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THE STUNNER
The raps were already considerable, with comparisons to Nat Fyfe before the kid had even played a game, but it's hard not to get excited about what we're going to be treated to from Sydney's Isaac Heeney over the next few years.
In fact, not too many 18-year-olds have strung together a first three AFL games this good.
His 17 disposal efforts in his first two games were followed on Saturday with another ripper against GWS; a slick handball to Lance Franklin as good as a goal, Heeney following up with four of his own, then a large slice of courage to boot, picking himself up after being wrapped around a goalpost.
THE RE-THINK
People are never slow to jump to conclusions about Collingwood, favourable or otherwise. But have the obituaries for the Magpies been particularly premature this time? For all the gloom and doom about the Pies under Nathan Buckley, they are heading into a big Anzac Day clash 2-1, the loss in the end respectable enough to an obvious improver in Adelaide. Yes, the wins have been over Brisbane and St Kilda, but there was clinical quality to Friday night's demolition of the Saints that we haven't seen in quite a while, nor as impressive a scoreline. The return of Dane Swan to vintage form hasn't hurt, but there was plenty to like also from names like Oxley, Crisp, Broomhead and Ramsay. The Bombers are a big test, but the sceptics might want to wait just a little longer before preparing that headstone.
THE GOAL
The TV commentary was somewhat understated, the crowd reaction certainly muted, given this was Gold Coast playing before no more than a handful of supporters at Geelong. But already we might have seen close to the goal of the year, and from a third gamer no less. Jarrod Garlett's first-quarter effort at Simonds Stadium was sublime. It began on his half-back line, where he split a contest with Geelong big man Mark Blicavs. Garlett then artfully tapped the ball over Blicavs' head, regathered, then proceeded to take off on a four-bounce run, slotting the goal eventually from 30 metres out. The Suns pulled up just short, but they're not short on talent. This bloke is another example of it.
THE GRAB(S)
He tackles. He harasses. He creates. He kicks goals. And increasingly, Cyril Rioli takes grabs. Big ones. Two more of them coming in Sunday's final quarter for Hawthorn against the Western Bulldogs. The first saw him fly over the Bulldogs' debutant Lukas Webb. The second, even more impressive, was over key defender Michael Talia. But versatility is a recurring theme among the Hawks' little men, no fewer than half a dozen on Sunday – Rioli, Jed Anderson, Taylor Duryea, Billy Hartung, Sam Mitchell and Paul Puopolo – standing less than 180 centimetres tall. Size for these Hawks, however, is no obstacle.
