AFTER years of attempts at scaling the mountain only to fall off a cliff time and again, Melbourne and its long-suffering fans can finally see the summit.
The third-placed Demons have established an advanced camp for an assault on the pinnacle.
The club's 13th flag is in sight at last with a 7-3 record and the prized scalp of beaten Grand Finalists Adelaide.
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Their five-game winning streak after a 2-3 start to the season has drawn comparisons to the mighty Geelong team of 2007.
The Cats opened that season with the same win-loss record then famously swept all before them and inflicted a record-breaking beat down on Port Adelaide in the Grand Final.
Melbourne has arrived as a genuine premiership contender in the eyes of many after the run of impressive wins.
But star ruckman Max Gawn feels like that has been the case for a while.
"Before round one we knew that we were a team that would be able to compete with the best in the AFL," Gawn said.
"Unfortunately in round four and five we took a step back, but we've been good since then."
Dealing with expectation has been something of an Achilles heel for the Demons in the past.
They're certainly not getting ahead of themselves but Gawn has no issues with the hype around his team's form.
"It doesn't faze me too much and I'm sure it doesn't faze too many of the boys," he said.
"But it is pretty exciting that we can be in games with the Grand Finalist of last year."
The 91-point drubbing was the Crows' biggest loss under Don Pyke and extended Melbourne's run of winning quarters to 18.
It was also the first time in the club's history they've recorded back-to-back wins of more than 90 points.
It was another example of the new-found killer instinct Simon Goodwin demanded after he sensed his players were happy to coast to wins.
The Demons have the League's most potent attack after 10 rounds.
Over the course of their five-game winning streak, they've averaged 133 points a game - across the past three matches that figure jumps to an awe-inspiring 150.
"I think it's hit-outs to advantage that has a direct correlation to the scoring," Gawn said with a broad smile.
"It's probably the way that we're moving the ball, to be honest.
"We were boring with our ball movement (earlier in the season) and it was something that we needed to fix."
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