1. We might just have seen the season's best grab

Leaving aside Mark of the Year, 2015 has already delivered some contenders for footy's all-time showreel. We've seen Josh Bruce's classic round-one speccie. 

Then there was serial cloud-botherer Jeremy Howe's back-line hanger, taken during Melbourne's round-three match against the Crows.

And in the same round, livewire Magpie Jamie Elliott combined a sensational grab with some Ablett-like acrobatics on the way down.

Against the Cats at Domain Stadium on Sunday, Nic Naitanui might just have topped them all, sending altimeters spinning with this frankly amazing grab in the fourth quarter.

Aerobatics aside, Naitanui enjoyed a dominant afternoon, pairing with Callum Sinclair to expose Geelong's painful lack of ruck options. Injuries to Rhys Stanley and Mitch Clark, who have been employed in tandem in recent weeks, made matters worse for the Cats in the second half. It's a major reason why Chris Scott's men have been badly exposed this season against teams with quality big men. - Alex Malcolm

2. The Kangaroos are mentally weak
The evidence had been building for the first eight rounds, but Sunday's loss to Collingwood provided incontrovertible proof: North is not a genuine contender this season. Some believed the Roos could build on their 2014 preliminary final appearance this year and take the fight to competition heavyweights such as Hawthorn, the Sydney Swans and Fremantle. But heavy losses to the Hawks, Dockers and Adelaide raised strong suspicions that the Roos still lag significantly behind the top teams. The Magpies loss confirmed that as fact but also gave a hint into what's been holding the Roos back under coach Brad Scott. North played as well it has all year in romping to a 39-point half-time lead over Collingwood, but then allowed the Magpies to pile on 10 consecutive goals to set up their win. It was reminiscent of the Roos' run of fade-out losses in 2013 and strongly suggests they still have a chink in their mental armour. On Sunday, this chink manifested itself in the Roos' inability to put their foot on the Pies' throat when they were showing few vital signs. But it is perhaps this same mental weakness that has contributed to North's renowned inconsistency over recent seasons: its inability to stem opposition run-ons and its tendency to concede blow-out losses. - Nick Bowen

• Disgusting: Fuming Scott sharpens the axe after capitulation
• After the siren: A Magpie win worth Bucks

3. Richmond's 'Fab three' could welcome a new member
It's long been thought that for the Tigers to win important games, they needed big contributions from their three star midfielders Trent Cotchin, Brett Deledio and Dustin Martin.

There's still truth to that, but the load has been lessened this year by Shane Edwards' superb form. The 26-year-old has taken his game to another level, averaging 21 touches and a goal a game, but also impacting matches when it counts, and he was critical holding a surging Essendon at bay during Saturday night's Dreamtime at the 'G clash. - Travis King

4. Footy can still deliver battles within battles
The tagging and negating tactics of many modern coaches has led some to speculate that genuine one-on-one midfield battle were an endangered species. As well as that Freo can weather a serious challenge, Saturday night's humdinger at Adelaide Oval proved there remains room for such encounters. Runaway Brownlow leader Nat Fyfe and Adelaide's Patrick Dangerfield were allowed free reign and the fans were treated as a result. Fyfe finished the game with 40 disposals, 14 clearances, a goal and 10 inside 50s. Dangerfield's 38 disposals included an equal-record 29 contested possessions – he also booted a goal. We'll give the duel to Fyfe on points, but unlike recent marquee clashes in the boxing ring it was a match-up that will be remembered for some time. - Harry Thring

5. There is light at the end of the tunnel for Carlton
While a 10-goal drubbing is hardly a cause for celebration, Carlton's effort against the Swans on Friday night at the SCG could in future weeks be regarded as the moment the beleaguered club turned the corner. At three-quarter time, Carlton trailed by 63 points, having lost its 13th consecutive quarter of football. The streak could have easily extended to 14 by the final siren had the Blues players not found something to at least hold back the tide and eke out a small win in the last term. A small victory to be sure, but one the club would surely welcome given the events of recent weeks. - Jordan Chong

• Who fired or flopped for your team in this weekend's state leagues?

6. Travis Boak might have changed Port's season
As the mantra goes, in times of crisis you look to your leaders. At the six-minute mark of the second quarter, Port Adelaide found themselves 24 points adrift of Melbourne. The Power players also had the knowledge fresh in their minds that they had lost three straight games leading into the Alice Springs contest. At that stage of the game it may not have been a crisis, but it was reaching dangerous proportions. Enter Boak, who turned the tide of the game by settling himself alongside Demons counterpart Nathan Jones and lifting his team to victory. The Power skipper had 31 disposals (18 contested), eight clearances and five tackles in an outstanding performance. His efforts in his team's 61-point victory certainly did not escape the considered eye of coach Ken Hinkley: "I thought Travis' game was significant and symbolic about what we're prepared to do to get our season back on track," he said. - Ben Guthrie

7. David Armitage is the real deal
If anyone was in doubt, Saint David Armitage gave another example of why he should be considered among the game's elite midfielders against the Lions. With his team trailing big at quarter-time, the powerfully built 26-year-old snapped two quick goals to start the second term and turn the tide, then continued on to finish with 31 disposals and 11 clearances to go with the pair of goals. As coach Alan Richardson said after a fine comeback win that lifts the Saints to 14th on the ladder, Armitage has now added some outside run to his inside ball-winning to become a more complete player. All Australian, anyone?. - Michael Whiting

8. Pressure powers the Western Bulldogs
In blowing away the Giants with an eight-goal first quarter on Saturday, the Western Bulldogs hunted the man and the ball. The Bulldogs made their tackles stick. They refused to concede a centre clearance easily. They put their hands in for deft intercepts in tight, that either halved the contest or won back the ball. Most memorable was a Lin Jong intercept in a centre clearance that led to Koby Stevens' momentum-killing goal in the third quarter and a chase-down tackle from Matthew Boyd that brought Dylan Shiel to his knees as he ran into goal.

Team lifters that made sure no fade-out was going to occur this week. With such pressure applied the Dogs could then move into attacking positions across half-back and counter-attack. Easton Wood, Jason Johannisen and Robert Murphy created scoring opportunities and the forwards did the rest. - Peter Ryan

9. There's no rite of passage at Gold Coast
You get the feeling Rodney Eade would love to swing the proverbial axe at Gold Coast – the only problem is he doesn’t have enough fit players to chop away the dead wood just yet. After the loss to Hawthorn in Launceston, Eade was upbeat about the prospect of bringing back as many as eight quality players now on the injury list, but also made note of the list turnover he's anticipating at season's end. During his press conference, Eade appeared to put his players on notice, saying there's "no doubt" that players "who've been here from the start" won't just carry on picking up games. Eade's approach will be to pick on form first - and not necessarily experience - and he'll be hoping that any established players now resting on their laurels pick up on the message sooner than later. - Stu Warren

• Fantasy form watch: This week's pig and Presti