{"id":586821,"date":"2026-04-05T10:07:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T10:07:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/586821\/"},"modified":"2026-04-05T10:07:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T10:07:13","slug":"demons-spoil-suns-undefeated-run-with-20-point-easter-sunday-mcg-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/586821\/","title":{"rendered":"Demons spoil Suns\u2019 undefeated run with 20-point Easter Sunday MCG win"},"content":{"rendered":"

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An inspired Melbourne have spoiled Gold Coast\u2019s undefeated run and notched a sensational win, prevailing at the MCG on Easter Sunday by 20 points.<\/p>\n

Revitalised under new coach Steven King and energised by captain Max Gawn<\/a> \u2013 who played his 250th game last week in the comeback win over Carlton \u2013 Melbourne shone with a fast handball game and an age-defying performance from veteran Jake Melksham.<\/p>\n

\"JakeJake Melksham takes a sensational mark in the third term. Getty Images<\/p>\n

In the words of Suns coach Damien Hardwick, the \u201cunderestimated\u201d Demons \u201cabsolutely spanked\u201d their opponents in the middle as they held on to win 16.13 (109) to 14.5 (89), defying predictions and denying the visitors an expected victory.<\/p>\n

Only 24,287 were on hand at the MCG on Sunday, but the roar of the Demons\u2019 faithful sounded far louder.<\/p>\n

King said he hoped the team and fans were excited by the season so far \u2013 the Demons are now 3-1 \u2013 but noted they weren\u2019t pursuing perfection on the field.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re never sure how quickly it can click and to get it to this point so far is pretty encouraging,\u201d King said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got an amazing coaching group that believe in their players and I think the players now are starting to believe in themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

He highlighted the team\u2019s camaraderie and said players were eager to celebrate each other\u2019s achievements.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat you\u2019re after is a group of people who believe in each other and want to play for each other and I think we are starting to see that unfold in front of our eyes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Melksham told Fox Footy that Melbourne\u2019s game plan under King had changed, with a greater emphasis on freedom to move the ball<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a forward, the way we\u2019re moving it helps old guys like me still look somewhat young,\u201d Melksham joked.<\/p>\n

\"MattMatt Rowell tackles Christian Salem.AFL Photos via Getty Images<\/p>\n

The Suns felt the absence of star midfielder Christian Petracca<\/a>, who would have come up against his old team for the first time since leaving last off-season but missed with a hamstring injury. But they did welcome back Brownlow medallist Matt Rowell for the first time this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought we looked a little bit flat to start, and probably that went throughout the game \u2026 we just couldn\u2019t get our game up and going,\u201d Hardwick said. \u201cSo what that comes down to, I don\u2019t really know, but what I do know it\u2019s hard to defend when they [Melbourne] move the ball so well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Not<\/a><\/p>\n

Despite the loss, Hardwick said his team loved playing at the MCG and said Gold Coast \u201cshould be rewarded with more games here\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Suns enjoyed a bright start and were first on the scoreboard with a clean grab and goal from Ben King followed by another from Ethan Read as Melbourne missed several opportunities.<\/p>\n

There were cheers from the small but dedicated group of Gold Coast fans at the MCG for No.2 draft pick Zeke Uwland, who kicked his fist AFL goal to boost the Suns\u2019 first-quarter lead.<\/p>\n

But a snap on the siren from Christian Salem cut the margin to single digits and left Melbourne in prime position to pounce. An inspired second quarter, featuring back-to-back goals from 34-year-old Melksham, followed by another from Harvey Langford, put the Demons ahead.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"In<\/a><\/p>\n

Gold Coast upped the pressure in the second half, but suffered from errors and gave away several 50-metre penalties, which halted their momentum. The Demons took advantage with a goal from their skipper and a running snap from Kysaiah Pickett to extend their lead at three-quarter-time.<\/p>\n

The depleted Suns looked completely out of steam during the fourth quarter, failing to capitalise on key moments and missing key shots at goal, while a frustrated Hardwick looked on in the coaches\u2019 box.<\/p>\n

A thrilling final-quarter effort from Melksham, aided by goals from Langford and Pickett, sealed a season-making win for the Demons in front of a roaring home crowd.<\/p>\n

Next up for Melbourne is a match-up against the beleaguered Bombers in next weekend\u2019s Gather Round in South Australia.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a six-day break now, we travel, our challenge now is to win on the road,\u201d King said.<\/p>\n

The Suns will have to rebound against the ladder-leading Swans, who are coming off a thrashing of West Coast.<\/p>\n

Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"HannahHannah Kennelly<\/a> is an award-winning sports reporter and Formula 1 writer at The Age.Connect via email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":586822,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[64,63,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-586821","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586821","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=586821"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586821\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/586822"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=586821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=586821"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=586821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}