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

Summary
On Saturday, Melbourne notched up double figure wins for the year – something it hasn’t done this early in a season since 2006 – whereas last year it wasn’t until round 18 that it claimed 10 victories. That’s almost reflective of where the Demons are at – just ahead of last year, and again with their destiny in their own hands. Despite a 54-point win over Fremantle at TIO Stadium last Saturday night, this round’s clash against the Western Bulldogs shaped as an intriguing encounter – and a danger game for Melbourne. The Dogs had recently defeated Geelong and pushed Hawthorn for a half in round 16. And at the long break on the weekend, it was again line ball. Melbourne led by three points at the main change, but the Dogs got back in front when Patrick Lipinski opened the second half. But when 50-gamer Alex Neal-Bullen landed his second at the six-minute mark of the third quarter, the game turned on its head. It was the start of 12 Melbourne goals to three, resulting in a 50-point victory for the red and blue.

How’s stat?
Melbourne kicked seven goals to zip in 12 minutes during the third quarter, which set-up its victory. As mentioned earlier, Alex Neal-Bullen kicked off proceedings, before goals from Jesse Hogan, Clayton Oliver, Mitch Hannan, Jeff Garlett, Hogan (again) and Tom McDonald followed. By the 18-minute mark, Melbourne was up by 38 points and on its way to victory.

The number
73 – the number of disposals collected by two of Melbourne’s brightest young stars: Angus Brayshaw (an equal career-best 39 disposals) and Clayton Oliver (34 touches). They were simply outstanding in the win.

Experience differential
Games: Melbourne (2168) v Western Bulldogs (1548)
Goals: Melbourne (1353) v Western Bulldogs (543)
Average age: Melbourne (25 years, 56 days) v Western Bulldogs (23 years, 270 days)

Did you know …
After dominating teams with inside 50 entries in recent times, Melbourne had five fewer than the Bulldogs yet still won by 50 points. The Demons had 52 to the Dogs’ 57.

3 votes: Angus Brayshaw
Notched up an equal career-best 39 disposals, including 22 in the second half, when Melbourne set-up the win. Brayshaw also had 16 contested possessions and six clearances in an excellent display.

2 votes: Max Gawn
Contiunued his brilliant season and was pivotal in Melbourne’s stunning 12-minute period in the third term, when it booted seven in a row. His ruck work was brilliant in setting that up. Right in Brownlow conversation.

1 vote1: Clayton Oliver
Like Gawn, Oliver continued his outstanding season for the Demons, notching up 34 disposals, including 10 in the first term and 10 in the final quarter. Incredibly player for just 51 games of experience.    

Apologies to …
Jesse Hogan, Tom McDonald, Jordan Lewis, Christian Salem, James Harmes, who all could’ve been among the votes.

Good to see …
Jay Kennedy Harris return for his first match of the season. The midfielder/forward worked his way into the game and had a strong second half. He finished with a game-high nine tackles and 15 disposals. It was an encouraging return after some strong form with Casey and he earned praise from coach Simon Goodwin for his performance.

Oppo’s best: Lachie Hunter
Hunter (35 disposals), Jack Macrae (33) and Mitch Wallis (29 and three goals) were the Dogs’ standouts. Each had their claims to be their side’s best.

Pic of the day

Facebook post of the day

Tweet of the day

Instagram photo of the day

Positive vibes from Vines #RaiseHell

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

Video of the day

Hugs all round #RaiseHell

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

In the mix

Jack Viney, who was a late withdrawal on the weekend, will miss up to four weeks, with a toe injury. Mitch Hannan came into the side as his replacement. Cam Pedersen, Dom Tyson, Sam Weideman will be again around the mark. 

Next round
Melbourne heads to Geelong for what promises to be a critical contest in the context of its season. Two of Melbourne’s best wins in the past 15 years have been at the Cattery, but it’s also been the place of some horrible losses for the club. This time around, it promises to be a close encounter. When the two sides met in round one, only a missed Max Gawn set-shot for goal in the dying stages was the difference – the Demons falling three points short. Melbourne will now head to Geelong confident it can get the job done – but it won’t be easy. What it will be is a must-see match. And if the Demons win, it can be added next to the 2005 and 2014 victories against the Cats at Geelong.

The media box …

Great to hear, from the press box, a passionate Melbourne fan yell in the stands throughout the match, ‘Go Redlegs’ It was certainly a throw-back to a bygone Melbourne era! But the love of the club was hard to ignore!

In the rooms ...

Song to sum up match

7 – Catfish and the Bottleman

Simon Says …

“We understand there are greater challenges coming. We've got Geelong next week and that's the game we'll focus in on, so it gives us the chance to play against a quality side and try and be at our best and continue to improve as a team. We feel like we've still got huge growth and improvement in us as a team, and with six rounds to go … that's still a long time to continue to improve.” – Simon Goodwin