close attention from Melbourne tagger Jordie McKenzie.
Hawthorn by 16 points
Second quarter
Once again Hawthorn started strongly, with a goal to David Hale in the first two minutes of play. But the Demons had another patch where they kicked three goals to keep up with the Hawks. Brad Sewell stepped up in the midfield with 13 disposals, nine of which were contested. Lynden Dunn had seven touches for the Demons, to be their most dangerous forward. The Hawks led inside 50s 17-8.
Hawthorn by 25 points
Third quarter
Nine goals were scored in a free-flowing third quarter. Six of them were Hawthorn goals while Melbourne's three all came from Brad Green's boot. A particular low point for the Demons came when Luke Tapscott conceded a free kick and a 50m penalty behind play that turned a Melbourne goal scoring opportunity into a goal to Michael Osborne. Hawk Shane Savage came from the ground with a shoulder injury while Jamie Bennell was subbed on for Addam Maric. Nathan Jones had seven touches for the Demons while Brad Sewell and Grant Birchall had another nine each for Hawthorn. Once again, Hawthorn thumped Melbourne in inside 50s, winning 18-7.
Hawthorn by 44 points
Fourth quarter
Isaac Smith was subbed on at the three-quarter time break and made an instant impact, kicking a goal in the opening minute of the quarter. It was one of four goals the Hawks kicked in the quarter, the most impressive being one to Cyril Rioli that was a direct result of a chase by Max Bailey to tackle Stefan Martin and force a turnover. Sam Mitchell had nine disposals to take his total to 30 for the seventh consecutive week.
Hawthorn by 54 points
The next four:
Melbourne: Geelong (Skilled Stadium), Carlton (MCG), West Coast (Etihad Stadium), Richmond (MCG)
Hawthorn: Fremantle (Patersons Stadium), North Melbourne (Aurora Stadium), Port Adelaide (MCG), Carlton (Etihad Stadium)
MATCH DETAILS
Hawthorn 6.1 10.4 16.6 20.12 (132)
Melbourne 3.3 6.3 9.4 12.6 (78)
GOALS
Hawthorn: Franklin 5, Breust 3, Rioli 3, Hodge 2, Osborne 2, Mitchell, Lewis, Ellis, Hale, Smith.
Melbourne: Green 4, Howe 3, Dunn 2, Sylvia, Bate, Petterd.
BEST
Hawthorn: Sewell, Franklin, Mitchell, Hodge, Rioli, Bailey, Birchall.
Melbourne: Green, Martin, Howe, Dunn, Jones.
INJURIES
Hawthorn: Shane Savage (shoulder)
Melbourne: None
SUBSTITUTES
Hawthorn: Shane Savage replaced by Isaac Smith in the last quarter
Melbourne: Addam Maric replaced by Jamie Bennell in the third quarter,
Liam Jurrah (illness) replaced in selected side by Jamie Bennell
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Meredith, Kamolins, McBurney
Official crowd: 39,782 at MCG
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club
