Christian Petracca's serious internal injuries and likely extended spell on the sidelines is certainly a bitter blow to Melbourne.
A fatal one? Well, if the tide of popular opinion about the Demons is any guide, Tuesday's news about the Demon star could have been displayed alongside the popular Simpsons meme: "Stop, stop, he's already dead!"
Indeed, the obituaries were being prepared even before the extent of Petracca's rib injury had been confirmed.
Within hours of Monday's loss to Collingwood, we had "season on the ropes", "potential dynasty squandered", along with the now-obligatory deliberately-over-the-top but clickable Kane Cornes criticism, this one about the Demons daring to shake Magpie defender Brayden Maynard's hand before the bounce.
If you believe the latter was pivotal to Monday's result, you'll probably also buy the "season in tatters" line. Both are rubbish, the first because we're in the 21st century and not on the film set of "Rocky", the latter because the Demons remain outside the eight on percentage only and with 10 games left.
If that's tatters, Western Bulldogs, Hawthorn and Brisbane, all a game or behind Melbourne on the ladder, might as well pack up and head off on their end-of-season trips now.
People in the football commentary business really do have goldfish memories sometimes. How well was Carlton, now second on the ladder, perceived to be travelling a few weeks ago when the Blues had lost four of six games and just been belted by 52 points by Sydney?
Remember how Collingwood apparently could no longer win the 2024 premiership after three losses to open the new season? Geelong has now lost five of six. We putting a line through the Cats too?
Do we not remember that last year, Carlton and GWS, both eventual preliminary finalists, were both 15th on the AFL ladder, the Giants after 12 rounds and the Blues as late as Round 15?
None of which is to suggest that Melbourne doesn't have some major issues to address right now after four losses in its past five games, its badly underperforming forward set-up, for one, the most obvious, but also its once mighty midfield group floundering badly.
But why is there such insistence the Demons are incapable of fixing things up when those other teams in those down periods haven't been written off to nearly the same extent?
Sometimes I think it's because such failure would help feed further the popular narrative that an old board stoush, a couple of wayward players and two consecutive "straight sets" elimination from the finals is all part of an implosion.
Isn't it possible, though, however unfashionable, to frame an alternative story? One about a team which, even rarely at its best so far this season, has still found enough to knock over Western Bulldogs by 45 points, Port Adelaide on its home deck, and inflict Geelong's first defeat of the season?
Even Monday's loss by 38 points had the capacity to play out with a significant difference. Melbourne, after all, did have 24 shots to the Pies' 22, the contrast in accuracy (6.15 to 14.5) stark, and the Demons hitting the post no less than five times.
Melbourne did lose the clearance and tackle counts comfortably, but also won contested ball just as decisively. After 13 rounds, the Demons are still in the top six ranked teams for fewest points conceded and indeed No. 1 for points conceded per opposition inside 50s. That's at least decent evidence that the entire house isn't falling down.
This week's bye for Melbourne is perfectly-timed, the ideal chance for coach Simon Goodwin and his charges to regroup and reset. The Demons' next three games are against North Melbourne, Brisbane away and West Coast at home.
As dangerous as it always is pitching too far ahead, you'd be pretty confident that at worst Melbourne will be 9-7 after that block of games, and needing only four more wins from there to reach finals again.
Would they do any damage were they to get there? Probably not in their current shape. But Petracca aside, is there really that much surgery needed?
Critical key defender Jake Lever will be back after the bye and part of a defence which continues to more than pull its weight. Another even more critical part of the engine now Petracca is missing for a spell is Clayton Oliver. Yes, he's down, too, but isn't it logical to assume that without a decent pre-season, his best may be at the back end of this year?
And while Melbourne is still struggling to put together a consistent and successful forward structure, it isn't like the potential parts don't exist. To that end, Jacob van Rooyen's three goals and nine marks on Monday might end up being a significant turning point.
Yes, Bayley Fritsch's last two games have returned one goal. He did, however, kick 1.4 against the Pies and averaged nearly 2.5 goals per game prior to the Fremantle loss. There's two more potentially very handy cards in the deck, too, in Jake Melksham and Ben Brown.
It's probably not a popular view, but I believe Melksham's ACL injury in the final home-and-away game last year potentially cost Melbourne a flag. He'd offered not only a difficult match-up and two goals per game to the Demons across nine games leading up to his loss, but his smarts seemed to straighten up the entire forward structure.
Melksham is due to resume playing post-bye, and while he'll obviously require some VFL time, could still play an important part in 2024. I'm not sure that's out of the question for Brown, either, whose form over the last two months of 2021 I believe was the single biggest improvement Melbourne made to go from contender to premier during the course of that season.
It's not lack of personnel or options that is the problem for Melbourne. It's simply form. And as several coaches like Geelong's Chris Scott have already acknowledged, in 2024, that graph may just be prone to rising and falling a little more often in a long and even season.
I reckon three months is more than enough time for Melbourne to find its feet again. Maybe that take on the Demons isn't as clickable as some. But I'd rather be right than controversial.
You can read more of Rohan Connolly's work at FOOTYOLOGY.