1. McCartin shows he'll become the Big Mac
St Kilda burst clear with six successive goals in the third term and the catalyst was young gun Paddy McCartin, who produced probably the best of his 11 AFL games. The second-year key forward, 20, who was making his first appearance at AFL level since round five, ran well to good spots, marked strongly and kicked long and straight. He also showed great nous – when lining up from an acute angle 50 metres out, he pulled his kick at the last moment to deliver a bullet-like pass to Josh Bruce in the hot spot 20 metres out. The Saints' forward trio of Bruce (five goals), Tim Membrey (three) and McCartin (two) ran amok, adding to the belief that they will lead the forward line strongly in life after skipper Nick Riewoldt.

Full match coverage and stats

2. Mate versus mate – skipper versus skipper
It must have been a somewhat surreal experience for former longtime Saints teammates Nick Riewoldt and Brendon Goddard. The opposing skippers shook hands in the middle for the coin toss (which Riewoldt won) before the evergreen veterans lined up on each other on a wing, as forecast by Goddard in his column in The Sunday Age. It was a remarkable match-up before a ball had even been kicked – Riewoldt, 33, 193cms and 92kgs against Goddard, 31, 192cm and 93kgs. Both were immediately into the action and were typically serviceable. When Riewoldt went forward, he was opposed to another former teammate, James Gwilt, who received a senior recall for the clash. The normally precise Goddard made a rare kicking error when a left-foot clanger resulted in a Saints goal in the second term.

3. Ross the boss
Seb Ross signed a two-year contract extension with the Saints this week but the in-form midfielder wasn't in a complacent mood – he simply continued on his merry way. Ross entered the game averaging an impressive 26 touches and reached that figure in the third term, having amassed 20 in the first half. He finished with a career-best 37 possessions, six more than his previous high. The 23-year-old's classy footwork and finishing produced one of the match highlights – a baulk followed by a curling snap on his natural left foot from 35 metres late in the second term. It was an effort that his cousin, suspended Dons leader Jobe Watson, would have been proud to claim as his own. Engine-room partner Jack Steven also had the ball on a string, gathering 40 touches, his second-best ever effort.

Showreel: Rooey's right-hand men blow it open

4. Dons dasher continues to impress
Essendon's Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti once again showed he is a more than capable AFL player, producing another composed yet explosive performance against the Saints. As is his custom, the powerfully-built backman from the Tiwi Islands hit the ball and the body hard, and distributed the ball with some deft, and at times visionary, kicks. Of course, it helps his development that alongside him is experienced ex-Cat James Kelly, whose performance belied his delisting last year.

5. Hickey's half-century
St Kilda was always going to have to be patient to get a return on their free-agency compensation for Brendon Goddard, and ruckman Tom Hickey is showing signs that he will match the Saints' initial expectations. The 25-year-old ex-Sun reached his 50th game against the Bombers and although he and Matthew Leuenberger largely nullified each other, he enabled his midfielders to dominate the clearances (46-23). The big fella was also rewarded when he ran down Goddard, and later floated forward to kick a goal.