Melbourne made a big statement and Brisbane broke their duck as round nine of the AFL season continued on Sunday.
The Demons moved into third spot after they smashed Carlton by 109 points at the MCG and the previously winless Lions shocked Hawthorn by 56 points at the Gabba.
Simon Goodwin’s side was sixth heading into the round with a 5-3 record and put in their most polished performance of the season in a 25.9 (159) to 7.8 (50) win.
Melbourne’s percentage improved from 113.2 to 127.0 on the back of the lopsided result, which sent the Blues to the bottom of the ladder.
Co-captain Nathan Jones had an equal game-high 31 possessions, Max Gawn had 44 hitouts and kicked two goals and Jake Melksham booted a career-high five majors.
Luke Hodge faced Hawthorn for the first time since his surprise move north and the four-time premiership Hawk came out on top, Brisbane scoring an upset 20.9 (129) to 11.7 (73) win.
Charlie Cameron took a contender for mark of the year and Dayne Zorko had 30 touches, 11 tackles and a goal as the Lions snapped an eight-game losing streak to climb off the bottom of the ladder.
Adelaide finished the round fourth on the ladder despite a well-documented list of injuries.
The Crows kicked off round nine on Friday night with a 9.9 (63) to 2.14 (26) win over the Western Bulldogs at Adelaide Oval.
In pouring rain, Adelaide star Eddie Betts booted four goals as the Dogs kicked two goals or less for just the second time in the club’s history.
Sydney superstar Lance Franklin earned another entry in the record books when he became the second player in history to boot 300 goals with two clubs in the Swans’ 17.9 (111) to 7.10 (52) win at the SCG.
Franklin booted 580 goals in nine seasons at Hawthorn and took his career tally to 881 with three goals on Saturday night to follow Tony Lockett (St Kilda and Sydney) into the record books.
Essendon shocked Geelong – 12.12 (84) to 7.8 (50) – at the MCG on Saturday.
After a week of turmoil, the Bombers led all day with Shaun McKernan bagging a career-high four goals.
Also on Saturday, North Melbourne continued their impressive season with a 17.10 (112) to 9.15 (69) win over GWS in Hobart.
Kangaroos full-forward Ben Brown booted five goals – all in the third quarter – to maintain his lead in the Coleman Medal race.
Gold Coast were well in the contest against Port Adelaide at halftime, but faded to an 11.16 (82) to 6.6 (42) loss in Shanghai.
St Kilda held a slim lead early in the third quarter against Collingwood, but suffered a similar fadeout in a 15.10 (100) to 10.12 (72) loss at Etihad Stadium.
