1. What's happened to the Dogs?
Just three weeks ago the Bulldogs beat the Sydney Swans to rack up their fourth win in five starts, and last week pushed ladder leader Fremantle to lose by just 13. Against the Demons on Sunday, so many things seemed to go wrong. They dominated play early in the first quarter and had 13 to one inside 50s but only led by two points 14 minutes in. Then, they dramatically boosted their intensity and run in the third quarter and kicked six of seven goals into the fourth but were unable to maintain it. The Demons, aided by an 11-possession last quarter by first-year midfielder Angus Brayshaw, were able to run away to a 39-point win after the margin was cut to just seven points. The most troubling things were the number of Bulldogs who looked flat and the forward line that lacked spark.

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2. Hogan the hero
The highly-touted forward missed last week with soreness and didn't waste time getting back into the swing of things. A strong contested mark within the first 20 seconds resulted in his first goal, before he went on to slot another – an important major that gave the Demons the biggest lead so far – in the second quarter. He then created a contest in the opening two minutes in the third that led to a goal to Cam Pedersen, before taking a leading mark less than a minute later and then another contested grab to kick his third. He ended with 21 touches, nine marks and three goals. The week off seemed to agree with the 20-year-old, who looked fresh and spritely with the way he ran across the ground. The same couldn't be said for young Bulldog Tom Boyd, who was subbed out seven minutes of the third with just one handball. It begs the question if the 19-year-old Boyd could also do with a weekend off.

3. Spencer holds the Ayce
There's been plenty of chat about the Bulldogs' ruck set-up and Luke Beveridge's preference to "ruck by committee" and rely on a team of players to back up Ayce Cordy at the stoppages. With Will Minson still in the VFL – and facing a potential lengthy suspension after being sent off and reported for allegedly making contact with an umpire on Sunday – Cordy lined up against Jake Spencer, who didn't want to waste his opportunity in his third senior game for the year. Spencer was the dominant big man on the ground with 40 hit-outs, also laying eight tackles. In the second half, the Dogs tried a few new things with Jordan Roughead starting in the centre and Cordy at full forward, Cordy also had a spell on the bench before heading into defence against Pedersen in the final term. Just what the Dogs decide to do next with their ruck set-up will keep everyone guessing.

4. Victory for Vince
Bernie Vince has claimed a few scalps for the Demons this year in a run-with role, namely Patrick Dangerfield in round three. On Sunday, he took on dangerous young Bulldog Marcus Bontempelli, who had averaged more than 20 possessions across six games. Vince's close checking kept Bontempelli to just two touches in the first quarter and six for the half. At times, the exciting midfielder looked as though he was close to breaking away, particularly in the second when he had a spate of quick possessions. But the former Adelaide midfielder held strong and kept Bontempelli to 12 disposals for the game, but his influence didn't stop there. Vince kicked an important goal midway through the final term that put the margin out to 27 points, and finished off with a late goal that was the cherry on top for the Demons.

5. Jack's back
Last week, Jack Watts elected not to play against Hawthorn as he felt he was letting his teammates down through lack of form. While he gathered enough of the ball last week in the VFL to move into a more positive mind space, he wasn't able to replicate such a high number on Sunday. However he was involved in a few key plays including one in the first quarter when he gathered the ball in space on the wing, and perfectly placed a kick to Jimmy Toumpas, and another in the third when his strong attack on the ball saw Rohan Bail line up for a set shot. He ended with 14 touches and four marks but showed decent attack on the footy and pitched in with four hit-outs around the ground.