Melbourne has opened its 2020 campaign in style with a comfortable 33-point victory over Adelaide in their Marsh Community Series opener on Saturday.

The Crows led by nine points at half-time of the clash at Casey Fields before the Demons turned it on in the second half to run out 15.13 (103) to 10.10 (70) winners.

05:44

Christian Petracca looks to have gone to a new level with arguably his best performance.

The exciting Demon played heavy minutes in the midfield and racked up 38 disposals and three goals in the win.

Wayne Milera was the cleanest operator for the Crows, rarely missing a target with his 29 disposals.

Adelaide's forward line had a new look, as Ben Davis showed plenty of promising signs with two first-half goals.

00:29

Crows rookie Patrick Wilson adjusted with the blustery conditions and nailed a beautiful set shot from 50 metres. 

Adelaide's Chayce Jones (16 disposals) and Tyson Stengle (nine disposals) showed glimpses with a goal each. 

Ed Langdon (19 disposals and a goal) looked right at home for the Demons, while fellow new recruit Adam Tomlinson was a solid with 16 disposals.

Jake Lever showed his former club what they were missing with three huge intercept marks in the first quarter, but tapered off as the game went along. 

NEW FACES 

Melbourne: Langdon was the best of the new crop for Melbourne off a wing, while Tomlinson ran hard all day. Brown's start was excellent and after a quiet patch, he snared a third goal late.
Adelaide: Ben Crocker kicked two goals and exposed Neville Jetta for pace at times. Ned McHenry and Ben Keays spent the first half on the bench, but Keays found a bit of the ball once he got on the park.

FANTASY WATCH 

James Harmes (MID $698,000) spent more time on the wing and across half-back to cater for Petracca's move to the midfield. As a result, he finished with 61 AFL Fantasy points from 13 disposals. 
Wayne Milera (DEF/MID $570,000) was a standout for the Crows and looks very comfortable as a rebounding defender. Although it was only 89 AFL Fantasy points, he might be a nice point of difference.

NEXT UP 

Adelaide kicks off a Friday evening double-header hosting the Suns at the Flinders University Stadium at 4.50pm AEDT, while the Demons will head to the University of Tasmania Stadium to face the Hawks at 7.40pm AEDT.

 

MELBOURNE 3.6 5.7 11.10 15.13 (103)
ADELAIDE      
2.0 7.4 9.7 10.10 (70)

GOALS 
Melbourne: 
T.McDonald, Brown, Jones, Petracca 3, Pickett, Langdon, Sparrow
Adelaide: 
Crocker, Davis 2, Stengle, Murphy, Wilson, Himmelberg, Jones, B.Crouch

BEST
Melbourne: 
Petracca, Oliver,, Viney, Jones, Langdon, Weideman
Adelaide: 
Milera, B.Crouch, Atkins, M.Crouch, R. O'Brien, Gibbs

INJURIES 
Melbourne: Jones (leg)
Adelaide: Nil

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Wallace, Haussen, Hosking, Fleer 

Official crowd: 3095 at Casey Fields