Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin saluted the dominant performance of Max Gawn following the 32-point win over Port Adelaide at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday night.
The Demons are priced at 6/5 to reach the 2022 AFL grand final and have got the campaign off to the perfect start with four straight wins.
Gawn the star
Melbourne got off to a great start when booting the first eight goals of the game. They also prevented the home side from kicking a goal in the first half.
And it was Gawn who was the star of the show when dominating in the ruck. He finished the game with with 25 disposals (12 contested), 12 marks (five contested), 33 hitouts, six clearances and a goal.
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Goodwin says the performance had been coming and played a huge part in the Demons getting the win at a difficult venue.
"That's been building for a few weeks, I was rapt for the skipper tonight. I thought he led incredibly well," Goodwin told reporters after the game.
"He's been really close the last couple of weeks, especially aerially, and I thought tonight he was a really dominant player on the ground. He had a huge impact on the result.
"He led right from the front and that's what you need when you're on the road against a strong footy club on their home ground, you need your leaders to stand up and I thought Max was sensational."
Hinkley praise
Meanwhile Port coach Ken Hinkley also had plenty of praise for the Demons and the way they went about their business.
"To their credit, as a great side, a premiership side does, they took seven or eight minutes and were able to break the game
open, they made us pay," Hinkley said.
