It was a wet and wild afternoon at the MCG as Hawthorn flexed their muscles with a convincing 67-point win over a disappointing Melbourne outfit.
Jaeger O’Meara was the star for the Hawks; the 2013 Rising Star prominent with 26 disposals and two goals.
With both sides sitting at 2-1, it was set to be a hot contest at the MCG, as Luke Breust immediately kicked off proceedings just 21 seconds into the first quarter.
It didn’t take long for Melbourne to get going however, as the Demons piled on the next four goals to put the Hawks under immediate pressure.
Showing off a slick, fast style of play, the Demons were irresistible early with their clean ball movement and superb use.
It was the Dean Kent show in the first quarter as the opportunistic forward was instrumental in applying pressure on the Hawthorn defenders and putting his side's dominance on the scoreboard with their opening two goals of the game.
The in-form Jesse Hogan followed up soon after, with Hawthorn simply unable to keep up with the young Demons.
Another major to Kent would send Alastair Clarkson into panic stations, as Melbourne seemed to finally be playing the football needed to feature in September action.
With all the momentum against them, it would take a settler by Jack Gunston to get the Hawks back on track as they began to match the Demons around the contest.
A late goal to Breust would further cut down the margin, as they only found themselves 12 points behind at the first change after being completely outplayed early on.
Urged to lift by Clarkson at quarter-time, the Hawks would do just that as they took advantage of Melbourne mistakes to get work their way back into the second quarter.
Breust was proving to be a headache for the Melbourne coaching staff as he managed to get out the back for his third goal just one minute into the second term.
With the momentum well and truly changing around the ground, Hawthorn were making the Demons look second rate as they departed from their impressive style of play from the first quarter.
Goals to Paul Puopolo, Ricky Henderson and captain Jarryd Roughead would translate their dominance onto the scoreboard, as Melbourne looked powerless to stop the brown and gold onslaught.
After a dominant start in the first term, Melbourne were kept goalless in the second quarter falling to an eight-point deficit at the main break.
It would be another quarter of carnage for the Demons, as Hawthorn continued to dominate all aspects of the game in the third.
With Cyril Rioli going down early in the second half, Melbourne weren’t able to take advantage of their undermanned opposition with their effort around the contest and defensive structures to be severely questioned.
Injury-plagued star O’Meara would get proceedings underway in the third as it seemed to be all coming too easy for the Hawks.
Goals to Isaac Smith, Tim O’Brien and a second for Gunston would further extend Hawthorn’s lead as Demons' fans were forced to endure the Melbourne of old.
The only real negative for the Hawks in the third was an injury to champion small forward Puopolo, who tweaked a hamstring lunging for a tackle deep inside forward 50.
A second straight goalless quarter would see hopes of a 3-1 start diminish for the Demons, stumbling to a 32-point deficit at three-quarter time.
Melbourne would save their worst for last on Sunday afternoon at the MCG, as the injury-riddled Hawks put them to the sword in a dominant last quarter.
Gunston would kick off the last quarter in style for Hawthorn with an excellent running goal from the boundary putting the home crowd into a frenzy.
After two goalless quarters, Melbourne would finally find a goal through midfielder Alex Neal-Bullen to give supporters the slightest hope of a famous upset victory.
Yet their hopes would be quickly squashed by the professional Hawks, as Roughead put the final nail in the Demons' coffin with his second goal.
The floodgates proceeded to open, as Hawthorn piled on the pain with five straight goals to turn a convincing victory into a complete annihilation.
Melbourne could do nothing to stop Hawthorn’s momentum as fans left the ground disgusted with the final margin blowing out to a substantial 67 points.
Hawthorn will look to continue their solid start to the season as they face a red-hot North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium, while Melbourne will be keen to bounce back from their horrible performance when they face reigning premiers, Richmond, on Anzac Eve at the MCG.
HAWTHORN 3.5 7.5 11.7 18.7 (115)
MELBOURNE 5.5 5.9 5.11 6.12 (48)
GOALS
Hawthorn: Breust 4, Roughead 3, O'Brien 3, O'Meara 2, Smith 2, Gunston 2, Puopolo, Henderson Melbourne: Kent 3, Hogan, Salem, Neal-Bullen
BEST
Hawthorn: O’Meara, Shiels, Breust, Gunston, Smith, Roughead
Melbourne: Gawn, Oliver, Kent, Neal-Bullen, Hogan, Bugg
INJURIES
Hawthorn: Frawley (migraine), Rioli (medial ligament), Puopolo (hamstring)
Melbourne: Jetta (leg)
TALKING POINTS
1. MELBOURNE AREN'T A SEPTEMBER CERTAINTY
Coming into season 2018, Melbourne looked primed to break their finals hoodoo through the acquisition of Jake Lever and the continual development of their young core.
However, after an average first month of the season, serious questions must be asked of this Melbourne team if they are going to move forward in 2018.
The mentality of the players is of extreme concern for the Demons, as they simply have not been able to stop opposition teams when they get on a run.
Goalless for a large portion of the afternoon, Melbourne looked more like a bottom-four team, with fans having seen enough by early in the last quarter.
2. ALASTAIR CLARKSON'S REJUVENATION OF THE HAWKS HAS BEEN EXTRAORDINARY
Backtrack 12 months and things were looking dire for the champion Hawks having lost their first four games by a considerable margin.
This would serve as a turning point for Clarkson as he looked to streamline his young players and develop a new core of talent to bring about the next dominant Hawthorn era.
Things look to be tracking beautifully for Hawthorn in season 2018, as the young group of players are taking the football world by storm.
Led by ball magnet Tom Mitchell, Hawthorn have excellent depth all over the ground as well as a system most clubs struggle to face up against.
This 12 month period has been a true testament to the greatness of Clarkson, as he rebuilt the Hawthorn list whilst being competitive among the best teams in the competition.
3. JAEGER O'MEARA FINALLY SHOWING HIS CLASS IN THE BROWN AND GOLD
One of the big moves of the 2016 off-season, Hawthorn fans expected a lot from the 2013 Rising Star following an injury-plagued career at Gold Coast.
Some promising early season signs in 2017 got people excited about a dominant midfield partnership with fellow recruit Tom Mitchell.
However, the injury bug would hit the young Western Australian again as a knee injury saw him miss the majority of the season.
After an extremely solid pre-season, O’Meara has hit the ground running again in 2018 with his best on ground performance against Melbourne an extremely good sign for this young Hawthorn team.
With four straight games under his belt, O’Meara is proving himself to be elite in the Hawks' midfield, with his work around the contest and decision-making pivotal in Hawthorn’s early season form.
4. IT'S TIME TO TAG TOM
Coming into the game with three straight 40 disposal games, Tom Mitchell was quickly firming as a Brownlow prospect in 2018.
Despite the dominance of his team against Melbourne, the Demons managed to quell the influence of the midfield maestro through a Nathan Jones tag in what was perhaps the only positive to come out of the game.
Although he managed to get himself to 24 disposals by the final siren, the way Melbourne stemmed his influence on the game will prove to be a blueprint for other teams moving forward as he couldn’t deal with the added attention at stoppages on occasions throughout the day.
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