1. The Suns no longer need Gary Ablett to dominate
Gold Coast's talismanic reliance on their captain has set alarm bells ringing in recent seasons. From that perspective, Saturday night's win in Perth was an important milestone. The takedown of Fremantle proved the Suns can win big games without Ablett being the key figure. The dual Brownlow Medallist had 23 disposals and kicked a goal but by his lofty standards was relatively quiet. Instead the key contributions came from the Suns' forward pairing of Tom Lynch and Jack Martin. Aaron Hall's 32 disposals were critical. Dion Prestia gathered 24 and kicked an important goal. Alex Sexton (25 disposals and a goal) was influential and Adam Saad's run from half-back was electric. The Suns are beginning to burn bright, and with Touk Miller, Jaeger O'Meara and David Swallow still to return, they will only get better. – Alex Malcolm

• After the siren: Fortunate Suns have their coach to thank

2. Teams must sit on Sam Mitchell, even if they don't want to
The Hawks champion is a genius footballer who still holds the fate of this football team in his clean hands. Yet no coach wants to send out a player to just sit on Mitchell as he treks around the ground. We know the reasoning: opposition teams want to make him defend. But he doesn't have to defend much when he has the ball. Mitchell had 14 disposals in the first quarter, hardly wasted one and set the Hawks on the course to victory as he collected 37 disposals for the game. His centring kick in the third quarter that led to a Breust goal was Mitchell at his best. Surely the Western Bulldogs send Liam Picken to him this week. Surely. - Peter Ryan

3. Adam Treloar is just what the Magpies needed
In a match where neither team seemed capable of hitting a target, metres gained became a valuable commodity on Friday night and no player gained more ground than Treloar. The former Giant gained 682m at the MCG and it was his last 65m that mattered most. Treloar was the player who drove Collingwood into attack for its final surge, eventually leading to Brodie Grundy's match-winning goal. While others went missing in the run home, he had a game-high 10 fourth-quarter possessions, proving to be the difference in the midfield. Put him in a yellow and black jumper and the Tigers would have won. Sadly for them, he chose Collingwood. - Nathan Schmook 

• Who fired for your club in this weekend's state leagues?

4. Josh Jenkins' transformation into an elite footballer is almost complete
Josh Jenkins has grown steadily as a footballer since he arrived at West Lakes as a talented but raw prospect in late 2011. The former basketballer and Essendon rookie has all the attributes of a League-leading power forward – strength, athleticism and competitiveness. He's reliable in front of goal, and since 2014 in particular has developed his football brain to the point where he appears set to break out as one of the AFL's deadliest offensive threats. His five goals in round one was followed by another four against Port Adelaide, highlighting his ability to play both as the focal point and as a devastating second or third option. - Harry Thring

5. Callum Sinclair earns his dough
As his former Eagles teammates again came crashing down to their Grand Final conqueror Hawthorn across town at the MCG, Sinclair's influence on the Swans began to take shape. The versatile big man kicked two goals in the opening term against the Blues and added a stylish snap off his left foot to wrest back the momentum for his team in the third term. Several big grabs underlined the value he provides as a target around the ground. The Swan ruck partnership of Sinclair and Kurt Tippett is still a work in progress, but the ex-Eagle – who was a direct swap for speedster Lewis Jetta – appears to be an excellent pick-up for the Swans with all the capabilities to replace Mike Pyke in the ruck. – Ben Guthrie

6. The Dogs have recruited a readymade Scragger
When the Western Bulldogs took a 22-year-old from West Perth at pick No.35 in last year's NAB AFL Draft, they didn't anticipate the flying start that Marcus Adams has made to his AFL career. After Adams starred in the Dogs' 57-point win over St Kilda with 24 possessions, five marks (three contested), six rebound 50s and seven one-percenters, Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge pondered whether any key defender had ever played a better first two AFL games than the mature-aged recruit. We'll leave that debate for another day, but it's clear that in Adams the Bulldogs have found a readymade ally for Dale Morris and Easton Wood in defence. Against the Saints, the Dogs' trio teamed well to keep Josh Bruce, Paddy McCartin and, when he wasn't on the wing, Nick Riewoldt quiet. Adams, 193cm, has already shown he can match tall opponents in the air and is quick enough to chase down small forwards when the ball hits the ground. His progress over the remainder of 2016 will be crucial to the Bulldogs' quest to build on last year's finals campaign. - Nick Bowen     

7. This won't be Essendon's only win for 2016
It was hard to see how the Bombers would be able to score enough to knock over any team this year before Saturday's surprise win over Melbourne. But the way the Bombers took on the Demons and smashed them through the midfield showed it won't be the club's sole victory in what still looms as a challenging season. If Joe Daniher can replicate his imposing aerial exploits again near goal the Bombers should be competitive in many games across the season and should pinch a couple more at least. And Essendon's midfield of David Zaharakis, Zach Merrett and Darcy Parish will also continue to blend and jel to cause some problems for opponents. Since the Bombers signed their group of top-ups some inside the club have been quietly confident of surprising a few teams across the year and claiming some scalps. Melbourne found out the hard way that that optimism wasn't misplaced. - Callum Twomey

8. All's Wells with Daniel
After a virtual write-off of a season last year, Daniel Wells has quickly reminded everyone just how good he is. The North Melbourne veteran played just two games in 2015 due to a combination of Achilles and calf problems, and after a solid opener against Adelaide last week, really took centre stage against the Lions on Saturday. While his pace and outside polish was on show – he finished with three goal assists – Wells was just as crucial in the clinches. He finished with 23 disposals (11 contested), seven clearances and four tackles in a first-rate performance. Adding Wells to a preliminary final outfit makes North Melbourne a dangerous proposition for any opponent. - Michael Whiting

9. The Giants' round one shocker was an aberration
Even Geelong coach Chris Scott admitted it after the game: the Giants outfit that lost to Melbourne last week was nothing like the team he faced in Canberra. GWS was at its hard-running best against the Cats, hunting the visitors in packs to pile the pressure on Scott's men. They were elements of the Giants' game that were nowhere to be seen against the Dees. Shane Mumford and Stephen Coniglio led the way with their ferocity at the contest, and Ryan Griffen, Toby Greene and Devon Smith responded brilliantly after poor first-up outings. There's no doubt the Giants are a top-eight side if they bring the same mindset we saw against Geelong, week in, week out. - Adam Curley

• Fantasy form watch: Round two's Pig, Presti and Junior Swine