MATT Burgan looks at the stories, stats and surprises in his weekly column.

Summary
When Christian Petracca kicked Melbourne’s last goal at the 23-minute mark of the final term, his major put the red and blue up by 100 points. It put Melbourne in rare territory – on the cusp of winning two matches by 100 points or more for the first time in the same VFL/AFL season. Alas, when veteran Sun Michael Rischitelli landed his side’s seventh goal – and the last of the match – two minutes later, Melbourne finished with a 96-point victory. Really, the final margin mattered little, as it was still a comprehensive victory by Melbourne. A brilliant first term set-up the win, which importantly netted another four points for the Demons. Melbourne also secured its 12th win of the season – the same number of victories as last season. But with three rounds remaining – and finals in sight – Melbourne has a fantastic opportunity to make 2018 a special one.

How’s stat?
Melbourne kicked 9.3 (57) in the opening term, which was its equal fourth best first quarter since it became a foundation VFL/AFL member in 1897.

The number
42 – is how many goals Melbourne has kicked against Gold Coast this year. The Demons kicked 21.20 against the Suns at the Gabba in round eight, and booted 21.17 against them at the ‘G on the weekend.

Experience differential
Games: Melbourne (2067) v Gold Coast Suns (1446)
Goals: Melbourne (1311) v Gold Coast Suns (570)
Average age: Melbourne (24 years, 346 days) v Gold Coast Suns (23 years, 95 days)

Did you know …
James Harmes averages 24.6 disposals each time he plays Gold Coast and he has kicked 12 goals in his five appearances against the Suns. On four occasions, he has booted three goals against Gold Coast.

3 votes: Clayton Oliver
‘Clarry’ was outstanding yet again, and brilliant when Melbourne set the game up in the opening term. He had 11 of his 31 disposals by quarter-time and impressed in attack with 2.2. Oliver also took 11 marks.

2 votes: Jesse Hogan
Kicked four goals to end round 20 with 46 goals – a season-high for the key forward. Hogan also finished with 22 disposals and took 10 marks to be a shining light in Melbourne’s win.

1 vote: Christian Salem
Very impressive with 26 disposals, Salem produced one of his best performances for the season. His intercept work was a feature of his game – he had eight – and his disposals efficiency was excellent.

Apologies to …
James Harmes, Angus Brayshaw, Dom Tyson, Nathan Jones, Jeff Garlett, Alex Neal-Bullen, Christian Petracca and Max Gawn who all could’ve been among the votes.

Good to see …
Jeff Garlett play one of his best matches this season – and certainly since his return to the side. He was busy with 21 disposals, 2.3 and two scoring assists. His work-rate was very good, while his tackling and pressure were also impressive. An up-and-about Garlett is crucial to Melbourne’s fortunes for the rest of the season.

Oppo’s best: Alex Sexton
Far-and-away Gold Coast’s best player, Sexton kicked five of his side’s seven goals, including five of the Suns’ first six goals. It was a career-best effort.

Pic of the day


That winning feeling (Photo: Michael Dodge)

Facebook post of the day

Tweet of the day

Instagram photo of the day

Happy Hoges #RaiseHell

A post shared by Melbourne Football Club (@melbournefc) on

Video of the day

In the mix
With Joel Smith set to miss an extended period, at least one change will be made for next Sunday’s clash against the Sydney Swans at the MCG. Cam Pedersen was outstanding yet again in the VFL and will come into consideration, while Declan Keilty again pushed his claims in Casey’s 11th straight win. Jayden Hunt returned from injury and will be in the mix. Michael Hibberd (quadriceps) is still another week away, while Jake Melksham will be touch-and-go from a hamstring injury. Mitch Hannan, Dean Kent, Tim Smith, Sam Weideman and Josh Wagner are others in the mix.

Next round
Melbourne enters a critical final three rounds, starting against the Sydney Swans, followed by the West Coast Eagles and then the GWS Giants. Given the Demons enter round 21 in fourth position – they have a great opportunity to not only secure a finals position, but land a double chance. A win against the Swans will all but lock in September – it will also go some way to pushing for a top four place. Melbourne hasn’t defeated the Swans since 2010 – back when the late Dean Bailey was at the helm and Paul Roos was Sydney coach. The Swans have had to contend with their share of injuries, but they produced an outstanding win against the Pies on the weekend to reinforce their status as a team that can never be written off. The fact that Sydney has had the wood over Melbourne only adds to the intrigue. And the fact the two sides haven’t met more since round 15 last year only adds to it. What a match it should be. 

In the rooms


Some light reading for Gus pre-game (Photo: Matt Goodrope)

Song to sum up the match

Four - Jagwa Ma

Simon Says …
“I was most pleased with our start – it was an area we wanted to be really strong at. We had a big focus on sticking to the basics and doing our fundamentals well and I thought we established that really early on.” – Simon Goodwin