All the talk pre-match was about the debut of last year's top-two draft picks, but Melbourne's Tom Scully and Jack Trengove were well and truly upstaged on Saturday by an unheralded rookie desperate for a precious second chance at AFL level.
First-gamer Carl Peterson dazzled in Hawthorn's thumping 56-point win - 17.15 (117) to 8.13 (61) - which was as much an embarrassment for the hapless Demons as it was a triumph for the Hawks.
Luke Hodge was Hawthorn's best ball-winner with a game-high 34 touches while Jarryd Roughead, who also helped out at the stoppages, top-scored with three goals.
Cameron Bruce, James Frawley and Trengove, who looked very much at home at AFL level without having a huge influence on the result, all had 23 disposals for Melbourne, while skipper James McDonald and youngster Jordie McKenzie racked-up 21 tackles between them.
Rested for much of the second half, Peterson was devastating in the first when the Hawks fed off his energy to establish a match-winning lead.
Lightly-built and super-quick, Peterson gathered 15 first-half touches, five marks, four frees and one goal as a half-forward and was even called-on to pinch hit in the ruck to give the Hawks' only specialist, Brent Renouf, a chop out.
At just six-foot on the old scale, he was unfazed about having to concede 20cm to Demon Jake Spencer at a couple of centre bounces.
And there may be more ruckwork in prospect in the coming weeks after Renouf spent the final term on the bench icing his groin.
Unable to make an impact in one year on the list at Richmond in 2007 after being recruited from Claremont, Peterson was released and headed north to Darwin.
The Hawks spotted him playing for St Mary's, picked him up in the 2008 rookie draft and, after enduring an injury-interrupted season last year, the 22-year-old, it seems, is ready to explode.
If Saturday's effort is any guide, Melbourne is surely headed for a third successive wooden spoon.
Taking on a Hawthorn line-up fielding just the one ruckman and deprived of the services of Lance Franklin, Brad Sewell, Shaun Burgoyne and Chance Bateman, among others, the Demons must have fancied their chances of an upset.
But they were never in it.
The trend was set early when the Demons managed just four possessions in their attacking 50 in the opening term for a net return of three behinds.
The Hawks had six goals on the board at quarter time and the contest was as good as over there and then.
Melbourne's cause wasn't helped when Brad Green was KO'd 12 minutes into the contest after sliding into Jarrod Kayler-Thomson's hip in pursuit of the loose ball.
Stretchered from the field, the veteran's afternoon appeared over, but he was back in action before half-time and even managed to soccer through the Demons' second goal for the afternoon 10 minutes into the third quarter.
By that stage, the Hawks were already 80 points in front.
They eased to the finish line after conceding four 'junk time' goals to the Demons in the final term.
Hawthorn debutant Rhan Hooper had 14 possessions and scored two handy goals but earned his keep for his defensive pressure alone.
No.1 draft pick Scully made a nervous start and committed several early fumbles but adapted to the pace to finish with 20 possessions.
MELBOURNE: 0.3, 1.6, 4.9, 8.13 (61)
HAWTHORN: 6.3, 10.8, 15.14, 17.15 (117)
GOALS: Melbourne: Green 2, Petterd 2, Miller 2, Jamar, McKenzie
Hawthorn: Roughead 3, Brown 3, Moss 2, Osborne 2, Hooper 2, Ladson, Peterson, Hodge, Morton, Mitchell
BEST: Melbourne: Bruce, McDonald, Jamar, Frawley, Macdonald
Hawthorn: Hodge, Peterson, Lewis, Mitchell, Ellis, Roughead, Gibson
INJURIES: Melbourne: Rivers (ribs)
Hawthorn: Nil
REPORTS: Nil
CHANGES: Nil
UMPIRES: McLaren, Stewart, Kamolins
CROWD: 45,615 at the MCG