• Fantasy form watch: Dusty cleans up again
• Around the state leagues: Who shone in your club's twos?
• After the siren: This is Clarkson's biggest test

1. The Dockers can play fast and free-flowing football
Fremantle's stagnant ball movement, shocking foot skills and lack of firepower had the Dockers under the blowtorch after two rounds, and many pundits believed Ross Lyon's coaching style was well and truly past its use by date in an era of attacking flair. Not many gave them a chance of matching the handball-happy Western Bulldogs for pace and skill on Saturday night, but with six changes and some youthful enthusiasm injected into the side, Freo stunned the reigning premiers. From the outset, the Dockers were harder at the contest, prepared to run and carry from half-back and delivered the ball with more poise into their forward line. It was exhilarating to watch, and supporters rose as one to applaud the side at quarter-time. Fremantle has proven it can compete with the best, now time will tell if it can continue in that attacking fashion. - Travis King

2. Daniel could live up to Rioli name
Football stardom runs in Daniel Rioli's family. Late great uncle Maurice Rioli was a Richmond star in the 1980s and cousin Cyril Rioli has been one of the biggest stars of Hawthorn's golden era under Alastair Clarkson, while Essendon great Michael Long is also a relative. After just 21 senior games, it's way too early to say whether Rioli can come close to matching his more famous family members' deeds. But his start to 2017 suggests he, at least, has the raw talent to do so. In Richmond's 11-point victory over West Coast, Rioli finished with nine disposals (seven contested) and two goals. However, as is often the case with Cyril, those statistics don't do justice to the influence Rioli had. In a hard-fought game where both teams struggled to score, Richmond produced moments of individual brilliance that turned the contest. Rioli provided two of them. Late in the second term, he beat Jeremy McGovern in a one-on-one contest at half-forward, making the All Australian defender look like the QEII as he turned him inside out and shot a handball to Kane Lambert to set up a Jason Castagna goal. Early in the second half, Rioli took the ball just inside the boundary line, shimmied past Brad Sheppard and, after using Dion Prestia for a handball 'one-two', threaded the ball through with a banana from 40m that would be at home on any Rioli highlight reel. - Nick Bowen

3. Leigh Montagna is a shrewd operator 
Most players have eyes for one thing only when there is nothing between them and the goal line. But Leigh Montagna has learned some tricks in his 273 games and used his "footy intelligence" in a strange moment on Sunday against the Brisbane Lions. Montagna stopped in his tracks in the goalsquare in the fourth quarter and waited for the Lions players, who had stopped chasing, to make him kick the goal. He took six seconds off the clock at a time when the Saints had regained the momentum, but the immediate look was poor and he was booed by the Lions fans in the crowd. "He took it upon himself to say … 'given I'm not going to get closed on, I'm just going to hang on to it'," Richardson said after seeking an explanation from his veteran. Senior players know the importance of always doing the little things, and this was another example from a wily 33-year-old. - Nathan Schmook

4. Slow Hawks hasten towards their demise
Speculation has been rife through the first fortnight of the season this could be the end of Hawthorn's reign of dominance, and it's only set to intensify after this shellacking. Put simply, the Hawks looked slow against Gold Coast. They were second to the ball inside and second to it on the outside. Aaron Hall, Jarrod Harbrow, Adam Saad, Alex Sexton and David Swallow looked like Olympic sprinters against their rivals. One week ago it was the Suns that looked second-rate, so things can turn quickly, but it wasn't just leg speed that would concern Alastair Clarkson. Some of his experienced heads (Luke Hodge aside) looked rushed in their decision-making and execution and need to lift dramatically ahead of playing Geelong on Easter Monday. - Michael Whiting

5. Preuss is North's perfect tall order
Brad Scott has plenty on his plate at the moment with his side facing a 0-3 record and the prospect of a clash with the reigning premiers coming up on Good Friday, where the eyes of the football world will be watching on as they look to avoid four consecutive losses to start 2017. One thing he does have to perhaps smile about, however, is the form of 21-year-old ruck monster Braydon Preuss, with the former rugby league player a seemingly significant addition to the Roos' tall stocks. With Todd Goldstein and Ben Brown almost certain starters for North and Majak Daw clearly in the coach's future plans, Preuss showed against GWS on Saturday that he can shoulder the load on the ball and contribute in the forward half. Alongside his 26 hit-outs against Shane Mumford, Preuss registered 16 disposals, nine marks and two goals in an impressive third game of AFL footy. - Stu Warren

6. Will Hoskin-Elliott might finally be ready to deliver
The gifted Magpie looked set to become a star when he kicked 26 goals from 20 games with Greater Western Sydney in 2014, but despite having all the tools to be one of the competition's most damaging wingmen, Hoskin-Elliott's career stalled. A combination of niggling injuries, a lack of opportunities, and his own attitude all contributed, but the 23-year-old looks a different man in black and white. There's still some aspects of inconsistency there – in the opening term he had 10 possessions, eight marks and three inside 50s against the Swans, then hardly got near it until late in the game – but the fact that he stepped up and nailed an incredibly tough set shot under pressure to put the Pies in front to win the game, shows that Hoskin-Elliott could now have the mental game to match his undoubted physical talents. It's only early but it's looking like a fantastic recruiting decision by Collingwood. - Adam Curley

7. Cats know the value of red-time goals
Geelong looked gone when Melbourne shot to a 15-point lead with a little over a minute remaining in the third quarter. The Demons had the momentum, but their defenders could not stop two contested marks being taken in the last minute. Zac Smith's mark and goal came against the run of play, while Dan Menzel used all his skill to mark then kick a banana goal after the siren to give the Cats a sniff. It was the second week in a row that a goal on the three-quarter time siren had propelled Geelong to victory, their ability to play until the last minute giving them an edge over less hardened opponents. - Peter Ryan

8. Crows leaders stand up under intense Showdown spotlight
Taylor Walker and Rory Sloane willed the Crows to victory with crucial plays in the final quarter of a gripping 17-point win against Port Adelaide on Saturday night. In front of a record Showdown crowd of 53,698, Sloane rose among the tall timber to take a terrific contested mark inside the forward 50 before finishing off with a goal. Then it was the skipper's turn. At the 25-minute mark of the last quarter, Walker took a mark 65m out, wheeled around and off a couple steps sent the ball sailing through the big sticks. Sloane was a deserved winner of the Showdown Medal with 31 possessions, 24 of those contested, nine clearances and eight tackles. Walker's last-quarter heroics, and four goals for the game, showed why his peers voted him as the best captain in the competition last year. - Lee Gaskin

9. There's a lot to like about Carlton's youth
Carlton has committed to a full-blown rebuild under list manager Stephen Silvagni, and in his time in the role since crossing from Greater Western Sydney, Silvagni has made sweeping changes to the playing personnel. And Sunday's upset win over Essendon proved there is plenty to like about the youth the Blues have at their disposal. Sam Petrevski-Seton, into his first month of his first AFL season, was excellent with the ball while Lachie Plowman is coming into his own as one of the club's versatile defenders. Silvagni drafted Plowman at pick No.3 in the 2012 NAB AFL Draft for a reason, and Plowman, after some injury battles, is looking more and more like that player. Jacob Weitering, Jarrod Pickett and first-gamer Tom Williamson also did some valuable things across the day to make Blues supporters leave the MCG confident about their long-term future. - Callum Twomey