Melbourne will host Geelong in a home elimination final after steamrolling GWS by 45 points at the MCG to secure fifth spot on the AFL ladder.



The Demons were reduced to two men on the bench for Sunday afternoon’s second half but ran riot in the third quarter, piling on five unanswered goals on the way to a 15.12 (102) to 8.9 (57) triumph in front of a 37,285-strong crowd.



Melbourne will take on the Cats at the MCG in the first week of the finals while GWS, who finish the season in seventh place, face a sudden-death clash with cross-town rivals Sydney.



The Dees head into their first finals campaign since 2006 full of confidence after backing up last week’s win over West Coast with an imperious performance against the Giants.



Brownlow Medal contender Max Gawn continued his superb season with 37 hitouts, 18 disposals and a goal, Christian Petracca and Tom McDonald each booted three majors, and Angus Brayshaw (32 touches) was prolific in the midfield.



Prime mover Stephen Coniglio (32 disposals, two goals) was influential for GWS but Josh Kelly (19 touches) became the latest star to struggle under a hard tag by James Harmes. Giants ruckman Rory Lobb played no part in the fourth quarter.

Melbourne lost Dean Kent to a shoulder injury in the opening minutes while Dom Tyson (wrist) joined him in the rooms late in the second term. But it mattered little with the Giants looking out of their depth in just their second appearance at the MCG this season after beating Collingwood in round two.

Melbourne led by just 13 points after a tight first half but their dominance at the contests always looked likely to pay off eventually. The Giants’ woes were exemplified late in the third quarter when Jeremy Cameron looked to handpass to Zac Langdon in front of an open goal but failed to hit the target, prompting jeers from the Melbourne faithful.

GWS were missing at least eight members of their best 22 but star forward Toby Greene, veterans Brett Deledio and Matt de Boer, and key defenders Aidan Corr and Sam Taylor are listed to return for week one of the finals.

Liam Ryan kicked three goals for the Eagles as West Coast secured second spot on the AFL ladder. Photograph: Darren England/AAP

Earlier, West Coast locked up second spot on the AFL ladder with a breezy 26-point win over Brisbane. It was an ideal pre-finals tune-up for the Eagles, who fended off a Lions outfit that had saved one of their sloppiest performances all year for last.

The 14.14 (98) to 11.6 (72) result on Sunday afternoon ensures West Coast will play two finals at Optus Stadium, starting with a qualifying final against Collingwood.

The Lions lacked poise when the game was on the line and trailed by as much as 44 points just before three-quarter time.

West Coast midfield trio Dom Sheed (30 disposals), Jack Redden (29 disposals) and Luke Shuey (27 disposals) ran riot, contributing 21 of the team’s 42 clearances. Up forward, Jack Darling kicked four goals while Jamie Cripps and Liam Ryan chipped in with three apiece.

For Brisbane, it was a disappointing end to a promising season. They were keen to at least shape the top four in their final assignment of 2018, and given the vast improvements they have made in coach Chris Fagan’s second campaign at the helm, it was rightly billed as a danger game for the Eagles.

It certainly looked like one during the first quarter, with the lead changing hands six times as players came to terms with the slippery conditions after a morning of heavy rain.

But West Coast killed off the contest in just the second term, booting four goals and restricting the Lions to two behinds to lead by 35 points at the long break.

They were never in any real doubt after that, although Brisbane rallied in the last quarter and outscored West Coast four goals to two to give the 16,367-strong Gabba crowd something to cheer about.

Dayne Beams was best for the Lions with a game-high 32 touches. But the man who replaced him as captain, Dayne Zorko, struggled again under the pressure of a heavy tag and was kept to just 16 disposals by Mark Hutchings.