GOLD COAST coach Guy McKenna has a clear analogy of where his young team is at right now: "It's a 1500m race and our boys can only run 800m at the moment."

It's frightening to imagine just how good the Suns might be once they learn to run out the full 1500.

Having led the great Geelong at half-time before being overrun the week before, the Suns tried the opposite against West Coast at Patersons Stadium on Saturday.

They conceded six goals in the first 14 minutes and then hit back so well that the result was still in doubt until Nic Naitanui kicked the sealer 21 minutes into the last quarter.

Big-money recruits Gary Ablett (brilliant in his 200th match), Michael Rischitelli and Campbell Brown (who did a number on the much bigger Quinten Lynch) led from the front.

But some of the young talent is just phenomenal, with ruckman Zac Smith the best of them.

He got to see the AFL's in-form ruckman Dean Cox up close for the first time on Saturday and based on his progress it won't be long before the 21-year-old is every bit as good as the four-time All Australian.

Trent McKenzie has gone a bit under the radar as names such as David Swallow, Brandon Matera, Harley Bennell and Charlie Dixon get more attention, but he's another with genuine star potential. The former Western Jet has a booming left-foot kick that should take him a long way.

It was only a few weeks ago that the Gold Coast young'uns were looked on as a certain four points. That is clearly no longer the case, particularly with seven of their last 13 at home, with the round 17 match against Richmond in Cairns.

No Buddy, no…
The headline was just about written as Fremantle looked on the verge of a big upset when leading by 26 points early in the last quarter at the MCG yesterday.

But Hawthorn rattled home with the last eight goals of the match to pinch what in the end became a comfortable win.

Hawks fans would've been a little less enthused about getting to the 'G following the news their star forward Lance Franklin was out with a calf injury, but those who decided to stay home missed a sublime performance from their other crowd-pleaser.

Cyril Rioli almost single-handedly kept his team in the match, booting five of the Hawks' nine goals to three-quarter time, cheekily noting post-match that with Franklin missing "it was good to have Buddy out of the side, have a bit of space."

The noticeable lift from the crowd when the Hawthorn No.33 goes near the ball is very similar to when Gary Ablett Jnr used to get a sniff in his early days at Skilled Stadium.

Like Ablett, Rioli rarely fails to deliver, and although his stats remain relatively low, their impact has a multiple beyond the norm.

It remains to be seen whether Rioli will follow the Ablett lead and spend most of his game in the midfield. The Hawks are spooked by the prospect of the Rioli hamstrings finding the constant running in the midfield too much of a stretch at this stage of his career.

Club by club
Geelong: Nathan Vardy looks at home in the big league, and Brad Ottens snuck forward and booted five goals against the Bulldogs. Gate closed on Tom Hawkins despite a solid performance in the VFL?

Collingwood: Dane Swan sets off for the high altitude of Arizona on Monday morning as he seeks to overcome a niggling thigh injury, an AFL first. Seems to be no limit in the inventiveness of the well-resourced Collingwood football department. 

Hawthorn: Four games, four times in the green substitute's vest for Luke Breust. Fascinating Leigh Matthews interview with coach Alastair Clarkson on afl.com.au recently revealed that choosing the sub had added big time to the selection meetings. Perhaps not any more: Breust has made the job his own, kicking six goals after tossing off the vest.

Carlton: Is there a midfield that runs deeper than Carlton's? And is there a footballer that tries harder than Mitch Robinson?

Essendon: Coach James Hird's constant reminders that 2011 is all about improvement seemed like a clever ruse early in the year. Not so much now after losses to Richmond and Melbourne. Improvement is needed quickly.

Sydney Swans: Surely the performance of the round. Led the Brisbane Lions by 78 points before half-time on Saturday night. What a shellacking.

West Coast: Less than amazing against the Suns on Saturday, but now have five wins from six games at home this season. Building a fortress again, and have six more home games from their last 13, with only Geelong and Essendon having higher ladder possies.

Fremantle: Good for three quarters against the Hawks and will consider it one that got away. Fyfe is a gun, Pavlich is out of sorts, and big Sandi can't come back soon enough. Mark Harvey may well have saved many footy departments many hours of analysis, showing how to beat the Hawthorn possession game - it's called hard work in the front end.

Richmond: Will the dreaded curse of the bye affect their performance against the Swans on Sunday? Essendon, on Friday, became the tenth of 12 to lose after having a week off.

Melbourne: Fielded five players with a combined five games experience against the Bombers, and they all did their bit. Came away with plenty of bruises, and four points to show for the pain.

St Kilda: Not much to be pleased about from Saturday night, other than a tough first 55 minutes, and a remarkable performance from Brendon Goddard to collect 24 touches, reprise his GF specie, and kick a goal only a week after getting on the plane back from Perth looking more rigid than Frankenstein.

Western Bulldogs: Oh dear. Optimists will consider the next month's draw - St Kilda, Adelaide, Gold Coast and Melbourne a little easier than the last few (West Coast, Hawthorn, Geelong).

Adelaide: One they thought they could have won, but in the end probably lucky not to lose by more. Other than the first three quarters against Collingwood last month, nothing seems to have worked since the opening round win against Hawthorn. Of all the teams in the competition, this may be the most bewildering.

North Melbourne: Finally got their kicking boots on, giving their midfielders some reward for their hard work at stoppages. Andrew Swallow's first quarter was something to behold.

Brisbane Lions: The old 'Gabbatoir' days are long gone. Not much big Jonathan Brown can do from centre-half forward if the ball doesn't get forward of centre, no matter how inspirational he is.

Port Adelaide: No doubt a trip to Darwin takes a bit out of the legs, but that doesn't completely excuse the last quarter no-show. At least Travis Boak had a dip.

Gold Coast: Fast becoming many fans second team. Fascinating to watch as this young, hand-picked crew continues to improve and the genius of Gary Ablett continues to develop. 

Player of the week
Andrew Swallow (North Melbourne)
What a game against the Crows and on his birthday. Had 17 touches, 10 clearances and a goal by quarter-time and didn't let up much from there, finishing with 39, 17 and two. The 24 year-old has been a major bright spot for the Kangaroos in an often glum season. Now if only they could lure his younger brother David from the Gold Coast down to Arden Street.

Twitterati
"Confession... The last song I listened to before the game yesterday was Katy Perry E.T. And I enjoyed it!!!" - Hawks defender Josh Gibson (@joshgibson06) spurns the traditional pre-game AC/DC in favour of some more pop-flavoured pump-up music.

"Just clearing it up, no I'm not injured. And thanks to all our supporters who are sticking with us, our time will come." - Adelaide's Jared Petrenko (@jpetrenko23) was subbed off during his team's 47-point loss to North Melbourne.

"Thanks to everyone for their support, been a hard week personally. Great win by the boys but move on to next week vs brissy!" - Carlton's Mitch Robinson (@MitchyRobbo) obviously feeling some backlash from his "bruise-free footy" comments about Melbourne.

Next week's game not to be missed
The stakes will be high in the west when Fremantle and Essendon do battle on Sunday afternoon at Patersons Stadium, but that's not enough to knock off Geelong versus Hawthorn as game of the round.

After the Hawks' 19-point round five loss to the Cats, Alastair Clarkson said:

"We're not quite there yet. Whether that's the manner in which we play or whether it's personnel, we need to find that out pretty soon because we want to feature prominently at the end of the year."

He's since tinkered with the game plan, added four new players (Paul Puopolo, Isaac Smith, Luke Breust and Jordan Lisle) given another (former Demon Kyle Cheney) his first game in the brown and gold stripes, and watched as the Hawks have won five straight.

The Cats, meanwhile, have just continued motoring along with barely a hitch.

As matches between these teams always do, this one should have plenty of feeling and once again go down to the wire.

Geelong fans continue to note that the Cats have remained unbeaten against the Hawks in five matches since the 2008 Grand Final, while noting they would swap them all for that glitch.

Hawk fans note that none of that run has surpassed the 26-point margin of 2008, with the round 5 margin of 19 points the highest.

And finally, Geelong fans note the Hawks have not beaten Geelong since Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett said on ABC-TV's Offsiders that the Hawks had a psychological edge over the Cats.

You can follow Mark Macgugan on Twitter: @mmacgugan.

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs.

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