Melbourne proved no match for the champion Crusaders while their hopes of resurrecting their Super Rugby season hit a major hurdle with star halfback Will Genia suffering a knee injury.

The Rebels crashed 55-10 on Friday night at AAMI Park, which was their fifth successive loss to continue their freefall down the ladder and biggest-ever loss at home.

It also made it 37 losses by Australian teams in a row to New Zealand opposition.

It was always going to be a big ask for the Rebels to upset the overall ladder leaders and despite trailing by just three points at halftime, they never really looked in with a shot.

Making matters worse, Genia limped off just before halftime, with the early diagnosis a medial ligament issue which could threaten his availability for the Wallabies’ June Test series against Ireland.

Genia had missed Melbourne’s previous two games with a hamstring injury.

The Rebels trailed 13-10 at the break despite the visitors, with two players yellow-carded, dominating every aspect of the opening stanza.

Melbourne’s defence was off, missing 24 tackles, while their attack looked mostly one-dimensional, often looking for a safe option rather than using their best weapons in the backline.

The Crusaders built a 10-3 lead after Mitchell Drummond took a quick tap and then his halves partner Richie Mo’unga threw a long ball out to Seta Tamanivalu to cross in the corner.

Athletic hooker Andrew Makalio then scored his first of two tries in an impressive showing.

The Rebels’ only try was scored in the 33rd minute when Drummond dropped the ball in a scramble for possession, with Rebels centre Reece Hodge taking advantage to touch down.

The Crusaders shifted to another gear in the second half, adding 42 points with Makalio making a statement just five minutes in.

The scoreboard then continued to tick over with Jack Goodhue, Peter Samu, Bryn Hall and Wyatt Crockett all getting in on the action before Manasa Mataele’s 80th-minute try took them past the half-century mark.