MELBOURNE has reaffirmed its credentials as a serious contender for this season’s title with thanks to a four-goal bag from Tayla Harris and a prolific performance from Tyla Hanks, comfortably accounting for St Kilda by 74 points on Saturday afternoon at Casey Fields.

After being taken to hospital following a nasty poke in the eye during last week’s 48-point win over the Western Bulldogs, Harris had her sights on a sizeable tally right from the get-go with three of her four majors kicked in the opening term to single-handedly outscore the Saints — and hand them its largest defeat in AFLW history — and propel her side to victory 13.11 (89) to 2.3 (15).

Harris' powerful presence in front of goal (4.4) and in the air, coupled with the Melbourne’s dominance in forward supply (42-18) and slick movement by hand (+77 uncontested possession), ultimately proved too much for the spirited Saints to overcome, despite stemming their opposition’s movements in patches.

But the win could come at the significant cost of star Demon Olivia Purcell, who was forced from the action just minutes prior to half-time after twisting her left knee while attempting to tackle St Kilda’s Georgia Patrikios.

Purcell, who has had a horrific run with injury following a sickening facial fracture sustained in a practice match last season, was a standout in the Dees’ early ascendancy with 14 touches and 261 metres gained by quarter-time, however was assisted from the field to bring an abrupt end to her best-on-ground performance.

Despite her absence, the Dees' engine room still functioned sublimely as the likes of Kate Hore (26 disposals, five clearances), Tyla Hanks (29 disposals, 12 tackles) and Paxy Paxman (20 disposals) gave Melbourne’s noticeably taller timber ample opportunities to stand above St Kilda’s overworked backline. 

Georgia Patrikios (19 disposals, one goal), Tyanna Smith (20) and J’Noemi Anderson (nine tackles) led the charge to stymie the Dees’ midfield momentum after half-time as Ella Friend was moved to onto the impressive Harris to good effect, but the Dees were simply a cut above from siren to siren to keep them to just two majors for the game.

It was only a week ago where the smooth-moving Saints had dispatched the highly fancied Adelaide at RSEA Park to open their account on a promising note, however Nick Dal Santo’s side couldn’t repeat the incredible feat, despite their effort at the contest remaining consistent throughout the afternoon.

After mustering just seven entries inside-50 for the opening half to Melbourne’s 27, St Kilda repaired the deficit to somewhat curb the Dees one-way traffic, but the Dees’ early scoreboard damage was too much to overcome.

Multiple majors from Eden Zanker and Georgia Gall added to Melbourne’s celebrations with emphatic style, and while an elusive five-goal haul from Harris went begging with minutes left on the clock, the final margin was more than enough to prove that Melbourne means business in 2025.

MELBOURNE   2.5    7.8     9.9     13.11 (89)
ST KILDA        1.0    1.1     2.2     2.3 (15)

GOALS
Melbourne: Harris 4, Zanker 2, Gall 2, Paxman, Hore, Johnson, Bannan, Fitzsimon
St Kilda: Anderson, Patrikios

BEST
Melbourne: Hanks, Harris, Hore, Zanker, Pearce, Paxman
St Kilda: Smith, Patrikios, Watson, Anderson

INJURIES
Melbourne: Purcell (knee)
St Kilda: Nil

LATE CHANGES
Melbourne: Nil
St Kilda: Natalie Plane replaced Darcy Guttridge (ankle soreness)