Melbourne have spoiled Adelaide's hopes of securing their first win of the year in front of a raging home crowd to open Gather Round.
The Demons' forwards clicked into gear after a quiet opening term to see Bayley Fritsch, Kysaiah Pickett and Jacob van Rooyen leave Adelaide Oval with multiple goals each.
The win sees Melbourne record their fourth straight victory of the season, while Adelaide remain chasing their maiden win of 2024 after an underwhelming opening to Gather Round for the locals.
As Melbourne's usuals in Christian Petracca, Steven May and Max Gawn led the charge for the Demons to help set up a strong attacking second half, the Crows couldn't capitalise on their range of chances in the front third early.
The home side had 29 forward 50 entries in the opening half for a return of just three majors to the main break, with Adelaide ending the evening with 54 inside 50s for eight goals.
A pair of 50-metre penalties also cost the Crows, with the two infringements both directly leading to improved shots on goal that were converted by van Rooyen and Fritsch.
Adelaide fought their way back into the contest to be as close as 13 points with six minutes remaining on the clock, however the home side failed to capitalise on momentum.
The Crows' woes could be compounded after young defender Patrick Parnell was unable to see out the game due to a suspected shoulder injury.
While contesting for a loose ball, Parnell's arm was hurt in an attempt to push off Demons forward Kysaiah Pickett.
Pickett himself faces an uncertain wait, with a high bump on Crow Jake Soligo likely to be examined by the AFL's Match Review Officer.
After starting the game visibly hampered by a recent rib injury, the aforementioned May shook off any early concerns to piece together a strong outing in his return from the ailment.
South Australian Demons Petty, Pickett, Alex Neal-Bullen, Tom Sparrow and Kade Chandler each had their own contributions on the local stage, with the latter converting a long-range goal in the second term to ignite a four-goal run.
The 15-point win places Melbourne on top of the ladder at the cessation of the first game of Round 4, while the Crows will head into a Round 5 bout with a currently undefeated Carlton unit while still chasing their first win of the year.
The Demons will return to Melbourne next week with eight points from their two-week trip to South Australia - having beaten both the Crows and Power on the road. Melbourne will face Brisbane at the MCG on Thursday before a Round 6 bye.
