In round four, Majak Daw made one of the most memorable debuts in recent memory against the Brisbane Lions. That cameo effort has now been trumped by a genuine command performance. The athletic 22-year-old bagged six goals, took a handful of contested marks and, for the first three terms, kicked perfectly straight with his fluid kicking action. Daw had the chance to nail several others, including two set shots and another eye-catching effort on the run after taking a bounce. In doing so, Daw relegated veteran spearhead Drew Petrie (three goals) to a virtual decoy role.
Boomer's back
Brent Harvey returned to AFL football in such an emphatic manner that it was difficult to believe that the North Melbourne veteran hadn’t played since last September. After serving a six-match suspension incurred during last year's finals series, the 34-year-old, in his 347th game, was one of the most influential players afield from the outset. Despite being tagged by the ferocious Liam Picken, Harvey had a hand in numerous forward moves, setting up scoring opportunities and kicking one himself from a superb left-foot snap after just 10 minutes. His presence and influence were particularly important given skipper Andrew Swallow endured a rare poor game, blanketed by Bulldogs stopper Nick Lower, who laid a club-record 15 tackles.
Another Dog fight
In their corresponding clash at the same venue last year, the Kangaroos were also heavily favoured to hammer the Bulldogs, but they didn't, going down by 18 points in one of their most disappointing losses of the season. Signs were ominous for much of this match that that Dogs might cause another upset, as they applied enormous pressure to the Roos and used the ball better by foot than they have for several weeks. For three-and-a-bit quarters the Dogs didn’t perform like a team that had lost 16 of its previous 17 games by an average margin of 56 points.
Markovic's triple treat
Bulldogs defender Lucas Markovic hadn’t kicked a single goal in his previous 25 games but he shocked everybody, himself included, when he slotted three goals, the first two coming in an inspired five-minute patch in the first quarter. The 25-year-old wasn't feeling so hot just 13 minutes into the game when he was out-marked by Aaron Black and gave away a 50-metre penalty, from which Black converted. But his spirits soon lifted when he drilled his first ever goal, on the run from 40 metres before snagging an opportunist major from the goalsquare. His third major in the third term via a one-handed mark. Fellow defender Mark Austin also kicked a goal, his second in his 14 games.
Old Dogs add bark
The Bulldogs welcomed back some much-needed experience and class in hardened trio Ryan Griffen, Robert Murphy, Daniel Giansiracusa – each of whom were significant contributors. Griffen was the best and most prolific player afield, winning the ball in close and constantly driving the Dogs forward. Giansiracusa kicked two of the Dogs' first three goals and finished with four. Murphy, as always, used the ball with precision and power, providing one of the game's highlights with a long goal after a bouncing run.
