Melbourne’s impressive start to 2016 has seen newspaper columns and talkback discussions dominated with red and blue, particularly in the wake of the Demons’ stunning victory over Richmond on Anzac Day eve.

For the first time since Round 14, 2011, Melbourne recorded consecutive victories when they produced a commanding performance to eclipse the Tigers by 33-points at the MCG, taking their season to 3-2 after five rounds.

Aside from their upset loss to Essendon in Round 2, Melbourne has established themselves as one of the premier clearance sides in the competition. The combination of behemoth ruckman Max Gawn and raging bull Jack Viney at his feet has transformed the Demons into a team capable of taking it up to anyone, on any day.

On the back of Gawn’s blistering start to 2016, who Champion Data rank as the 2^nd best ruckman in the AFL behind All Australian Todd Goldstein, and the work of Viney and Nathan Jones, Melbourne has been red-hot around the stoppages. The Demons are ranked third for hitouts differential (+12), second for hitouts to advantage differential (+5.6), fourth for clearances differential (+3.2) and fourth for scores from clearances differential (+11).

Paul Roos’ defensive-centric game plan has continued its evolution this season, following a higher scoring trend in the game, but the Demons have continued to restrict opposition scoring, with an eighth ranking for points against in 2016.

Melbourne has held four of their five opponents to under 100-points thus far, with the abnormally high scoring affair against North Melbourne the exception, where the Dees lost 136-131 in a nail-biter at Blundstone Arena.

Budding superstar Jesse Hogan may have attracted the lion share of the external attention across the summer months, but it’s another highly touted forward who has produced the goods in the early stages of the year. 2008 No. 1 pick Jack Watts is in career best form, having booted 12 goals so far in 2016 to look far more settled inside 50, alongside Hogan.

After being dropped twice last season, including in Round 23, speculation mounted over the trade period regarding where Watts would play this season. He stayed at AAMI Park and the results have been profound early.

Triple best and fairest winner Nathan Jones used to be a lone operator inside Melbourne’s engine room. How times have changed. Viney has been elite early this year, Dom Tyson has been doing it for a while, and then there’s the young trio of top-five picks Clayton Oliver, Angus Brayshaw and Christian Petracca – the latter will make his long awaited debut at Etihad Stadium on Saturday. The Dees are building a midfield war chest.

And whilst Jones has been the Demons best player for quite some time now, Gawn is arguably one of their most important now. The monster ruckman leads the AFL for hitouts to advantage (16.0) and total hitouts (40.8), and is ranked second for hitout winning percentage (51.4 per cent). Along with Goldstein, he is the most destructive big man in the game at the minute.

Star:

In an era prior to the father-son bidding system, Melbourne secured Jack Viney with selection No. 26 in the 2012 National Draft. Already that is a bargain, but by the end of this year it might be one of the most economical picks in recent history. Viney’s start to 2016 has been blistering, with the tough as nails onballer making a sizeable contribution in all three victories.

After five rounds, the son of a gun is averaging 29 possessions (most at Melbourne), 15.8 contested possessions (3^rd in the AFL), seven clearances (6^th in the AFL), 4.6 centre square clearances (1^st in the AFL) and 5.6 tackles (2^nd most at Melbourne). The 22-year-old’s start to the season has been so destructive he has accumulated the equal second most votes in the AFL Coaches Association award, behind Gold Coast leader Tom Lynch. His work in tandem with Gawn has played a pivotal role in the Demons ascension this season, and after five rounds you’d be hard pressed to not find the pair in experts All Australian sides at this stage of proceedings.

Fresh faces:

Rarely has a debut been so highly anticipated. But after enduring a full knee reconstruction after being taken with the second pick in the 2014 draft, Christian Petracca has been forced to wait and wait. Finally, the wait is over, with the explosive midfielder set to be unleashed against the Saints on Saturday. Paul Roos has kept the Victorian on a tight leash in the early stages of the season, electing to play Petracca with Casey Scorpions, before giving him the nod during the week after a month of football in the VFL. At 186cm and 95kg, the powerfully built midfielder is an enthralling proposition and should develop into another piece of the Demons evolving midfield jigsaw puzzle.

Match up:

Max Gawn may be the most talked about ruckman in the game at the minute, but Tom Hickey’s rise in the first five rounds of the season must not be underestimated. Hickey has grasped the No. 1 ruck mantle at the Saints and is the 5^th ranked ruckman in the game, according to Champion Data, behind Gawn in second position. But whilst Gawn dominates a number of key indicators, including hitouts and hitouts to advantage, Hickey ranks fifth for hitouts (32.8) and fourth for hitouts to advantage (12.0). Given Gawn’s supremacy in the opening stages of this season, their duel on Saturday could go a long way to determining the outcome of the encounter and will have a telling say in who wins the stoppage battle.