IN THIS week's Nine Things We Learned, we discover the Tigers of old are back, the Saints can be unlocked and much, much more.

Check out what we learned from round nine of the 2023 season.

1) The Blues are wasting their Coleman medallists

If you looked at the half-time stats before the score in Saturday night's battle between Carlton and the Western Bulldogs, you would have been forgiven for thinking the Blues were well in front. Eleven clear in inside 50s and four ahead in clearances, Carlton was actually three goals down and - of greater concern - had kicked just 1.4 in a half of footy. Liam Jones was doing the job on Harry McKay (assisted by McKay's panicked snap set shot), and fellow Coleman winner Charlie Curnow was pushing further and further afield just to get his hands on the ball. The Bulldogs clogged up Carlton's back 50 and the Blues responded with slow, stagnant, chip-mark play, meaning their superstars up forward were essentially wasted. The Blues looked their best in the third term when they moved the footy with dash and dare, but it wasn't enough to prevent a late Dogs surge. – Sarah Black

2) The Tigers of old are back

After a stuttering start to the season, the old Richmond roared to life in Friday's victory over Geelong. The unpredictable, fast, and chaotic style of play the Tigers proudly made their brand in recent years was back and it was stunningly effective. More impressive for the club was the shift in role executed by several of the old guard. Dustin Martin played the majority of the game in attack, as did former captain Trent Cotchin, and both were able to make a significant impact on the scoreboard. Regardless of personnel, it was all about the Tiger brand, which all 23 men brought for the full four quarters in what was an ominous sign for the remainder of the year. -  Gemma Bastiani

3) St Kilda's defence can be unlocked

Much has been made of St Kilda's stingy defence this year, but Adelaide showed it's possible to get around the great wall of Callum Wilkie and co. The Crows combined great skill, speed and effort to tear the Saints apart on Sunday, running hard in waves and using quick, neat handballs and pinpoint kicks to move the ball forward quickly. Once within scoring range, the Crows made the most of their opportunities, kicking 19 goals. This fast, slick and accurate footy messed with the structure of the Saints' defence and was incredibly effective, with Adelaide becoming the first side this year to kick more than 83 points against the Saints. It also dealt Ross Lyon's men their heaviest defeat of the season, with their previous six and seven-point losing margins paling in comparison to the 52-point loss. The Crows have now provided the rest of the competition with a blueprint for how to get around the Saints' defence, but it remains to be seen just how many teams will be skilful and speedy enough to pull it off. – Sophie Welsh

4) The Lions are learning to win in different ways

One of the concerns over Brisbane in the past few seasons is that it could win only one way. If the Lions weren't winning stoppages and camping the ball in their front half to feed their potent attacking mix, they'd struggle to beat the best teams, the theory went. Saturday night's win against Essendon was another example of how Chris Fagan's team has matured and has more strings to their bow than ever. Earlier in the year, it was forward 50 stoppage domination against the vaunted Melbourne midfield that helped them get past the Demons. Against Collingwood, it was an aggressive, close-down-space defence that rattled the Magpies, and last week against Carlton it was manic forward pressure that forced untold Blues' turnovers to fuel their scoring. And against the Bombers, it was a subtle shift to level up numbers ahead of the ball and go longer and more direct to their tall targets that helped overcome a frustrating first half. So far in 2023, this is a composed Lions team capable of winning in different ways. – Michael Whiting

5) The Daicos tagging debate will rage on

Last week it was Ryan Clarke, the week before it was Ben Keays. Both reduced the Brownlow Medal favourite to less than his best. After another week of discussion around the value of tagging Nick Daicos, Adam Kingsley opted against a hard tag at the MCG, and the second-year sensation relished the freedom on Mother's Day. While it was all about Mason Cox, the 20-year-old did as he pleased, amassing 41 disposals – 27 uncontested after being restricted in the past fortnight – 540 metres gained and nine score involvements in another dazzling display. To tag or not to tag? The debate will continue. - Josh Gabelich

6) Freo's forward line is suddenly dangerous

The Dockers managed 100 points in successive weeks for the first time since 2016 in a sign their forward line is finally functioning without Rory Lobb and the injured Matthew Taberner. Freo had averaged 77.14 points per game across the first seven rounds, leading to questions about their ball use. Last week against Hawthorn, they managed their highest score of 18.9 (117) since round one, 2019 and backed that up against Sydney with 16.7 (103), with the ability of young tall forwards Jye Amiss, Josh Treacy and Luke Jackson to mark inside 50 (12 for the game) making them dangerous. Underrated small forward Lachie Schultz thrived when crumbing off their aerial threat too, booting a team-high four goals to help potentially get the Dockers' season back on track. - Ben Somerford

7) The young Hawks are far from soaring, but they can fly

There was plenty of pain for Hawthorn supporters on Saturday but there was also a preview of Sam Mitchell's vision for his side. At quarter-time things were ugly; goalless and trailing by 34 points thanks only to Melbourne's early inaccuracy and nothing much had changed by half-time either. But when play resumed, it looked to be a totally different side that took the field, with the young Hawks outplaying their battle-hardened opponents to the point the Demons looked genuinely rattled. It didn't last long and the eventual margin was substantial, but those who were watching caught a glimpse of a side that might not be as far from success as most thought entering 2023. - Howard Kimber

8) Matt Rowell can find the balance to his brutal game

For all the ferocity Matt Rowell brought to Optus Stadium on Friday night, there was an unfamiliar aspect to his game that made him even more damaging than normal. Rowell was brutal in every contest he entered, winning 13 hard balls and laying a career-best 17 tackles. But it was the team-high 17 uncontested possessions and 610m gained (almost double his season average) that made him a weapon. Rowell had a contested possession rate of 63.7 per cent heading into round nine, ranked No.1 among the elite contested ball winners. Going at 43.3 per cent against the Eagles, he looked to be a different player. It was possibly the most damaging version of Rowell we have seen and the Suns will be keen to maintain that balance in his game if they can. – Nathan Schmook

9) Clarko was right - there are 'no grudges here'

North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson said during the week there were "no grudges" between the Roos and former player Jason Horne-Francis after his bombshell move from the club last year, and it seems he was telling the truth. While the potential tensions loomed as a nice sub-plot to an otherwise uninspiring affair, it wasn't nearly as hostile as some anticipated. Aggrieved Roos supporters booed him at every opportunity, but Horne-Francis' former teammates had little interest in targeting him. It was a mature showing from North towards the emerging star, who has been peculiarly heckled by many opposition teams' supporters in games this season. The 'nothing to see here' attitude may well have turned out to be the right one; despite the thumping Port win, the former No.1 pick had minimal impact on the game, finishing with 15 possessions, five tackles and a goal. – Alison O’Connor