Melbourne’s big win underlines finals credentials as more questions are asked of Western Bulldogs

MELBOURNE’s smashing of Western Bulldogs means Demons fans can finally start dreaming of breaking their premiership drought, while the Bulldogs’ flag defence is in disarray after the big loss.

Clayton Oliver and Jack Watts celebrate during their big win over the Bulldogs. Picture: Michael Klein

THE football fairytale baton got passed on on Sunday.

The Dogs may have produced one of the most remarkable finals series in history last year to win over the football world, with an ultra-talented young list.

But right now, their flag defence is in disarray after this 57-point annihilation.

Instead, Melbourne fans are the ones who can start genuinely dreaming about breaking their 54-year premiership drought.

After a decade out of finals, it was plain to see in the white-eyed aggression and desperation of Michael Hibberd and Nathan Jones that this Melbourne team is as driven and as selfless as any in the league.

They are now 7-5, the Dees, for the first time since 2006, with star talls Max Gawn and Jesse Hogan to come back into the side, bolstering what has been a makeshift spine.

Clayton Oliver and Jack Watts celebrate during their big win over the Bulldogs. Picture: Michael Klein

The Demons hunted and stalked their prey with the hunger and cheek of a pack of starved hyenas for a full 120 minutes.

In a topsy-turvy season, a top-four berth is now wide-open for Simon Goodwin’s men.

At the kennel, it’s time for the soul-searching to begin.

Not only must the Dogs urgently address the lack of intensity and work-rate that has derailed this blue-chip midfield, there is also a systematic breakdown behind and forward of the ball.

It’s something we have not seen at the kennel in the past two years.

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Organisation, discipline and spirit was their thing, at the Dogs. The won a flag on manic pressure and a defence that chokes its opposition into submission, zoning off and intercepting at ease.

They were a machine, we said, but that machine looked broken on Sunday, as Jack Watts, Clayton Oliver, Tom Bugg, Jeff Garlett and Christian Petracca taunted the flag-winners under the roof.

Melbourne defender Oscar McDonald was excellent for the second-week in a row, Christian Salem continues to grow and Jayden Hunt’s speed is one of the most exhilarating weapons in football.

There was plenty of niggle in the game, sparked by a pre-game Instagram post from Tomas Bugg. Picture: Michael Klein

Hibberd’s competitiveness makes him standout as the recruit of the year.

They kicked 10.8 from turnovers, slaughtering the Dogs on the turnover.

Melbourne lost 22 straight games at Etihad but strangely enough, this venue now seems to suit their defence, pace and fearlessness even more than the MCG.

You knew the Dogs were really off, again, in the second quarter when Liam Picken yelled out to Jackson Macrae to run 20m from his position loose behind the ball and get to the stoppage.

When Macrae didn’t move for whatever reason, Picken ran up to him, grabbed his teammate and shoved him towards the scrimmage.

Michael Hibberd has been huge for Melbourne this year. Picture: Getty

Luke Dahlhaus didn’t have a tackle at half time. Tom Boyd had not taken a mark. Jason Johannisen was getting pillared on the airwaves for the second week in a row for his inability to defend.

The Dogs have not been a high-scoring team but their issues in attack were laid bare in the first term when they had only one behind from 15 forward entries over the first 30 minutes.

Caleb Daniel kicked the club’s first goal with a quick snap off a few steps midway through the second term.

After a thrashing from Sydney Swans last week, we were expecting the Dogs to flick a switch on Sunday.

But any chance the Dogs were going to get a soft kill to help reignite this season were blown in the opening 10 minutes as Melbourne grabbed their opponents by the throat.

Lin Jong (back) was in tears on the bench after injuring his knee in the opening quarter. Picture: Michael Klein

Melbourne’s first quarters have been a big headache all season, with the Demons failing to kick consecutive goals in the first term of any match this season.

When Dom Tyson coolly slotted an early set shot and then Petracca unnerved Shane Biggs and swarmed on his loose handpass, they were off to a rare flyer.

Jones flung himself at Lin Jong with a smother which crunched his knee and ended his day and possibly his season. Then Sam Frost slammed Tory Dickson with a bone-rattling tackle. The tone for a watershed victory had been set.