West Coast catapulted themselves back to the top of the AFL ladder and handed Melbourne their worst start to a season in 34 years after a 77-point win on Sunday.

The Eagles bounced back from their first loss of the year against Geelong to inflict further pain on the Demons' already dismal season. West Coast dictated the play throughout, Chris Judd and Daniel Kerr leading the way with 31 and 29 possessions respectively.

Despite being off target for most of the day, Quinten Lynch was the spark-up forward for the reigning Premiers, kicking five goals in a return to form. The Eagles will sweat on tribunal results throughout the week after Kerr was reported early in the opening term.

The Eagles came into the match following the news that Grand Final star Andrew Embley would miss at least a month of football after undergoing surgery on his troubled knee. On a brighter note, the Premiers welcomed back ruckman Dean Cox and midfielder Chad Fletcher after dropping the out of form Steven Armstrong.

Melbourne also had their troubles during the week after Byron Picket was suspended for a month by the club following a personal indiscretion before last week’s match. West Coast came into the match short-priced favorites against a Melbourne side desperate for its first win of the season.

The Eagles opened the stronger in the first quarter with key playmakers Judd and Kerr getting early touches and Ashley Hansen opening the scoring with a goal at the three-minute mark. Melbourne had no answers to the Eagles early run with West Coast doubling the possession rate of their opponents. Kerr found himself on report following a front-on charge, an incident that sent shockwaves through the competition’s Brownlow medal betting.

Melbourne captain David Neitz opened the scoring for his team and brought the margin back to within a goal despite the Eagles’ domination of the game in the early stages. Melbourne’s run was halted by two goals from Eagles full forward Lynch, who has been off target in recent weeks.

The signs became more ominous for Melbourne after goals to Kerr and David Wirrapanda stretched the lead beyond five goals. However, the Eagles’ inaccuracy in front of goal was giving the scoreboard some respectability. At the first break it was a dominant Eagles team leading by 32 points.

The final quarter saw Melbourne again starting strongly, kicking the first two goals through ruckman Jeff White and Sylvia, who continued his strong second-half performance. However, the Eagles showed they were not going to be outplayed in the final term, kicking three goals in the early stages through Morton, Tyson Stenglein and Shannon Hurn and extending the lead beyond 50 points.

The Eagles’ class continued to prevail in the final quarter with their continual hard running and strong pressure leading to goals to Judd and Lynch. The scoreboard continued to look darker for Melbourne as the match entered its final stages, with another goal to Judd handing the Eagles a comfortable 77-point victory.

Next week the Eagles make the longest road trip in football to play Hawthorn in Tasmania on Saturday, while Melbourne return home in search of their first win when they face a Kangaroos side in good form at the MCG on Sunday.

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