MELBOURNE emphatically proved its premiership credentials in Alice Springs on Sunday, breaking a number of records in a 91-point hammering of Adelaide.

The Demons racked up their fifth consecutive win with the 23.8 (146) to 8.7 (55) victory over last season's beaten grand finalists.

DEE-LIGHTFUL PERFORMANCE Full match coverage and stats

It was the first time Melbourne has won back-to-back games by more than 90 points in the club's history, the first time since 1993 that the Demons have won two games in the same season by more than 90 points and also their third victory in a row by more than 10 goals.

Despite the impressive win, coach Simon Goodwin, quite understandably, wasn't buying into any sort of talk about flags.

"It was an important game against a really strong footy club ... to put on a performance like that was really pleasing," Goodwin said.

"(But) we understand this game is about small margins. To be in form, but also to be out of form ... it wasn't that long ago we were struggling and we had to find a way to get into form.

"I certainly wasn't thinking this was the be all and end all as a game."

For the Crows, the drubbing was their heaviest defeat under coach Don Pyke.

"(We were) disappointing all day, to be honest. We started poorly," Pyke told reporters.

"To Melbourne's credit, they outworked us, they outhunted us early and put us into a really reactive position and they were able to move the ball far too easily.

"We weren't able to slow down their ball movement. They scored significantly out of their back half, or our front half, and that just put pressure on us across the whole game."

The Dees got off to a flyer, kicking the first five goals of the match after pre-match entertainment celebrated Aboriginal culture including Melbourne's theme song performed in the local Arrente language.

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The signs were bad early for Adelaide when the fourth goal, before the 10-minute mark, involved four Melbourne players handballing to each other with barely a Crow in sight.

Eddie Betts notched Adelaide's first goal with a 50-metre kick that brought the strongly pro-Adelaide crowd of nearly 7000 at Alice Springs's Traeger Park to life, despite it being the Demons' home match.

The Crows kicked three out of the next four goals but Melbourne steadied with two more to lead by four goals at quarter-time.

Crows fans' hopes for a better start in the second quarter were dashed when Demon Tim Smith scored just 50 seconds in.

The match looked over when Charlie Spargo kicked a goal halfway through the third quarter taking Melbourne's lead to 53 points.

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The Demons were winning out of the centre, with Max Gawn beating Sam Jacobs to get first use of the ball for a tough on-ball brigade including Jack Viney, Nathan Jones and James Harmes and Jesse Hogan kicking five goals.

The Demons were harder and used the ball better while the Crows looked indecisive.

Their afternoon was typified by Josh Jenkins at one stage kicking it straight to a Melbourne player from a free kick after spending a long time choosing where to kick and Wayne Milera giving away a goal when he was caught holding the ball in the backline.

MEDICAL ROOM
Melbourne: Neville Jetta was involved in a first-quarter head clash with Jake Lever, but returned to play out the match.

Adelaide: Paul Seedsman suffered another adductor injury – a problem that twice set him back last year – in the warm-up and was a late withdrawal. Luke Brown didn't play after quarter-time because of concussion in his return game from an adductor injury of his own.

NEXT UP
Melbourne will try to make it six wins on the trot when it faces the Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Crows are back in the familiar surrounds of Adelaide Oval on Sunday, hosting a Greater Western Sydney side in desperate need of a win.

MELBOURNE  7.1       12.2     18.6     23.8 (146)
ADELAIDE       3.1       4.2       5.4       8.7 (55)

GOALS
Melbourne: Hogan 5, Neal-Bullen 3, Petracca 3, Brayshaw 3, Smith 2, Melksham 2, T. McDonald 2, Hannan, Jones, Spargo
Adelaide: Douglas 2, Betts 2, Gallucci, Fogarty, Gibson, Jenkins

BEST 
Melbourne: Brayshaw, Oliver, Lever, Gawn, Viney, Neal-Bullen, Hogan
Adelaide: Talia, M. Crouch, Laird, Greenwood, Doedee

INJURIES
Melbourne: Nil
Adelaide: Seedsman (adductor) replaced in selected side by Myles Poholke, Brown (concussion)

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Donlon, Deboy, Brown

Official crowd: 6989 at TIO Traeger Park