Melbourne have posted three-straight AFL wins for the first time in four years, stunning Brisbane by 50 points on Saturday night at the MCG.

The Demons led from the start and were outstanding with their run and defensive pressure, handing the Lions their first loss of the season, 15.13 (103) to 7.11 (53).

Captain James McDonald and their No.1 draft pick Tom Scully sealed the win with goals a minute apart midway through the final quarter.

It is also four years since Melbourne last made the finals.

No.2 draft pick Jack Trengove and fellow midfielders Nathan Jones and Brent Moloney starred for the emerging Demons, who held off a second-half challenge from Brisbane.

Melbourne were expected to receive a reality check from Brisbane after two-straight wins, but dictated terms from the start with great run and relentless pressure.

Brendan Fevola kicked four goals for the Lions, but the Melbourne defence did a great job on Fevola and fellow key forward Jonathan Brown.

There was speculation during the week that Brown might not play and he was clearly not at his best.

Brown led the goalkicking after four rounds, but only managed one goal against Melbourne.

After a poor round-one performance against Hawthorn, they nearly upset Collingwood and then beat Adelaide and Richmond before this weekend.

When Jordie McKenzie goaled on the run five minutes into the third term, the Demons led by 42 points.

The Lions then kicked two-straight goals for the first time in the game to stay in the contest.

An outstanding piece of play from Jones, who goaled from 50m after breaking clear at a stoppage, and a long goal from Matthew Bate took the Demons lead to 43 points at 16 minutes.

Just when the Lions looked shot, they kicked the last two goals of the third term to stay in the contest with a 28-point deficit.

Brown had a set shot late in the third quarter to reduce the margin to 23, but his behind was a big miss for Brisbane.

The Demons had stunned the Lions in the first half, leading by 36 points at the main break.

Melbourne continually put massive pressure on Brisbane whenever they went forward, meaning Brown and Fevola rarely had good supply.

The Lions lost key defender Daniel Merrett in the second quarter with a leg injury.

While Brown played, the two sides made one late change apiece - Rohan Bail dropped out of Melbourne's side for Stefan Martin and Albert Proud took Justin Sherman's place in the Lions lineup.

The Melbourne fans were singing the club song in the grandstands before the final siren and club president Jim Stynes, who had neurosurgery earlier this month, also led a rousing rendition in the changerooms post-match.

Brisbane were coming off some hard matches, but coach Michael Voss said there were no excuses for their performance against Melbourne.

"It was a largely-inept performance, really, when you look at it, it was embarrassing," Voss said.

"They (Melbourne) were very impressive in the way they went about it.

"I certainly didn't see that performance coming, that's for sure ... this is a really good reality check for us."

Voss added that Brown was fit to play, but was made to look slow because Brisbane moved the ball into attack so poorly.

"He was fit enough, he was right to go," Voss said.

"It wasn't Jonathan Brown's fitness, it was certainly the way we moved the ball.

"We were very stagnant and the opposition, their pressure was very good.

"When you're moving the ball slow and half-backs are dropping off and able to sweep out, anyone looks slow."

Demons coach Dean Bailey was measured with his post-match comments, praising his players for their intensity.

"Their pressure was good, we knew we had to keep the pressure up when you've got two outstanding (opposition) forwards," he said.

"The boys worked hard for the whole game and they got their reward in the end."

This was Bailey's 10th win since he started coaching Melbourne two years ago and he was asked if this was the most important for him.

"You can count them up, how many we've had, we haven't had too many - they're all important," he said.

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