• Nine things we learned from round five
• How did your team's players fare in this weekend's state leagues?
• Fantasy form watch: round five

BOTH new coach Luke Beveridge and not-so-new president Peter Gordon expressed the wish pre-season that the Western Bulldogs stop becoming everyone's second favourite team.

It was a nice sentiment and understandable for a team with lofty aspirations. But for now, it is hard not to feel a little love for the Dogs after their magnificent four-point win over the Sydney Swans on Saturday in what was the best game of the season to date.

It was a performance marked by all that is different about the Bulldogs this year. Run and carry, love and care for each other and clearly singing off the same song sheet.

Beveridge has added some dare to a game-plan that was OK on the inside under former coach Brendan McCartney but lacking zip on the outside. Saturday's game in the slop at the SCG required a bit of the old and the new and the Dogs were great in and under when it was required.

But they really hurt the Swans with their run, particularly early on when they slammed on five unanswered goals after the Swans kicked the first two.

And then late, after the Swans finally and seemingly inevitably took the lead, they kept on running, kept their structures and manufactured the winning goal.

And then in the final two minutes there were some special plays, those you would normally come to expect from players many years their senior, such as a the defensive spoil from Easton Wood who then buttered up to force a contested ball. There was Nathan Hrovat's perfectly executed kick deep to the forward line that sent the ball out of bounds and then Wood again, with a crucial one-handed gather of the greasy footy and a dish-off handball under pressure.

It was a slashing performance in every respect. With the exception of ruckman Will Minson, who can't get a game, every player at the Bulldogs appears to have improved under Beveridge's tutelage, even evergreen pair Matthew Boyd and Robert Murphy.

They're a great story and they're fun to watch. Sorry to disappoint Beveridge and Gordon, but they'll be most people's second favourite team for a considerable time yet.

Everything but the four points

St Kilda supporters are normally hard markers but they have rarely left a game as satisfied with a defeat as they were after the two-point loss to Essendon at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

Minus their two best and most experienced players – Nick Riewoldt and Leigh Montagna – they were in it right until the death. Had Adam Schneider not fluffed two gettable chances in time-on, or Dustin Fletcher made this brilliant smother, the Saints would likely have won.

But they had no business being that close given the size and experience of the two sides.

What was illustrative about St Kilda was the efforts of their leaders on the day. With Riewoldt and Montagna sidelined, David Armitage (35 possessions), Jack Steven (32) and Sean Dempster (27) were just magnificent. It was through no fault of theirs that the Saints fell just short. Dempster's desperate defending late was outstanding and he was awfully stiff to be pinged with a deliberate out of bounds when all he was doing was clearing the ball out of danger.

It is moments like that when you wonder whether the umpires have a feel for the game.

The DVD of this match should be shared around the Carlton and Brisbane Lions footy clubs this week. They are two clubs lacking in leadership, where hard effort seems to be optional and too many tough contests appear to be shirked. They should look to St Kilda as a club that is going about its rebuild in precisely the right manner.

As for Schneider, he presented well towards the end. But as Saints supporters noted dolefully on Sunday evening, his best conversion in a tight game involving St Kilda was when he kicked three goals in the final quarter of the 2005 preliminary final. Unfortunately for the Saints, he was playing for the Sydney Swans!

Friday night lights have a wattage problem

Ten teams in the one state. Three stadiums and mandatory minimum six-day breaks.

Add to that the renewed clamour for quality Saturday afternoon football at the MCG and surprise enthusiasm for selected big Thursday matches and it starts to explain why the biggest disappointment of the football year to date – apart from the Brisbane Lions – is Friday night football.

The most prized timeslot of the week has so far been light-on for heavyweight attractions and close finishes. Carlton has already featured three times and still has four more Friday night matches to come.

For some, there is a degree of schadenfreude in watching the once mighty Blues self-destruct in front of a national TV audience, but most of us just want to start the weekend with a good game of footy with the best teams slugging it out.

The Friday night slate improves a little with Collingwood-Geelong this Friday night, while Essendon-North Melbourne the following Friday should at least be competitive.

But a 'circle the calendar, order the pizzas and don't leave the couch' Friday night clash this season? Perhaps Collingwood-Hawthorn in round 14, if the Pies maintain their present form. And based on recent history, Hawthorn-Port in round 21 will be one not to be missed.

Because our fixture is so complicated, we can't replicate the NFL and the Premier League where fixtures are set at the start of the season, but manipulated throughout by the leagues and broadcasters so that the best games are elevated to prime time. The NFL 2015 schedule came out recently and after just five weeks of the season, the league has the ability to flex teams in and out of the marquee Sunday night timeslot.

Instead, the AFL schedule that gets announced in October is the one we're stuck with throughout the season. Which means lots of Carlton in prime time and sadly, no Western Bulldogs.

QUESTION TIME



Ashley Browne: So here's the thing. The draw looks great for the Dogs. In their next nine matches they play St Kilda (twice), Fremantle, Melbourne, Greater Western Sydney, Port Adelaide, Brisbane Lions, Carlton and Gold Coast. They're 4-1 now and on exposed form after that stretch they could be 11-3, needing to win just one or two after that to be sure a finals berth. And for all the bleating from the futbol crowd about the potential unavailability of Etihad Stadium on May 17 for the A League Grand Final, the Dogs-Dockers clash that is scheduled for that day will be massive, potentially a clash between first and second. Plaudits for the Dogs and the AFL for sticking to their guns and ensuring the game remains where it should, at Etihad.

AB: I think the coaching at North has generally been excellent and for one of the less-cashed up clubs in the competition, the football department spend is more than adequate. Saturday night was a big opportunity for Black; Jarrad Waite's withdrawal opened an opportunity, particularly against an undersized and undermanned Hawthorn defence, but he failed to fire. Although to be fair, pretty much every North forward lowered his colours. Bastinac goes OK but again, like the other North midfielders with the exception of Andrew Swallow, they were beaten early and then bullied later by the Hawks. Black and Bastinac are two North players that when it comes to the end of the year, the question will be asked whether they are likely to feature in the club's next premiership side. If the answer is 'no' then perhaps the trade table beckons.



AB: If you take your cue from former Saints coach Grant Thomas then yes. He was leading the chorus on social media on Saturday night. Luke Hodge and Jordan Lewis will likely get their right whack from the Match Review Panel – two weeks each you would imagine – but to link it to the Clarkson episode the week before is just fanciful.

What likely happened is that Clarkson put it onto his players after some poor first quarters this year and they responded in clinical fashion. A bit like the Grand Final last year when they went after Dan Hannebery and round one of this year they targeted Joel Selwood, this time they went after Andrew Swallow. It got the desired result on the scoreboard, but the skipper and a vice-captain will pay the price accordingly.



AB: Two damning stats for the Lions out of a putrid late afternoon at Metricon Stadium. Gold Coast held the edge in possessions – contested and uncontested – yet also won the tackle count 92-62. And the Lions lost by 64 points despite an equal number of inside 50s. They just didn't have a heart for the contest and no wonder Justin Leppitsch let fly afterwards. The Lions are now the only winless team and their percentage of 51 is damning. But they get Carlton at Etihad Stadium next week, so victory might yet be just a week away.

AB: I'm leaning towards B. Even Malthouse himself put his future tenure on the agenda when he said the Blues will need to win some games in order for him to keep his job. This week's plaudits aside, I'm just not feeling the love is there for the coach from the Blues hierarchy.

AB: At West Coast yes. In the entire competition? Not so sure. He needs to start turning it on against teams not called Carlton or GWS.