1. Ring a ding ding
Lachie Henderson was the Blues' dominant forward in the first half with three goals (and another couple in the fourth quarter), but it was Tom Bell who bobbed up as the X-factor in the second half. The athletic midfielder booted two goals in a minute midway through the third quarter, which got the Blues within two points before Andrejs Everitt kicked the major that gave them the lead. Bell then popped up again early in the fourth and intercepted a kick by Jack Billings, before he turned and increased the Blues' lead to 20 points with an accurate kick. Then, he made it four when he crashed through the pack after a stoppage deep in attack and got his foot to the ball while being dragged to the ground, which put the margin back to 21 points and all but sealed the game. 

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2. Skipper rises to the occasion
Marc Murphy spoke during the week about how special it was to play his first game on Anzac Day and lead his team into battle, and he played like he was inspired by all the occasion stands for. The Blues' skipper was tightly tagged by Jack Newnes and Adam Schneider after 11 disposals in the first quarter, which reduced his second-term input to four touches. But despite wearing at least one Saint like a second skin for most of the afternoon, Murphy emerged when the Blues needed him most and – along with Patrick Cripps – was a force in winning the contested ball. A huge 24 of his 34 disposals were contested, he won 10 clearances and pumped the ball inside 50 seven times. With his club under siege and facing the prospect of slipping to a 0-4 start to the season for the second year running, Murphy delivered and was awarded the Crowl-McDonald Medal for best on ground 

3. Faded flair
After the Saints' pressure fell away in a costly second quarter fade-out last week against Collingwood, they set about rectifying that this week. After being unable to fully exercise their tackling pressure and contested ball work heading into the Magpies' game because of a demanding fixture, they revisited those core elements before leaving Australia on Thursday. The result was a stronger effort in the first quarter, with 26 to 14 tackles and terrific pressure in the forward line that helped assemble a quarter-time lead of 25 points. While they suffered when the Blues moved the ball better in the second, they managed to hang in there and respond to ensure they held a lead of 14 points at the main break. But as poor kicking in their back half hurt them in the second half and the Blues capitalised, the Saints lost their flair despite maintaining their tackling pressure. It prompted coach Alan Richardson to later ponder why his players became conservative when other teams gained momentum, but he applauded the way they never stopped tackling after learning a valuable lesson last week.  

4. Lost in translation  
Locals would have been shaking their heads in confusion midway through the first quarter when a goal was signalled and the ball returned to the middle, only for the decision to be nullified soon after. The "goal", which was kicked by Everitt from a set shot, was judged as having hit the post by the reviewing umpire upstairs despite both the goal and field umpires missing it. The ball was run back to the Blues' goal square, where the Saints kicked it in as the umpire crossed the white flags to signal the cancelled goal. It was a costly recall for the Blues with the Saints rebounding and scoring through Luke Dunstan before a second goal to Josh Bruce, which changed what would have an even score into a three-goal turnaround in a matter of minutes. 

5. More promise from Paddy
No.1 draft selection Paddy McCartin crossed the Tasman hoping for a better performance than he managed in his first AFL game last week. The forward, playing in the absence of Nick Riewoldt – who missed a second game with a left calf complaint – didn't make an impact early against Michael Jamison, but looked like he was capable of it. The youngster presented with more confidence than he did last week, took a few nice marks including a impressive diving number on the lead, and pushed up the ground, allowing Josh Bruce and Tim Membrey to have more space. McCartin was subbed off in the third quarter, and while he didn't set the world on fire, the 19-year-old again showed glimpses of the type of player he'll be in years to come.