What a cracker … Richmond v St Kilda
Exquisite skills, plenty of goals, champions at their best and a thrilling climax; this match had it all. The heat has been on St Kilda recently while the Tigers have impressed of late, and the two sides were evenly matched all night at Telstra Dome. Two club legends in Matthew Richardson and Robert Harvey took centre stage, with the Richmond forward kicking five goals and the great Saint gathering 26 possessions and kicking two goals as they pushed their respective teams onward.

Stevie Milne stepped up to boot seven goals, with his last late in the final term giving St Kilda the lead, before Kel Moore and then Jack Riewoldt spurned chances to snatch a famous win in a heart-stopping finale. 

Player of the round … Sam Mitchell
The Magpies chose to go head-to-head through the middle against the Hawks, and Mitchell made sure they came off second-best. The skipper ran amok free of a close tag, with his 39 possessions the driving force behind the 65-point win. Mitchell finished with an efficiency rating of 90 per cent and took the ball away from the stoppage 11 times in a performance that will ensure he is afforded closer attention in future. 

Coach of the round … Dean Bailey
Has a first-year coach ever been feeling as much heat as the Melbourne leader in the past few weeks? Bailey must have been under pressure, despite not showing any cracks.

Carlton coach Brett Ratten said he felt the weight of the world jump from his shoulders when he broke through for his first win, and you can bet Bailey will be walking a little lighter this week too.

At half-time, his side, with a 0-6 season record, was 50 points in arrears and playing some pretty ordinary footy. After the match, Bailey said he thought the Demons could still win at that point. That, in itself, deserves our Coach of the Round award.

One for the vault … Jason Porplyzia’s third quarter
The Adelaide-North Melbourne game was still in the balance as the second half began on Saturday night, but it wasn’t for long after Jason Porplyzia imposed himself on the contest. The livewire forward, who is in his second stint at the club, could do no wrong as he booted four goals and handed off another two in a blistering 11-possession third-quarter display.

Only a player as ‘in the zone’ as he clearly was can mark the ball one-handed with such apparent ease before doing the team thing and spotting up a better option closer to goal. A truly game-breaking performance.

What we learned … the Bulldogs are legit
Adelaide, Melbourne, St Kilda, Essendon, Richmond, West Coast … yeah, a couple of biggish names but nothing to make anyone sit up and go, “Oooooh, haaaang on”.

If there was any doubt surrounding the Western Bulldogs’ form, then they needed to land a reeeaaaally big fish. Beating the Sydney Swans – at the SCG – has certainly given the Doggies’ ladder position more credibility, not that anyone at Whitten Oval would give a hoot what anyone thinks of where they’re sitting on the table.

By downing a well-drilled Swans outfit on Sunday, the Dogs proved not only that they’re the genuine article, but that their free-flowing game style can overcome whatever the best tacticians can throw at them. Perhaps now they’ll be mentioned in the same sentence as Geelong and Hawthorn?

He's a keeper … Austin Wonaeamirri
With all the resources that clubs devote to talent identification these days you wonder how a bright spark like Wonaeamirri can slip through the net to land on Melbourne’s rookie list this past off-season. The 19-year-old excitement machine’s three goals in the final term were pivotal in helping to secure the Demons’ first win of the year. His unadulterated exuberance after each goal instantly endeared him to a supporter base badly in need of some hope.    

Willo makes his Mark
Hawthorn’s Mark Williams did it tough in a rebuilding phase to lead his club’s goal kicking in 2005 and 2006 while Lance Franklin and Jarryd Roughed learned their craft. But a serious knee injury meant he was absent when ‘Buddy’s Box’ – which also included Tim Boyle and Ben Dixon - came to prominence in 2007. The future didn’t look so bright when the club drafted two small forwards amid lingering doubts about his ability to fully recover from the injury, but Williams is back, big-time.

With Roughead and Franklin performing at a peak level against Collingwood – they both booted six goals – Williams was the perfect foil and chipped in with five majors of his own to take his season tally to 12 from four games.

Wild wild west
Carlton fans – and players – must have been thanking their lucky stars as the West Coast Eagles appeared to self-implode in a bizarre second term on Friday night.

Undisciplined acts resulted in several Carlton majors as the Blues romped clear in a game that had plenty of talking points.

The Eagles looked a rabble early but did well to get themselves back into it, with former Blue Josh Kennedy showing he’ll be a more-than-handy addition to the West Coast line-up in coming seasons.

Look out for Lethal’s Lions
They might not have got the points against Geelong, but there was plenty to like about the Brisbane Lions’ effort against the reigning premiers on Saturday.

The Cats are only doing what they have to at the moment, but Leigh Matthews' men really had no right to get as close as they did at Skilled Stadium – unless they’re actually a very good side.

Without their two best players, skipper and Coleman medallist Jonathan Brown and Brownlow medallist Simon Black, the Lions were all square with Geelong early in the final term and looked in with a genuine chance of causing a boilover.

The visitors also only got one goal from Daniel Bradshaw, too, providing further evidence that Matthews is grooming a talented new batch of Lions to fill his den.

It’s going to be a long fortnight for … Freo
The beauty of footy is a team usually gets the chance to redeem itself one week later.

Fremantle had the chance to bury the memories of relinquishing a 39-point against Geelong last week by chalking up four points against the bottom-of-the-ladder Demons in round seven. Instead, when it took the field against Melbourne on Sunday, an even bigger disaster occurred.

Freo fans and perhaps the players themselves thought they were home when they led by 50 points at half-time. But the Dees kicked a few quick ones, some self-doubt might have crept in, and the men from the west were overwhelmed by a sea of red and blue momentum.

Mark Harvey and his men will no doubt cop a torrid time from the WA press in coming days, while fans will also want answers for the dramatic fadeout.

The views in this story are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.