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WITH apologies to West Coast, the excitement factor when looking at the unbeaten trio atop the ladder after three rounds is the presence of Geelong and Hawthorn.

Could the two best teams of the past seven years, with five flags between them, be gearing themselves for another September showdown?

Think of what would be at stake if the Cats and Hawks met in the Grand Final. Geelong is rightly considered the greatest team of this era and four flags in eight years would underline it. A Hawthorn win would leave the premiership scoreline at three wins apiece in that period and spark fresh debates about which has been the best club since 2007.

Granted, we are looking a long way down the track. The two clubs meet on the big Easter Monday stage at the MCG in a fortnight and both have tricky assignments to negotiate on Saturday night in the meantime. The Cats have those unbeaten Eagles coming to Simonds Stadium, while the Hawks face the now-difficult trip to Metricon Stadium to meet a confident Gold Coast.

But a feature of Geelong in the past few seasons, one that Hawthorn has unashamedly tried to copy, is to start the year with a flurry and to bank early wins. The Cats won their first 13 games of their flag year in 2011 – their first season under Chris Scott – and were able to manage their playing list superbly in the lead-up to the finals.

One reason for Hawthorn's 2012 Grand Final loss was that it entered the finals tired and flat after a herculean effort to finish the season with the home ground advantage through the finals. A reason why it won last year's flag was that 12 straight wins from round two allowed Alastair Clarkson to manage his playing list much in the fashion that Scott did two years before that.

Now, before being accused of looking too far down the track, it is Scott who has already placed the Hawks on his agenda, saying after Geelong's 11-point win over Collingwood on Saturday night: "It’s round three. Unfortunately we play them in two weeks and we’ll need to improve pretty quickly.

"We're really aware, especially after watching (Hawthorn beat Fremantle) that we need to improve a lot."

Hawthorn was imperious against Fremantle on Friday night and the goal that started with Matt Spangher saving a certain Docker goal deep in the backline and that ended with Luke Breust strolling into an open goal (after a wonderful assist from Cyril Rioli) might be the best team goal ever kicked by the club.

But there was a lot to like about the Cats, too. After finishing all over Adelaide in the season opener, there has been an admirable blue-collar feel about their subsequent two wins over the Brisbane Lions and Collingwood, the latter which was achieved with nine players in their side with less than 50 games to their name and with considerable resolve considering how hard Collingwood came at them late in the game.

Western forces

The fast start by the Eagles is not to be discounted. With early wins in the bank, their own top four hopes are firming by the week. But the heavyweights of recent years have been the Cats and the Hawks. Imagine the excitement if they enter the finals as the teams to beat.

As for the Dockers, they have just enough credits in the bank not to be discounted on the basis of what they dished up on Friday night. They had a few out – but so did the Hawks – and it again poses questions about whether the Freo press works on the wider MCG against the really good sides.

And what sort of work will Ross Lyon need to do in his team's psyche if they have to meet the Hawks at the MCG once again?

QUESTION TIME

Three weeks in and without a win, can we already scrub Carlton from finals contention?
Just about. The Blues should get on the board against Melbourne next week, but then come the Western Bulldogs, West Coast and Collingwood and unless they can pinch two of those, they might be toast. Hard to believe a team coached by Mick Malthouse could be out of finals contention while the leaves are still turning.

Are you buying North Melbourne?
Not yet. Stirring as it was to see the Kangas finally win a close one, their next three weeks will reveal much – trips to Sydney and Fremantle, with Collingwood sandwiched in between. The North Melbourne that so dearly wants to take the next step needs to win two of those and in order to do so, they need more from Drew Petrie. We love the big bloke – he appears on our AFL Exchange podcast so he's one of our own – but he needs to clunk a few and send some shudders through opposition backlines. They also need to win games away from Etihad Stadium, a clear weakness for the Kangas in recent times.

How good is Josh Kelly ?
17 touches against Melbourne in his first full game for the Giants. I saw Chris Judd's first AFL game (for West Coast against Collingwood in 2002) and thought I'd never see a player look so accomplished on debut. Until now.



Ashley Browne: They probably can't play much better than the first half on Friday night. But what they have now is excellent depth. Assuming Luke Hodge, Ben Stratton, Brian Lake, Brad Sewell, Ryan Schoenmakers and Ben McEvoy are certain to return, then some very handy players will be biding their time at Box Hill waiting for a call-up. Alastair Clarkson likes to talk about his soldiers and what Friday night showed is that he has enough at his disposal to mount a serious bid for back-to-back flags. His only worry is whether the Hawks are at their peak too early. It is a long, long year.



AB: It was a hot topic where I was sitting on Friday night in what, admittedly, an overwhelmingly Hawthorn crowd. I'd still take Stephen based on his body of work to date, but Bradley's improvement has been remarkable. Not only is he an elite runner, his strength, skill, confidence and decision-making have come on in leaps and bounds. He has become a critical player in Hawthorn's set-up and I had in my votes against Freo.



AB: Like most teams, your Tigers always look quick when they have the ball. Problem was in the first half against the Dogs, they didn’t have it enough. I'm not sure fitness is an issue given how strongly they finished in the second half. Not having Brett Deledio didn’t help because he remains a quick mover even after nine years in the system, while another speedster, Matty White, departed the club as a free agent at the end of last season.



AB: He was poor in round one, better than people thought last week and great on Saturday. So much of the AFL commentariat is governed by the "what have you done lately for me?" way of thinking, which meant that Franklin has been unfairly roasted for not being best on ground every game so far. It was unfashionable to go into bat for him before Saturday and now that he was one of the best on ground against the Crows, it will be interesting to see the tenor of the commentary about him this week.



AB: Two goals in three games. Not good enough for a player of his ability and his contract. He just has to lift, but if there is a silver lining it is that next up are the Tigers, against whom he kicked a career-best seven goals last year.



AB: This tweet of mine prompted some responses from some smug Hawthorn types about last year's preliminary final, but Geelong played a textbook final couple of minutes against the Pies, winning the requisite contested ball and precise movement of the Sherrin to Tom Hawkins. When things are tight, get the ball to your match-winners. Travis Cloke might want to take note.



AB: Losing to the Suns was really disappointing for the Lions and while the ladder shows them 0-3, their effort over the opening two weeks could not be faulted. Rich is a massive out, and this is where they start to feel the loss of Elliott Yeo and Jared Polec at the end of the last season. James Aish was the sub on Saturday but might become a regular starter, while hard-at-it West Perth draftee Nick Robertson will also come into consideration. Rookie listed midfielder Isaac Conway is the type of midfielder the Lions need in Rich's absence.



AB: The starting point is the brief to the umpires this year to only pay free kicks that really impact the contest. Taggers see that as encouragement to push the boundaries a bit more, much in the same fashion as key defenders.



AB: Grundy was up against three Geelong big men by the end, given Chris Scott's penchant for playing two ruckmen and then bringing a fresh Mark Blicavs on in the final quarter. No wonder he was stuffed! With a six-day turnaround looming, Ben Hudson will be a consideration for the Magpies and it's why he is at the club. Grundy, for all his promise, is not yet an every-week ruckman.

Twitter: @afl_hashbrowne