THE 2026 Melbourne is the real deal.

The Demons saw off competition-leader Fremantle in outstanding fashion on Saturday afternoon, kicking five clutch fourth-term goals in one of the games of the year to secure a four-point victory at the MCG.

From the outset, this game would tell us whether Melbourne could match it with the best team in the league, and how Fremantle would adapt to a rare MCG outing ahead of September.

The 17.11 (113) to 17.7 (109) result – just the Dockers' third loss of the year – both showed the Dees will be a force to reckon with in finals, and that the Grand Final venue holds no fears for either side.

And the match itself? It delivered in spades.

There were potential game-defining moments everywhere in a frantic fourth term.

Harrison Petty kicked two goals, but gave away one to Nathan O'Driscoll with a 50m penalty for an after-mark shove.

Isaiah Dudley's second was a superb front-and-centre crumb, then the ball bounced back the other way and Harry Sharp's soccer was as crisp as the Irishwomen produced last weekend in the AFLW.

Bayley Fritsch's major gave Melbourne the lead for the first time since halfway through the second, but there was still seven minutes left, and so much more to happen.

Fritsch and Petty blew straightforward opportunities, Pat Voss' shot dropped short, Harvey Langford laid a crucial run-down tackle, Jordan Clark and Matt Johnson dropped marks in Fremantle's last hurrah down the field, eating up valuable seconds, and Fritsch was paid a mark that appeared out on the full, sealing the win.

The first quarter saw 5.2 apiece, and the onslaught of goals continued in the second, with 21 kicked in the first half alone, plenty of them high quality set shots from pockets or stunning bombs on the run.

Fremantle kicked the first goal through Voss, but Melbourne countered in mere seconds, Tom Sparrow getting on the end of a Kozzy Pickett burst, setting the tone for the free-flowing footy that was to follow.

Bailey Laurie fluffed a snap directly in front of the big sticks, sending it sailing out on the full, but followed up with a sharp dribbler on the goal line, and then sharked a Mason Cox kick across goal to draw the Demons back level.

Fremantle's talls were proving to be handful for the Melbourne defenders, with Voss, Jye Amiss and Josh Treacy combining for six goals less than halfway through the second term.

But the match swung on clearance dominance, and the heaving MCC sections of the ground found their voice.

Petty – playing against the similarly aggressively bald Brennan Cox – may have found a workaround to the taunting rules, rubbing his own head after slotting a sharp set shot, as Melbourne once again hauled in Fremantle following a sharp purple start to the second term.

Half-time saw a slender three-point Fremantle lead, after Voss celebrated his fourth in style, having booted it from the centre square, while teammates Amiss and Treacy became the first Dockers to boot 50 goals in a season since Matthew Pavlich in 2012.

The frenetic pace of the game slowed somewhat in the third quarter – there was still a scoring burst from both sides, but the Dockers nudged their foot on the brake, taking a slower approach that eventually backfired in the fourth, working nicely into Melbourne's forward-half turnover game.

Harvey Langford brought the crowd to life amid a fairly staid term with a mark of the year contender, soaring high above Petty and Brennan Cox to pull down a classic.

Fremantle's set shot kicking was superb, finishing with 17.7 for the game, having sat at 11.2 at half-time.

Tom Sparrow was Melbourne's most consistent player, finishing with 24, while Pickett couldn't be quelled amid his 27 touches.

Johnson (24) stood tall for the Dockers, while acting captain Serong (21 and seven clearances) was steady through the middle.

Pickett may find himself a little lighter in the back pocket, after he threw his head back despite being contacted across the chest at the end of the first quarter, as might Mason Cox, who dropped dramatically in front of goal in the fourth, ignored by the umpire.

The master v the former apprentice
It's unfair to tag Luke Jackson as an apprentice these days, given his outstanding form, but he started AFL life working under Max Gawn. Jackson's work at ground level was outstanding, while Gawn produced more of a mixed bag, with some nice ruck work coupled in a few conceded free kicks. But come the last term, the champion veteran stood tall, rucking the entire term and keeping pressure on through the middle of the ground.

Tagging Murphy Reid
Reid's influence on matches has been so profound in his second season, he's now copping tags despite still being 19 years old. Koltyn Tholstrup took ownership of the creative Docker, and had held him to just three touches until a late burst just before the half brought his disposal tally up to eight. On the other side of the equation, Tholstrup himself was quite damaging, finishing with 22 touches off half-back.

MELBOURNE      5.2     10.5     12.8     17.11 (113)
FREMANTLE       5.2     11.2     14.4     17.7 (109)

GOALS
Melbourne: Laurie 3, Petty 3, Sharp 3, Sparrow 2, Pickett 2, Fritsch 2, Chandler, Bowey
Fremantle: Amiss 5, Voss 4, Treacy 2, Dudley 2, Switkowski, Bolton, Johnson, O'Driscoll

BEST
Melbourne: Sparrow, Pickett, Petty, Tholstrup, Gawn, Sharp 
Fremantle: Johnson, Serong, Amiss, Voss, Young, Jackson

INJURIES
Melbourne: Nil
Fremantle: Nil

Crowd: 40,938 at the MCG