BEWARE the team and the star player that has copped flak all week. So often they come out firing the following week and that was certainly the case in Sunday evening's match at Metricon Stadium.

This game was never in doubt from the moment Gary Ablett won the opening clearance after a week under the microscope and bombed it forward. The Suns were always a sneaky chance to get the win, and Ablett with 36 touches was a big factor, but what also helped them was the return of Jarrod Harbrow, whose hard running off half-back gave Gold Coast so much drive and small forward Brandon Matera whose six goals was a career best.

Hats off to Rodney Eade. The veteran Suns coach had to deal with a week of bad press and the spectre of an opponent his club had never beaten and he masterminded a complete performance and one of the club's best wins and the sort that might be a launching pad towards that overdue maiden finals appearance.

'Rocket' always enjoys sticking it to his old club when he can and you think he reminded his players before the game they weren’t the only ones on shaky ground because there was no 'let-up'.

The spotlight is now on the Hawks and deservedly so. The competition was always going to catch up with the club that won three straight flags between 2013 and 2015, but the lack of spark and urgency is what will gall Hawthorn people at present. They are slow, reactive and if the finger-pointing at times on Sunday night is an indication, they are disorganised as well.

Tom Mitchell has brought his good form across from the Sydney Swans, Ryan Burton has pocketed a NAB AFL Rising Star nomination, but it is hard to think of one Hawthorn-listed player from last season who has improved, which means Alastair Clarkson is facing his biggest challenge since he walked into the doors of Glenferrie Oval as a hungry young coach in September 2004.

The Hawks are on the bottom of the ladder and now have a pair of marquee MCG home games in the next fortnight against Geelong and West Coast. It will be intriguing to see what they do at selection and with their gameplan, because not much has worked until now.

• Nine things we learned from round three

Tigers still roaring

Maybe, just maybe, your 2017 Richmond Football Club is the real deal.

Opening wins over Carlton and Collingwood were nice enough, but there was something emphatic about the manner in which they outlasted and indeed, out-toughed West Coast at the MCG on Saturday.

Perhaps the Tigers are ready to ride on the coat tails of Dustin Martin, who with 40 disposals and an insane 15 clearances, is already enjoying a special season.

The Tigers are quicker and more direct this year. But it is their small forwards that have created the buzz. Jason Castagna and Dan Butler have been terrific additions, while there have been no second-year blues for Daniel Rioli – in fact it has been the complete opposite. Every week provides something for the highlight reel.

The Tigers should start favourites next week at the Gabba against the Brisbane Lions to make it 4-0, before a huge Anzac Day eve clash with Melbourne. Win those and they'll be off to their best start for 22 years and the AFL will be delighted.

In a year in which the some of the flag favourites reside outside Victoria, the emergence of the Tigers and the huge crowds they generate, is great news for the beancounters at the AFL.

West Coast won't win every match as coach Adam Simpson said after the game. But the poor intensity from the Eagles will gnaw, as will the reality of four defeats from their last five visits to the MCG. They're back there in a fortnight for what will be emotional afternoon as Sam Mitchell faces Hawthorn for the first time.

But before then, they face a five-day turnaround ahead of the Thursday night home game against the Sydney Swans. It will be physical and mental test for the entire club, but one they will embrace given they signed off on this clash before the fixture was released. 

• Fantasy form watch: Dusty cleans up again

The future's so bright…

It's wearing Schade. Excuse this column for going a bit retro and bringing back some Timbuk 3 from 1986 into the mix, but the work on Friday night of Collingwood defender Henry Schade deserves some praise.

It was a night set up for a virtuoso performance from Lance Franklin as he celebrated his 250th game. But the former Gold Coast defender had a splendid night, keeping 'The Bud' goalless in Collingwood's stirring one-point win.

Nathan Buckley coached really well after a difficult week. The gilt-edged midfield dominated early and for once the effort with the ball was matched by grit and effort without it.

This is what Collingwood will give us all year, and it will likely be a white-knuckle, rollercoaster ride all the way to the end of August. The midfield will deliver some victories, such is the quality, but as vital as the win was for the Pies, we're no more convinced that the forward line is finals-worthy.

The Swans are 0-3 and facing the reality that this might be a development year. Injuries have forced their hand in this regard, but with West Coast and the Giants to come, they're facing a 0-5 start to the year and the almost impossible task of making the top four.

The Swans have played five debutants so far this year plus Jordan Foote, who had played just one game before this season. The Swans coach their youngsters as well as any club and they've each shown something, but this might be a rare year in which they won't be serious flag contenders. 

• Around the state leagues: Who shone in your club's twos?

Home cooking

For years, Fremantle threw the chequebook at whatever big names they could in various bold, but unsuccessful bids to bring big names from the east over to Western Australia.

Last October, the Dockers moved on from that plan and instead targeted West Australians looking to move back home and on Saturday night, that move started to pay dividends.

In the shock win over the Western Bulldogs at Domain Stadium, the four local recruits brought home by the Dockers all played their part. Leading the way was Joel Hamling, a Bulldogs premiership player last year, who kept Travis Cloke to 10 touches and no score.

Forwards Shane Kersten and Cam McCarthy each kicked two goals and McCarthy in particular looked lively. Heaven help the rest of the competition when he starts clunking all the marks he threatens to take. Speedster Bradley Hill had 25 touches and of the new quartet at the Dockers, has been the most consistent so far this year.

The Dockers sent Matthew Pavlich off into retirement last year with a handy win over the Bulldogs at Domain Stadium, but this was a far better night for the club. Younger and fresher, the Dockers zipped the ball around and attacked the corridor and looked entirely different to the turgid team from the opening fortnight of the season

The first step for the Dockers is to become difficult to beat at home and on that count alone, Saturday night was a step in the right direction. 

Other observations 

1. Once again, form counted for nought when the Blues met the Bombers. The dreadful weather at the MCG narrowed the gap between the sides but what did it for the Blues, apart from masterful displays from Marc Murphy, Bryce Gibbs and Patrick Cripps, was a tidy defence and more patient use of the football. When the Blues fail this year, it will likely be because of a gap in talent, not coaching.

2. A whopping 32 shots on goal by Melbourne to Geelong's 26; 58 inside 50s to Geelong's 46. Yet the final margin at Etihad Stadium on Saturday was 29 points in Geelong's favour. The Demons will rue one that got away, taking control of the game in the second and third terms, but so wasteful in front of goal that they left the window ajar just enough to keep Geelong in the game. And for the second straight week, the Cats came home like a steam train, with Patrick Dangerfield and Joel Selwood again leading the way. The Cats don't like playing home games at Etihad, but they're two from two there and while they're not in great form – the big two excepted – they're banking early wins with loads of games at Simonds Stadium to come later in the year.

3. Like the honesty from Cats coach Chris Scott. His men caught a break with Jesse Hogan and Jordan Lewis suspended and Max Gawn missing with a hamstring injury in the second half. If two of those three play against Geelong and the Demons likely win. It was a frantic game and Melbourne's brand stood up pretty well for the most part. But a month without Gawn, the most influential ruckmen in the competition, will be a challenge.

4. Josh Kelly did well on Saturday, with 31 touches on a bung ankle in the game between the two clubs that desperately want him to sign the dotted line. For now he is a Giant and he played his part in an important and reasonably impressive 42-point win over North Melbourne, which reportedly has dangled a nine-year, $9 million offer. Already, the opening round stumble against Adelaide seems an eternity ago and the Giants appear to be top-four material once more.

5. Another cracking Showdown and the ledger now stands at 21-21 apiece after Adelaide's slashing 17-point win over Port Adelaide on Saturday night. That's three wins of equal merit for Adelaide and Don Pyke has built a team that can win in a variety of ways. And while it remains an unconfirmed rumour at this stage, the Crows coach might even have cracked it for a smile afterwards. As well he should have.

6. The Saints are on the board for 2017, with a 31-point win over the Brisbane Lions that could have been much heftier if not for a 14.23 scoreline. Glass half-full for the Saints is that they got there thanks to great performances from elder statesmen Nick Riewoldt and Leigh Montagna. Glass half-empty is that they needed them after the Lions came hard at them in the second and third terms. Huge game against the Pies coming up on Sunday and they'll need both David Armitage and Jack Steven back for a game that could well be decided through the midfield. Nice break for the Saints to play an 'away' game at Etihad against the MCG specialists Collingwood.

7. No. That is not an error. The Hawks and the Swans are in the bottom three.