Nic Naitanui, the mark and Jack Watts

Peter Ryan, AFL Record Writer: NAITANUI!!!! That mark, then the goal showed he can be a match-winner. Have we seen a talent like him before? What role is he playing within the Eagles' resurgence?

Howard Kotton, AFL Record Writer: It was a fantastic mark, one of the best I’ve seen (and I saw 'Jesaulenko, you beauty' in 1970). By capping it off with a goal he completed the perfect play and gave the Eagles the momentum and belief to carry on in the second half, even after the Blues made a charge at them during the third quarter. He is a rare talent and his combination with Dean Cox has been a key factor behind the Eagles’ resurgence this year. His mobility around the ground and ability to clear the stoppages make him a difficult proposition to handle. He is so good at ground level for a guy his size, but he is still learning the game and (scarily) has the potential to be even better. I don’t think he is a better ruckman than Dean Cox, or even Matthew Kreuzer for that matter. But with that aerial ability, quick reflexes and skill on the ground, he complements the other Eagles’ talls in attack, Josh Kennedy, Jack Darling and Quinten Lynch, which is more than a handful for any defence. Those five players have kicked 83 goals between them in 2011.

Ben Collins, AFL Record Writer: Naitanui is certainly a rare, albeit still very raw, talent. He has showcased his great marking talents and goal sense from his first game, and some of his centre-bounce takeaways have perhaps been unprecedented in their agility, speed and coordination for a player of 201cms. He is developing nicely, and the continuity and form of Cox has allowed him to develop at a more steady pace rather than being forced to assume the No.1 role before his time. Although the mark was a fantastic highlight, the Eagles' coaching staff would like to see more one-percenters, better positioning and bodywork and general smarts from him. Like most big blokes, he mightn't realise his huge potential until his mid to late 20s. Further testament to Naitanui's skills is the fact the Eagles occasionally use him at centre bounces 'roving' to Cox. Who else of his size has done that?

Ryan: I reckon Nic Nat might be the return of the ruck as follower, before the days of the ruck rover began with Russell Renfrey and Ron Barassi in the ’50s. But we tend to focus on one young player a week. The trick is to back it up week after week. That's why keeping Dean Cox, Daniel Kerr, Andrew Embley, Quinten Lynch and Darren Glass fit and firing is so important. Naitanui becomes the cream on top that can win finals.

Nick Bowen, AFL Record Writer: I reckon what separates Naitanui from most other ruckmen is his athleticism at ground level. He's a freak. Reminds me of 'Buddy' - tall enough to get nosebleeds but has the speed and tricks of a small forward. Kreuzer and Gold Coast's Zac Smith are damn good on the ground too, but they don't have Nic Nat's X-factor. That said, I still think Naitanui is the icing on the Eagles' cake. Veterans like Cox, Kerr, Embley and Glass deserve most of the credit for their resurgence. Josh Kennedy has also been hugely important.

Geoff Slattery, Managing Editor, AFL Media: I wish I'd been there to rub it into the Carlton mob: BIG NIC!!!!

Ryan: You'd want to have Cyril Rioli's pace to yell 'Big Nic' more than once yesterday and get out alive.

Kotton: There is only one Big Nick, the colossus who wore No. 2 for Carlton ...

Slattery: Funny we're talking about Naitanui on the weekend that Jack Watts showed he CAN play. I never thought I'd say that. Watching him through his early days, he reminded me of a big puppy, all legs and legs. On the weekend he showed a rare ability for a big bloke to get and give and be prepared for the next play. He still needs to improve his foot disposal, but he's a sharp shooter for goal. Memo to all of us when a number one pick is a big bloke - be patient!

Ryan: Watts has 26 goals from 31 games. It's a crude measure but at the end of his third season, aged 20, Wayne Carey had 66 goals from 39 games. Watts might have 50 by season's end, aged 20. He will be a good player, but don't we miss the point with those debates? The question has always been would Naitanui have been more handy for Melbourne right now?

Collins: Melbourne is already well served in the ruck with Mark Jamar and Stefan Martin. The Demons have pulled the right rein I reckon, judging by Watts' seemingly more purposeful, intense approach, which obviously comes from physical development and confidence.

Bowen: Watts was always going to take time. He didn't have the big body that someone like Jack Darling has in his first year. But with his pace and gun-barrel-straight kicking he had two attributes that never go astray at AFL level. Now he's adding some of the contested marking he showcased at junior level, look out. He's going to be a gun.

A Happy Team at Hawthorn

Slattery: Hawthorn's win on Friday night was surely one of the club's best - despite the mediocre opposition. The coaching team (not just the coach) should take enormous credit for what they are achieving. This is not just about a club reinventing itself with a form of play that is part soccer, part International Rules - ie retaining possession with pinpoint passing - but also about a club that is clearly playing as a team. That's not just a facile comment, but by 'as a team' I mean a collection of individuals who clearly enjoy each other's company, and what they can do as a group to overcome adversity. The only sad thing is we have to wait another month for more Rioli genius.

Collins: I was looking forward to Cyril and Leon (Davis) going head to head. What a clash that would have been: pure pace and skill - a spectator's dream and a rare throwback to one-on-one footy.

Ryan: Yep, that is disappointing. Might have to wait until finals. Hawthorn's structure reminds me of a soccer formation with a bunch of playmakers behind the ball, pacy wingers out wide and some sneaky, running strikers up forward. It requires precise kicking from brilliant kickers such as Matt Suckling, Luke Hodge, Shaun Burgoyne, Sam Mitchell and Jordan Lewis to put those players into space. Will it hold up against Collingwood's press?

Collins: The thing that makes the Hawks a big chance against the Pies' press is that their kicking isn't only precise, it's penetrating. They can clear lines with long, flat 50-55-metre passes. That's damaging against any defensive mechanism.

Mark Macgugan, afl.com.au writer: Was a pleasure to watch Hawthorn's field kicking on Friday night. No doubt they'll be tested by Collingwood's pressure though. Essendon's inability to stop a loose man constantly getting free was shameful. Surely they'd have been well aware of how the Hawks play?

Bowen: The press killed off Geelong's handball happy game plan but I think the Hawks' plan will stand up better. A lot will depend on how much pressure the Pies can apply to the Hawks' ball-carriers, but the Hawks have stacked their team with that many good kicks they've got to have a good chance. It just shows what a great tactician 'Clarko' is. I see a lot in the media are now calling for Jeffrey K to re-sign him now. Hard to argue with them.

Macgugan: Agree. Time to get a new contract under his nose.

Slattery: No need for any re-appointment. The Clarkson/Kennett deal is the right deal. Let the season run its course, then work it out. By the way, it's also looking a good bet for the coach: the way the team is operating - players and coaches as a team - the deal should be more attractive for Clarkson at season's end than at any time over the last 12 months. Interesting point Clarkson made on the weekend, by the way, when he admitted he and the coaches had not performed all that well over the past two seasons (2009, 2010). Coaches can drop out of form too, was the message.

Collins: Collingwood seems to have learnt from the Hawthorn lesson of 2009/10. The Hawks believed the Cluster would sustain them for those seasons (injuries didn't help) and the Pies are trying to stay ahead of the play, so to speak, with many of their initiatives.

Understanding the coach's role?

Slattery: Hawthorn's win on Friday was also Essendon's fifth straight loss. Isn't it fascinating to ponder how we sometimes claim a team is failing because of the coach's inability, and rarely because the coach hasn't the cattle. Imagine the outcry if Matthew Knights was in charge, with his contract to expire at the end of 2011 (as it was before he got the chop)? As a football community, generally led by the media, we don't understand what is happening inside the club, and how coaches and coaching staff really work. Turning clubs around is a 10-year task in this era. Ten years can also see highs and lows - as per Collingwood under Malthouse. Hird and his coaching team need several years before we will know if they have what it takes.

Ryan: Ten years to not only know about players but to get a conditioning and development and medical team all on the same page. That is why Collingwood and Geelong are firing and why Chris Scott's comment a few weeks ago that it was he that had to 'get with the program' was so insightful. Hird will succeed because he defines the culture so will get it right. Clarkson is beginning to define Hawthorn as a progressive, smart, innovative club. The style of play he has overseen is the most interesting development in the game since the forward press.

Bowen: Geoff, I think that's why Essendon's decision to sack Knights was the right call. It bought them time to get stuck into the rebuild without the distraction of a media witchhunt for Knights' scalp. In fairness to Hird, he continually tried to douse media hype about the Dons early in the season. He knows they've got a long way to go. The beauty - for him and Essendon - is that as a club legend the fans will be give him the time to do it.

Ryan: The demands on coaches are huge. Got to have a sense of humour. That's why Guy McKenna's response to 'wrong way Rischitelli's' kick was so healthy.

Collins: Regarding Hird and Essendon, don't forget Malthouse's first year at Collingwood. From wooden-spooners he lifted them to 5-0 in 2000, but they won just two of their next 15 to finish second-bottom. He cleared about 30 players in two years and made successive Grand Finals, still without a great list, but one that was willing to figuratively die for each other. Hird evoked a similar emotion from his teammates as a captain and no doubt does the same as a coach. Like Geoff said, he just doesn't have the cattle, especially with injuries a factor.

Bomber(s) face the Cats

Ryan: The Cats face Essendon this week. Full house. Cats firing. Essendon in a slump. What will Mark Thompson and Brendan McCartney do to try to dismantle the unbeaten Cats?

Collins: Inside knowledge is worth something when the teams are of comparable ability. They are not.

Kotton: I know the Bombers are not happy with the way they are going at the moment, but they have to be patient. Their coaching panel is among the best in the land and their flying start to the season can be attributed to the fact they began training way before most of the other teams. Injuries have not helped. The loss of Dempsey and Winderlich early in the season robbed them of crucial run and carry, and the midfield was decimated last Friday night when skipper Watson and inside midfielder Lonergan went down.

Bowen: I don't think there's anything Bomber or McCartney can do that will make any meaningful difference to the result. The Bombers are undermanned and knackered - they've been up since the NAB Cup - and the Cats will take them apart. It makes you wonder whether clubs should just go through the motions in the NAB Cup.

Ryan: Clarkson said on Friday night it was the performance of their youngsters in the NAB Cup round one that gave the coaching staff faith in them going into 2011. You never go through the motions in AFL footy.

Bowen: Yeah, but you don't have to treat it like a finals campaign. Playing kids suggests the Hawks were more worried about development than the results.

Slattery: That point of Clarkson's re. the NAB Cup was fascinating. That round-robin against Fremantle and West Coast saw the Hawks play a dozen no-names for a win and a loss that could have been a win (Brent Renouf missed a sitter from dead in front against the Eagles). This is a clear indication of a coaching staff that was looking well ahead, not just the next week of February.

Those crafty Cats have a plan

Ryan: Speaking of looking ahead, that is what the Cats are doing. Geelong may not have a player play every game this season, with only Travis Varcoe and Joel Corey having played every game to this point. The most recent premiership team to do that - win a flag without a player in the team who played every game - was Essendon in 1984 under the king of versatility, Kevin Sheedy. We're in a different era. Bank wins early and then manage players to peak in late September and the first week of October.

Slattery: Geelong's performance this season needs the highest of praise - not just for the obvious 13-0 start, but for the way they have done it. By season's end, the match committee will have probably 30 players to pick from, with the keen knowledge that any of that group can fit a need as it arises. As much as Hawthorn has managed its group because of injury, Geelong has done it to breathe life into an all but dead body. It's been given new life via a kick in the guts by Collingwood in last year's preliminary final, a new bunch of kids, and a coach who knows exactly what's required to win big games, and big tasks.

Collins: Let's not forget that while the Cats are 13-0, it could easily have been 10-3. Great sides find a way, but some things happened late in those games that were outside the Cats' control and happened to go their way.

Is Rodney Eade still the man to rebuild the Bulldogs?

Ryan: Most of us had cast John Worsfold as the competition’s dead coach ranting before the start of this season, but he has rebuilt a young Eagles list into a top-four contender. Should the Bulldogs give Rodney Eade a similar chance to rebuild his list?

Collins: I love Rodney Eade and what he has done at the Dogs, and would love it if he could produce a Worsfold-like comeback, but it seems very much like his final days at the Swans when he'd passed his use-by date. Not sure if they can afford to bring in an untried first-timer though.

Slattery: The Western Bulldogs' decision is one that can't be decided from outside. Appointing a coach is about many things, as Geelong pointed out after Brian Cook revealed its multi-faceted coaching selection system. We know that Rod Eade is a brilliant analyst of footy, but is he the right man to lead a changing crew at the Dogs, a crew that will have names we don't know leading the club by 2015? Managing people, creating culture, leading change, sharing the load - these are all part of a coaching model that was not around when Jock McHale was king of Collingwood.

Bowen: 'Woosher' made the point a little while ago that clubs were always too trigger-happy with their existing coaches when it's time to rebuild. He seemed to suggest the lessons he learnt from the Eagles' early 2000s rebuild had been invaluable this time around. Why wouldn't Eade be able to perform a similar turnaround at the Dogs if given the chance? The only question I think the Dogs heavies have to ask is whether he's lost the players. If so, everyone may benefit from a clean break.

Ryan: Last year Worsfold told me that he did not know when the turnaround would come but when it happened, it would happen very quickly. It was an interesting point at the time that stuck in my mind. He is being proved right now.

Back to the Blues

Ryan: Let's get on to Carlton, last week's premiership hope. Was that the loss Carlton needed to have or is the end of season slump coming? Have they beaten a top four team yet? Are they able to cover for the potential loss of Michael Jamison in defence?

Macgugan: Bit harsh to write the Blues off after one bad day. All the facets we were talking about last week are still there. They haven't played Hawthorn yet, so they haven't had an opportunity to beat them. They should have beaten Geelong. I still think they're a top four side.

Collins: The Blues have played three successive games on the hard surface at Etihad Stadium, which must have taken its toll and they lost Jamison from defence when the Eagles' talls were dangerous. Just a minor blip on the radar, I suspect, although the 'No Judd, No Carlton' slogan gathered serious momentum after Scott Selwood and Daniel Kerr kept the great man to just four kicks (for just the third time in eight years).

Bowen: I think the Blues have done enough to suggest they're a top-four side, regardless of whether they've claimed a big scalp. Their midfield is elite and should carry them deep into September.

Kotton: It wasn't the loss Carlton needed to have. There were a few factors to be considered here. The Blues looked flat from the first bounce yesterday, playing their third game at Etihad Stadium in a row. They were down two key inside midfielders, Mitch Robinson and Ed Curnow, both excellent performers this season, which put a much heavier workload on Judd and Murphy in particular. When Jamison went down, that was a killer blow. He is the Blues' best defender and they can't afford to be without him for too long, particularly against the taller forward lines. He is probably the most important player in the Carlton line-up.

Macgugan: Howard, surely you're not making excuses for the Blues because they were missing Robinson and Curnow? If they're stuffed without those two, how would they go with a list of 'outs' like the Hawks and Cats carried on the weekend?

Kotton: Mark, the Blues’ injury list ran much deeper than Robinson and Curnow at the weekend - (Jarrad) Waite, (Setanta) O’hAilpin, (Shaun) Hampson, (Nick) Duigan, (Jeremy) Laidler to name another five. Yes, you have injuries, all teams do and you have to cover them. That’s not to say the Blues have no depth … but it was difficult to cover the Eagles’ tall forwards when Jamison went down. Having said that, the fanatical commitment and ruthless attitude wasn’t there yesterday and there will need to be a dramatic improvement in that area against Richmond on Saturday.

How good is Petrie?

Ryan: I reckon Drew Petrie is now one of the best key forwards in the competition. He’s almost impossible to stop when he gets a run at the ball and he is extremely strong in one-on-one contests. Can we now use the word elite when speaking of him?

Bowen: Like the best forwards in the comp, Petrie just seems to demand the ball. At the end of yesterday's game, North were just bombing it long to him, knowing he'd provide a contest. He must be the best one-handed mark in the comp - he took three yesterday with Alipate Carlile hanging on to him like a barnacle. The most important player at North by a long way. A great competitor. Good kick. Undoubtedly elite.

Collins: Not elite yet, although he has been for most of this season in an average side. Reassess at season's end and then reassess again at this time next year. If he has continued on in the same vein, then he'd qualify for the elite category for most people.

Ryan: He is a strong player. Loved his reaction to Lindsay Thomas in the third quarter when he asked him to 'leave him alone' while he was lining up for goal. Hilarious. And his one-handed marking was Gary Ablett-esque. Good player. Great leader. Huge influence and so important to North's structure.

AFLPA Meeting

Slattery: A fascinating week ahead includes the AFLPA meeting of players on Wednesday. This is so unprecedented as to be mind-blowing. Imagine every player in every club at every level in a meeting to discuss their wages and conditions for the next five years. Let's hope the meeting is managed in a way that provides perspective and common sense: despite some conventional wisdom, the players are only part of what makes the game so successful. They are already well paid, and adding 10 per cent to a salary of $500,000 is not the answer that will sit well with fans who struggle to pay membership and reserved seats. The right solution will provide for foot soldiers, I hope, not for the generals.

Ryan: Might send 1000 kids down with an autograph book to that meeting. If they sign, we'll support them. Seriously, I reckon the majority of the players deserve good recompense. They are in a precarious job and although the headline-makers get big bucks, many don't leave in an extraordinary financial position. I reckon it's good that the allocation of funds is being questioned because it shines a light on everyone. That can only be a positive.

Bowen: My gut feel is the players - or at least the AFLPA - is fixated on the salary rises the AFL's executives have had in recent seasons. Andrew Demetriou's $2.2 million salary in 2010 no doubt caught the players' attention. But it's hard to keep up with the debate - the players' figures and the AFL's are impossible to reconcile. It's going to be a long process.

Macgugan: One thing's for sure, I'll be steering clear of Twitter on Wednesday night. Get set for a barrage of, 'the players are united' tweets. It's the new 'MUA, here to stay'.

Ryan: As long as they don't say 'we're the ones putting on a show'. That phrase is infuriating. Chicken and egg argument that one.

Kotton: If you compare what the salaries of the players with other sports, particularly in the US, they deserve a bigger serve of the pie than they are getting at the moment.

Collins: The players will get significantly more dough, but not - under any circumstances - at the expense of the game, the competition or its clubs.

Slattery: As Jason McCartney said: I'm spent. See ya

Bowen: Great team ethic, GS. Can we say you've decided to don the red jacket?

Collins: To use an old Hafey-ism, GS was "finessin" too much anyway.

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