Melbourne captain Cameron Smith says his team smelt "blood in the water" as they dished out an 11-try thrashing of South Sydney to reaffirm their NRL title status.
Up 36-0 halftime, the minor premiers could have shut up shop at AAMI Park but instead they piled on another five tries for a 64-6 victory.
"That's one of the more complete performances that the team has played in quite a long time," Smith said.
"It was like there was a bit of blood in the water where the boys went for the kill and that's the pleasing thing.
"We could have put our feet up and counted down the last 40 minutes but we went straight back to work."
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Smith himself contributed 22 points, kicking nine from nine conversions as well as a first-half try while wingers Josh Addo-Carr and Suliasi Vunivalu scored five tries between them.
The NRL title looks Melbourne's to lose, given one of their nearest challengers Brisbane had 50 points put on them by Parramatta on Thursday night.
Coach Craig Bellamy refused to get carried away by the performance but admitted it was hard to fault the display.
"It's hard to be critical of anything we did tonight," Bellamy said.
Souths remain winless in 14 visits to Melbourne, with their coach Michael Maguire describing it as an "embarrassing lesson" for his team.
"They were very good, very clinical - typical Melbourne," he said.
"It gives us a fair idea of where we need to get to as a team."
Souths skipper Sam Burgess could also be in trouble after he was put on report for a second half tackle that left Felice Kaufusi dazed and sparked an all-in brawl.
"I don't think there was much in it. There was no intent but we'll see what happens," Burgess said.
