Melbourne forward Sam Weideman has slotted three goals in a 51-point hammering of winless Adelaide in Wednesday night’s AFL match.
The Demons responded to a week in the AFL furnace with a 13.10 (88) to 5.7 (37) victory at Adelaide Oval – they’re now just one win shy of seventh spot.
After being labelled insipid by club chairman Glen Bartlett after last Thursday night’s loss to Port Adelaide, the Demons produced a powerhouse seven-goal last term against the hapless Crows.
Leading by only five points at halftime, the Demons allowed Adelaide just one more goal for the match.
Adelaide’s club-record losing streak extends to 13 games, spread over more than a calendar year, while Melbourne are 12th on the ladder.
Demons spearhead Weideman’s haul was supported by two goals each to Luke Jackson, Jake Melksham, Bayley Fritsch and Jack Viney.
Halfback Christian Salem was superb with 26 disposals, Viney (22 touches) and Clayton Oliver (34 possessions, one goal) were midfield forces and ex-Crows star Jake Lever and Steven May ruled in defence.
Adelaide made nine changes after a humiliating 69-point loss to fellow strugglers North Melbourne last weekend – eight at the selection table and Brodie Smith (knee) was a late scratching.
But the Crows again had few winners – winger Paul Seedsman booted two goals, halfback Luke Brown (20 disposals) was solid and on-baller Matt Crouch collected a team-high 27 touches with limited impact.
Adelaide trailed by four points after an opening quarter punctuated by a sling tackle from Melbourne’s Alex Neal-Bullen which concussed Crows defender Will Hamill just 13 minutes into the game.
Hamill’s head hit the ground with force and he didn’t feature again in the match, with Neal-Bullen facing certain sanction from the match review officer.
The Demons held a five-point lead at halftime, which increased when Harley Bennell produced a classy curling goal from 40 metres midway through the third quarter.
Bennell’s snap was the sole goal of a scrappy term and the visitors were 12 points up at three quarter-time.
Melbourne then steamrolled to victory by booting seven goals in a 21-minute scoring spree against meek Adelaide resistance.
The Demons meet North Melbourne on Sunday night at Adelaide Oval while the same venue will host the Crows’ clash with Collingwood on Tuesday night.