Melbourne look set to spend the year battling Greater Western Sydney and Gold Coast for the AFL wooden spoon after a fourth successive loss to open the season.
The Demons grafted hard but eventually lacked the class needed and succumbed to the Western Bulldogs by 21 points at the MCG on Sunday night.
The 13.10 (88) to 9.13 (67) victory was the Dogs’ first of the season, and allowed them to clamber away from the cellar.
But the Demons have GWS and Gold Coast for company at 0-4 after both new clubs lost their weekend games – the Giants to Adelaide by 44 points and the Suns hammered by 10 goals by Brisbane.
Melbourne must now play St Kilda, Geelong, Hawthorn, Sydney, Carlton and Essendon in their next six matches.
Sydney joined Essendon and West Coast as the last remaining unbeaten teams after round four – beating in-form North Melbourne by 36 points at the SCG on Sunday.
Underrated midfielder Josh Kennedy starred again for the Swans with 27 possessions in the 17.11 (113) to 10.17 (77) victory.
But the Swans’ win came at a cost, losing young forward Gary Rohan to a sickening lower leg break in the first quarter.
Swans coach John Longmire was cautiously upbeat after his side’s best start to a season since 1998 – mindful of playing flag fancies Hawthorn next weekend.
“We’ve been pleased with the start but we play the Hawks and if you watched their game against West Coast Eagles, it was a massive pressure game,” Longmire said.
“Every week is a new challenge. We’ve just got to keep stepping up to it … hopefully the players have got confidence that they’re able to do it (against Hawthorn).”
Adam Goodes will return from suspension for that match, but Longmire was unsure whether ruckman Shane Mumford (back), defender Nick Smith (illness) and utility Lewis Roberts-Thomson (broken cheek) would be fit to return.
The Hawks will come off a loss into the Sydney clash after a scrappy 5.21 (51) to 5.16 (46) defeat by West Coast in Perth on Saturday night.
The Eagles top the ladder on percentage.
Geelong were given a massive scare by Richmond at Simonds Stadium on Sunday before winning by 10 points.
The Cats are now 2-2, but the mystery over their contested possession issues remains.
They are yet to win the contested possession count in a game this season – usually an area of strength for the Cats and an important match-winning indicator.
“The numbers don’t lie – we need to really get to the bottom of what it is,” Cats coach Chris Scott said.
Essendon and Collingwood will go into Wednesday’s Anzac Day clash in winning form.
The Bombers upset high-flying Carlton by 30 points at the MCG on Saturday and remain unbeaten, while Collingwood beat Port Adelaide by 24 points.
On Friday night, Fremantle gave coach Ross Lyon a 13-point win over his former club St Kilda.
