MELBOURNE ran riot and then fell off a cliff, before escaping with a 35-point win over Hawthorn at the Hawks' home-away-from-home fortress in Launceston.

The Demons opened up a staggering 86-9 lead at half-time on Saturday afternoon and led by as much as 96 points in the third quarter, with veteran ruckman Max Gawn dominating an injury-hit Hawthorn. 

HAWKS v DEMONS Full match coverage and stats

However, the Hawks came to life midway through the third quarter, going on a run of 12 straight goals and threatening the unlikeliest of victories. 

Hawthorn's Mabior Chol booted five goals in the streak, but it proved a gap too far with the Demons ultimately claiming a 19.11 (125) to 14.6 (90) win. 

Melbourne's Jacob van Rooyen and Bayley Fritsch both kicked five goals, while veteran Gawn was unstoppable in the ruck in the first half and picked off intercept marks at will. 

van Rooyen also had 24 touches (14 contested), eight marks and 10 score involvements to go with his five-goal haul as sixth-placed Melbourne moved to 10-6 for the season. 

The result snapped Hawthorn's 12-game winning streak at UTAS Stadium, but it maintains third spot on the ladder.

It was Melbourne's first visit to the venue, where the Hawks boasted 67 wins from 88 starts coming into the game. 

The win also snapped a horror travel record for the Demons, who had five losses from as many matches outside Victoria so far this season before Saturday's win. 

Melbourne came flying out of the blocks in a seven-goals-to-one first quarter against a sluggish Hawthorn, winning inside-50s 21-12.

The Demons had seven individual goal scorers for a 47-8 lead at the first break - their best opening quarter of the season and Hawthorn's worst. 

The damage kept coming in the second term with Melbourne notching a six-goal-to-none quarter - Hawthorn's solitary point came when Will McCabe hit the post. 

Fritsch increased his goal tally to four, while Harrison Petty got his second as they stretched their lead to 86-9 at the main break. 

van Rooyen came to life in the third quarter with a brace of goals to help increase Melbourne's margin to 96 midway through the term.

The Hawks' worst result in Launceston, a 75-point loss to St Kilda in 2017, appeared at risk, before they finally got something going. 

Chol kicked two goals late in the third as Hawthorn went on a stunning run to make Melbourne supporters nervous.

A tale of two halves
Melbourne came to play in a blistering opening half, dictating play to set up a 77-point lead at the main break. It was the biggest half-time margin for any team this season, and the Demons' second biggest half-time lead in history, built on the back of a dominant inside-50 count (37-23), clearances (26-9) and contested possessions (82-52). But as the Demons stretched the margin out to a game-high 96 points early in the third quarter, the Hawks somehow found another gear and almost pulled off the unbelievable. They kicked 12 unanswered goals either side of three-quarter time to pull the margin back to 24 points, but the Demons snuffed out the late charge, kicking the last two goals of the game.

Double debut for Hawks
Hawthorn unveiled two debutants at UTAS Stadium, with Noah Mraz and Matt Hill earning their first opportunities amid a mounting injury toll at the club. Mraz, taken by the Hawks with pick No.35 in the 2024 draft, was one of Hawthorn's standouts. The composed defender impressed with his reading of the play, finishing with 12 marks - including six contested and seven intercept marks - to go with nine intercept possessions in a cool and composed debut. Hill, a Rugby League convert, made an energetic start to the game and almost marked the occasion with a goal from his first disposal, but his snap drifted narrowly wide.

HAWTHORN    1.2   1.3     5.5    14.6 (90)
MELBOURNE   7.5   13.8   17.11  19.11 (125)

GOALS
Hawthorn: Chol 5, Ward 2, Ginnivan 2, Macdonald, Lewis, Gunston, Day, Dalton
Melbourne: van Rooyen 5, Fritsch 5, Sharp 2, L.Pickett 2, Petty 2, Laurie, Langdon, Jefferson

BEST
Hawthorn: Ward, Chol, Mraz, Hardwick, Newcombe
Melbourne: van Rooyen, Gawn, Petty, Fritsch, Sparrow, Jiath

INJURIES
Hawthorn: Nil
Melbourne: Nil

Crowd: TBC at UTAS Stadium