IT MIGHT be hard to believe, but Melbourne forward Jake Melksham can now say he's played a better individual game than Geelong superstar and 2016 Brownlow medallist Patrick Dangerfield. 

Melksham booted five goals without blemish on his way to scoring a staggering 40.4 points in the Schick AFL Player Ratings as the Demons demolished Carlton by 109 points on Sunday afternoon.

As a comparison, the finest display Dangerfield has ever put together saw him notch up 37 Player Ratings points against North Melbourne in 2016, when the superstar Cat racked up 48 disposals, 13 clearances and two goals.

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There's little shame for Dangerfield, though. Only Lance Franklin (13 goals for Hawthorn against North Melbourne in 2012), Steve Johnson (34 disposals, seven goals for Geelong against Melbourne in 2011), Mark LeCras (12 goals against Essendon in 2010) and Gary Ablett (41 disposals, four goals, eight tackles for Gold Coast against Adelaide in 2011) have surpassed Melksham's efforts against the Blues.  

The Player Ratings have been calculated since 2010 but considering that was Melksham's first season, and Dangerfield lined up in only 23 games before that year and didn't have more than 20 disposals or three goals in a match, it's fair to reason the Demon's No.1 all-time outing is better than that of the brilliant Geelong onballer.  

In addition to his five goals, Melksham amassed 21 disposals, 15 score involvements, 14 contested possessions and four score assists in an outstanding display.

A big reason the 26-year-old generated such a huge score was his effectiveness. Only one passage of play that the Demon was involved in reduced his Player Ratings total. 

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He lost 0.02 points for that play. Melksham's ineffective handball counted against him but that was offset by winning possession from Carlton forward Jarrod Garlett.

The former Bomber proved a key cog in Melbourne's scoring. Almost 60 per cent of his Player Ratings points came from either shots at goal or score assists, while another 13 per cent came from other score involvements.

Melksham had three goal assists, enough to take him to No.1 in the competition for that stat, with a total of 14, ahead of explosive Greater Western Sydney midfielder Dylan Shiel (13) and underrated Richmond star Shane Edwards (12).

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