Melbourne set a record with their 19 inside-50s being the lowest total of that statistic since it was first recorded. They started well enough - at the 15-minute mark of the first quarter, Melbourne was leading the inside-50 count eight to five. The Brisbane Lions had recorded the previous low of 20 against Fremantle in round three, 2012, but on a wet day the Demons struggled to get the ball past the middle of the ground. With the impassable Harry Taylor cleaning up everything, the Demons finished with 19 entries to the Cats 70. On the plus side, Melbourne identified contested ball as a priority and was just 11 behind the Geelong total of 169 contested possessions.
2. Low score equals another record
Melbourne equaled its lowest score at Simonds Stadium at the 17-minute mark of the last quarter when Jeremy Howe goaled. Their previous lowest score against the Cats in Geelong was 4.6 (30) in round 16, 1996. In that game, Shaun Smith held the great Gary Ablett goalless and earned two Brownlow votes for himself. Most of Melbourne's current players have known little success at the venue. Nathan Jones and Colin Sylvia, both playing their 150th games, have played 11 games between them at the ground with nine losses and two draws to show for it. Over their careers, the duo have collectively been on the winning team in just 85 of their combined 300 games. On a positive note, it was the first time Melbourne had kept its opposition below 100 points this season.
3. Byrnes returns to a happy hunting ground
After 108 games, 100 goals and two flags at Geelong, Shannon Byrnes joined Melbourne through free agency after playing most of 2012 in the VFL. The decision to recruit him was as much based on his personality as his talent but he stood up early against his old team. In the first quarter, against the tide, he kicked a goal and had six disposals. The veteran had played 35 games for 28 wins as a Cat at Simonds Stadium. At half-time, he attracted Geelong run-with specialist Taylor Hunt but escaped in the third to kick a second goal, a right-footer from the boundary.
4. Battle for spots heating up at Geelong
Travis Varcoe, Steve Johnson, George Horlin-Smith and Billie Smedts returned to a winning team as the management and sorting process begins for the Cats in the run-up to the finals. Those four, with six flags and 341 games experience, replaced Joel Corey, Corey Eright, Allen Christensen and Mathew Stokes, with nine premierships and 719 games between them. Unless you are an untouchable, a spot in the Geelong line-up will be more tightly held than a test wicket-keeper position, in the remaining eight rounds. With Paul Chapman, Jared Rivers, Nathan Vardy and Trent West having legitimate claims to be in the Cats' best team, Chris Scott's selection headaches remain. Johnson, Smedts and Horlin-Smith played well while Varcoe showed his brilliance in patches but was generally quiet.
5. Remnants of a famous nightmare
Nine players remain in the team from the fateful day in July 2011 when Melbourne lost to Geelong by 186 points. That day Dean Bailey was coach, Cameron Schwab CEO and the late Jim Stynes was president. Now Neil Craig is the coach, with Mark Neeld having been and gone, Peter Jackson is CEO and the club has an interim president in Peter Spargo. Since Stynes passed away in March 2012, it's been a tumultuous time for the club with much dirty laundry aired, but with five players who joined Melbourne through this year's draft in Saturday's team and Jack Viney and Jesse Hogan waiting in the wings, the regeneration has begun.
