MELBOURNE is the enigma that continues to give. Then take away.

From dysfunctional to delicious and back again. All in the space of three quarters.

At the first change on Friday night, Melbourne's problems at either end of the field looked as though they would fester from a hiccup into a full-blown calamity.

At half-time, it looked as though the footy public had finally been delivered the quick, skilful and aggressive Melbourne side that it had been promised all summer.

By the end of the game, a disastrous 0-3 start has the club's finals hopes teetering on the brink of implosion. Forget about a flag, September looks a big task at this stage.

DEMONS GO DOWN AGAIN Full match coverage and stats

Last season, Melbourne was potent, sitting comfortably as the most prolific team in the League and averaging 104.5 points per game. However, it entered Friday night's contest the second lowest scorers through the first two weeks, barely managing half of that.

The only side struggling to hit the scoreboard more? Essendon.

And yet the Demons conceded 20 goals to the lowly Bombers at the MCG, as their issues in either arc were brutally exposed by a hungrier, fiercer Essendon team.

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Having been +24 for inside 50s last week, only to lose by 80 points to the Cats at GMHBA Stadium, the same problems started almost immediately for the Demons.

Despite almost finding parity with Essendon for forward 50 entries at quarter-time, Melbourne found itself 21 points down at the first change. Perhaps more worryingly, though, was the fact it had also conceded six more scoring shots.

The game, quite simply, could have been all over within half an hour.

Then it clicked. Just as Tom McDonald hobbled from the field after rolling his ankle following an awkward landing in a marking contest, Melbourne's small brigade came to life.

Christian Petracca, spurred by the injustice of legitimate free kick appeals gone begging, was suddenly energised. He played angry, physical football and looked dangerous.

Jay Lockhart, signed to the club just weeks ago, was taking hangers just as frequently as he was kicking bananas from the boundary in a lively burst out of the forward pocket.

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Jake Melksham looked a genuine threat as the deepest forward, Alex Neal-Bullen was back in the thick of things, Jayden Hunt began pressuring on the ground with ferocity.

And then there was Max. After a forgettable fortnight, big Gawn was back. Clunking marks behind the footy, delivering it to his star-studded midfield, hitting the scoreboard.

The result was a 16-minute spell that yielded six goals. Six goals and the lead.

Just like that, Melbourne was following through on its potential again.

Unsurprisingly, efficiency was key. Unlike last week – and unlike the first quarter on Friday night – the Dees were making the most of their entries. Their seven-goal second term stemmed from 17 inside 50s, as their laser-like delivery began to pay dividends.

But then just as quickly as Simon Goodwin would have been thanking the fact that things can change pretty fast in footy, he would have been cursing that phrase.

Quarter three, the defining half-hour of footy in the match, resulted in seven Bomber goals.

That, and just two Melbourne majors, despite another 16 entries.

Where Petracca had turned things in his side's favour in the second term, now things were slipping through his grasp again. Errant kicks went wide of a hobbled McDonald. The rest were made to feed off the scraps from grubby delivery into ineffectual positions.

At the other end, Essendon cut through Melbourne in transition like a knife through butter.

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While the Dees might have threatened a comeback late, the damage was done.

But if the result meant Melbourne's campaign is bordering on being over before it started ahead of a must-win clash with Sydney next Thursday night, the second quarter gives hope.

It's faint hope. And it must finally be delivered upon consistently next week.

If it's not, it might be done and dusted for season 2019.