Under-fire Demons thrash struggling Eagles in AFL
Six days after their horror final-quarter capitulation to St Kilda piled pressure on coach Simon Goodwin, the Demons made light work of the battling Eagles.
Melbourne took the upper hand early before blasting away with a 10-goal third quarter to claim a 21.13 (139) to 8.8 (56) win in front of a sparse crowd at Marvel Stadium.
The expected win will do little to ease the pressure in a season without finals - but a loss would have been catastrophic.
Gawn (21 disposals, 29 hitouts, 14 contested possessions, eight marks) set the tone around the ball as Melbourne's midfield smashed West Coast's on-ball division, which was without Harley Reid (ankle).
The Demons won clearances (40-30), contested possessions (145-103) and inside-50s (58-45) with ease.
Vice-captain Jack Viney (25 disposals, 13 clearances, 20 contested possessions) played his 234th AFL game, surpassing father and club great Todd Viney, and was typically brutal in the midfield.
He had support from Clayton Oliver (28 touches) and Christian Salem (30 disposals), while Kysaiah Pickett's class (26 disposals) shone through.
Bayley Fritsch kicked four goals while Harrison Petty (three), Harvey Langford (three), Jacob van Rooyen (two) and former Eagle Jai Culley (two) chipped in.
It was just more pain for the last-placed Eagles, who have already indicated their plans to seek draft assistance from the AFL.
Ryan Maric (29 disposals) was a rare shining light while Jamie Cripps kicked two goals.
The Demons were dominant early but only booted three goals, before Maric got West Coast's first from back-to-back 50-metre penalties late in the first term.
Melbourne led by 15 at quarter-time, then 22 at the main break.
Eagle Liam Ryan had a nasty head clash with Trent Rivers and had to come off for treatment on a gash, but returned to play with a bandaged head.
The Eagles traded goals with the Dees early in the third quarter, but Melbourne consistently threatened to break the game open and did so in the back half of the term.
When Gawn marked and nudged the Demons out to a 50-point lead late in the third, to the delight of the home fans, the job was done.
With a 63-point buffer at three-quarter time, Melbourne kicked away in the last.
Next Sunday, the Demons play the finals-chasing Western Bulldogs at the MCG, while West Coast face high-flying Adelaide.
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The Age
28 minutes ago
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