Melbourne is wreaking havoc in Tasmania as Hawthorn sinks into a Saturday from hell.
The Hawks may have had their premiership credentials wiped from the slate after a torrid first half of football at their home-away-from-home at the University of Tasmania Stadium in Launceston.
The Demons have cut an insipid Hawks side to shreds to lead by 77 points at the halfway mark of the match.
Coming into the Round 17 fixture, Hawthorn was in form, coming off back-to-back wins and sitting in third spot on the ladder.
But the Hawks, who have already lost to the Dees this season in Round 10 by 39 points, were annihilated in the first two quarters of Saturday's game.
At halftime, Melbourne led the disposals 199-150, inside 50s 37-23, clearances 24-9 and marks 54-37.
The most damning statistics, however, were that the Dees also led the Hawks in tackles (34-28) and contested marks (11-3), showing the host's unwillingness to fight in the air and without the ball.
All of these statistics have led to an incredible scoreline of 9-86 at halftime on the Hawks' home turf - a usual fortress for the club.
Returning star Jack Gunston (one disposal in the first half) was locked down entirely by Melbourne's Daniel Turner.
Without Nick Watson by their side, the likes of Jack Ginnivan and Dylan Moore could only accumulate five disposals between them.
While Hawthorn will deserve all the scathing criticism coming its way for the performance against a fellow contender, Melbourne, likewise, deserves all the credit coming its way.
The Dees were magnificent in the first half as they produced an effort and output even the most one-eyed Melbourne fan could not have seen coming.
The bizarre encounter continued in the second half, as the Dees pushed the margin out to 96 points at one stage.
However, as the car-crash style match continued, the Hawks, to their credit, somehow stopped the momentum and reversed the roles.
Hawthorn kicked 12 goals in a row to nearly drag itself back into the contest, before Melbourne finished the game with the final two majors to ice it 90-125.
Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell said in the post-game press conference that his side has a way to go to become the league's best.
"There will be some of us that will want to look at the second half, but we need to be realistic of where we are at," he said.
"I'd like to think that's not where we are at. We continue to be a work in progress and we had some changes to the side today which took us a little while to settle into.
"We recognise that we have some work to do to become the best side in the competition, which is what we strive for, because we are not there yet.
"Melbourne weren't playing for a lot after three-quarter time are they? They know they have the game sown up pretty much. We kicked a few good goals and did a few nice things, but I wouldn't read too much into it. I don't think that was the reality of the game."
