Rampant Cats crush Demons

The notion Melbourne had improved this season was given a brutal reality check on Friday night when it was handed a humiliating 116-point defeat by Geelong at the MCG.

In cold and wet conditions, the Cats held the Demons goalless until the 24-minute mark of the second quarter while piling 11 goals themselves on its way to a thumping 24.13 (157) to 5.11 (41) victory.

Only a goal from Austin Wonaemirri in the dying minutes of the term spared the Demons from what would have been their 19th goalless half since the competition started in 1897 and their third in 55 years.

Meanwhile, the Cats had built a 70-point lead. So dominant were they, their 'opposition' did not get on the scoreboard until almost 10 minutes into the second term which came courtesy of a fumble from Josh Hunt.

The first score from a Demon did not come until eight minutes later when Brad Green, courtesy of a questionable 50-metre penalty, kicked a behind.

While the Demons kicked a further four goals for the game, including a miraculous dribbling effort from Paul Johnson, it failed to add a semblance of respectability to the scoreboard.

It was an abysmal end to week in which the Demons launched their Debt Demolition campaign.

The deep pockets of the club's wealthiest supporters made significant inroads into Melbourne's debt earlier in the week, but on this night the only thing being eroded was the Demons' pride.

In a performance which did little to persuade their supporters to part with more of their hard earned, the bottom-placed Demons were outclassed and in large parts completely uncompetitive against the dominant Cats.

Setting the tone for the match, twice in the first quarter Brent Prismall and Andrew Mackie, who collected 33 touches in a best-on-ground effort, marked in attack with their opponent not within cooee.

That the Cats could find so much space was usually the result of poor turnovers by the Demons, who handled the ball like a cake of soap.

On one occasion in the second term, ruckman Mark Blake, who is not renowned for his kicking, found enough space to u-turn in the centre and hit Gary Ablett lace out.

In contrast, Jeff White, in his comeback game, must have wished he had either retired or was away from the limelight in the VFL, while fellow seasoned players Brad Green, who was Mackie's first opponent, and Cameron Bruce also set poor examples.

The Demons' best was Matthew Whelan, who played a lone hand in defence with 31 disposals, while Paul Wheatley and youngsters Addam Maric and Stefan Martin didn't hoist the white flag either.

There was hardly a bad player for the Cats, whose only concern for the night came when Blake left the field briefly after hurting his elbow.

In his first game back from injury, Ablett showed glimpses of his best but will be better for the run.

For Demons supporters, the best part of the night came on the final siren. That was when they scored their fifth goal and were put out of their misery - at least for another week.

• MELBOURNE:* 0.0, 1.3, 2.6, 5.11 (41) *GEELONG:* 8.5, 12.7, 19.10, 24.13 (157)

• GOALS: Melbourne:* Valenti 2, C. Johnson, P. Johnson, Wonaeamirri *Geelong:* Lonergan 4, Stokes 4, Prismall 3, G. Ablett 2, Bartel 2, Ling 2, Mackie 2, Blake, Gamble, S. Johnson, Mooney, Selwood *BEST: Melbourne:* Whelan, Wheatley, Maric, Martin *Geelong:* Mackie, Ling, Selwood, Corey, Scarlett, Prismall *INJURIES: Melbourne:* McDonald (wrist), Wonaemirri (ankle) *Geelong:* Blake (elbow) *REPORTS:* Nil *CHANGES:* Jamar (Melbourne) replaced in selected side by White *UMPIRES:* Donlon, Kennedy, Ryan *CROWD:* 34,610 at the MCG