AFL.com.au's Callum Twomey takes a look at the Bulldogs' new weapon, the best value player in the competition and more in Cal-culations

WHEN NEW MEETS OLD

KEEP your eye on the red and the blue and the new.

New St Kilda was the buzz team of the summer but New Melbourne got the honours in Sunday's shootout at the 'G.

It could hardly have been a better start for Steven King as Demons coach, with King spending all summer encouraging his side to run, create, try things, fail and then try again. All of that was on show against the Saints, with Latrelle Pickett already a cult hero and fan favourite, Jacob van Rooyen bagging a career-best six-goal haul, Jai Culley stepping up with some key moments and Caleb Windsor, Xavier Lindsay and Harry Sharp also taking their chances. Ex-Lion Sharp won some key contests late in his best game for Melbourne.

But it was the old – champion Demons captain Max Gawn in particular – who was the difference in Melbourne's 13-point win.

Gawn told Fox Footy post-game he spoke to his wife pre-game and wondered if he still had it – the speed, the running, the jump, the lot. "You never know if you're still good enough at the level," he said. "It's good to know I can still match it with the best guys."

He undersold himself. Gawn was best on ground against the Saints' high-priced recruit – having 22 disposals, kicking a crucial goal, having 35 hitouts and five clearances. Numbers wise he had the edge over Tom De Koning, but there was more than that – after the former Blue had gotten the early jump, it was Gawn's relentless run and work ethic that proved a stark reminder that although rules may have conspired against him, and a new wave of rucks are emerging, Gawn is nowhere near gone.

He came onto the ground at the 16-minute mark of the third quarter and didn't have another spell on the interchange, and Champion Data highlighted his last quarter influence: 10 disposals, five contested possessions, a clearance, three inside 50s, one score assist, three score involvements and a goal.

King's influence on game style showed the Demons kicked more and were more direct, with the numbers seeing their kick to handball ratio on Sunday lift to 1.64 – up from a competition-low 1.23 last season. Their ball movement from defensive transition was also up significantly on last year, albeit just for one game.

St Kilda froze up on the big stage last week against Collingwood and after an inside-50 avalanche blew a chance to start its season with an MCG win and now head to the Giants next week trying to avoid a 0-3 start to the season.

NORTH'S TEASE TIME IS OVER

THIS can't be another false dawn for North Melbourne.

Rewind 12 months and the Roos smashed Melbourne by 10 goals at Marvel Stadium in round two and looked to have arrived. Their younger players dominated, the spark was there and the dark days appeared gone. Then they lost their next six games, then had a draw, and didn't land another four points until round 10.

Sunday's comfortable win over Port Adelaide was a pressure releaser for the Roos, despite it being their first game of the season. They needed to get off to a strong start to show their progress in Alastair Clarkson's fourth season at the helm and were able to shut out Port's best players and get going themselves.

Luke Davies-Uniacke was terrific, new captain Nick Larkey led the way with four goals while Harry Sheezel was also very good as he always is. But others did their jobs, too. Finn O'Sullivan might end up being the best of the lot at North and was able to shutdown Port superstar Zak Butters, while Griffin Logue limited Mitch Georgiades in attack. Debutant Tom Blamires stepped in two weeks after being added to the list and was composed, Paul Curtis was lively and Dylan Stephens played perhaps his best game for the club.

North plays West Coast next week in Perth, before games against Essendon and Carlton at Marvel Stadium. There is a harder edge to the expectations on North Melbourne this year but the Roos should now be planning to be 4-0 to start their season.

Port's effort was poor, with their midfield well beaten (40 clearances to 29) and a thrashing in contested possessions around the ground (132 to 112).

HOW THE AFL ENGINEERED A NEW DOGS WEAPON

THE WESTERN Bulldogs didn't need another weapon to be a premiership favourite this year. But the AFL's new rules have delivered them an extra gamechanger in a red, white and blue galaxy of stars.

The ruck rule bringing back jumping at centre bounces has made Tim English, after a decade of toiling against bigger-bodied ruckmen, an ace up Luke Beveridge's sleeve.

The difference between the new rules and the old was on show on Saturday as English faced up against Greater Western Sydney ruckman Kieren Briggs, who rose in recent years on the back of his physicality and size. 

English had 22 disposals, 23 hitouts, five clearances and was ranked the fifth best player on the ground (and third best Bulldog behind the brilliant Marcus Bontempelli and key forward Aaron Naughton) by AFL Player Ratings with a score of 17.1 while Briggs was the fourth lowest with a rating of 1.9, although Briggs did only have 51 per cent game time. 

English has battled against the bigger ruckmen over his career, and at times been a Bulldogs whipping boy, but within the first two weeks of this season it is clear the new rules have hugely benefited him and the Dogs' midfield unit. 

The Dogs' smashing of the Giants continued a hot start to the year and a dominance over their Sydney rivals. Beveridge's team has now won 10 of its past 11 games against the Giants and nearly every time it has been a clearance battering.

Again it was the case on Saturday, with the Dogs winning the count 45 to 26 in their 81-point win. In their two clashes last year it was the same (41 to 24 and 55 to 33), the year before it was 50 to 35 and 46 to 38 and back in 2023 the numbers were just as stark (51 to 35 and 45 to 37). Whack whack. 

IS THE WIZ THE BEST VALUE PLAYER IN THE AFL? 

CAN I put in my order now for an All-Australian coloured Wizard hat for 2026?

Yes it's early but Nick Watson's form to start the season makes it clear the Hawthorn small forward should be aiming high in 2026. 

After being Hawthorn's best player in its Opening Round loss to Greater Western Sydney, Watson backed it up with four goals against Essendon on Friday night. His running has improved, his midfield time is building and he is getting involved more within games. The quiet patches have been replaced by midfield bursts and everything that made him 'the Wizard' originally back in 2022 as a bottom-ager remains.

After jittery moments early in his AFL career, he kicked 25 goals in his debut season and then 36 last year. If he can average two goals a game and finish the home and away season with a mid-40s tally, Watson will put himself right in the frame to snag a small forward All-Australian guernsey. 

Last year Kysaiah Pickett (40 goals) and Zac Bailey (33 goals in home and away season) were the team of the year small forwards but both did damage up the field. Jamie Elliott (52 home and away goals) and Jack Higgins (46 goals) were next contenders as small forwards.   

Watson signed an extra three-year deal with the Hawks through to the end of 2029 late last season, while still having this season to run. When that deal begins he will enter the ranks as one of the highest paid small forwards in the game. 

For now, he is still on the final year of his standardised contract under Collective Bargaining Agreement rules. That means he is making just under $300,000 this year on his base contract. Throw in an extra $5000 per game under match payments and it gets to around $425,000, with additional services agreements seeing him get to around $500,000, still less than the average AFL player wage last year ($505,000).

Watson was in the first draft class that had initial three-year deals, capping cash intake on third years for the first time, but he will make that back – and more – in the next three years with a huge pay rise coming. 

Hawthorn best make the most of the best value player in the competition this year. 

SWANN'S NEXT RULE

GREG Swann brought in seven new rules to the competition this year – but he missed an eighth.

Staging – of the goalkicking variety – should be next on his hit list. 

Players have been milking the 30-second shot clock for too long and not only should it be eliminated, it should also warrant a team surrendering control of the ball.

Carlton's Brodie Kemp was the prime example of where the rule needs tightening during Thursday night's clash with Richmond.

Kemp marked the ball on the 50-metre arc and took the maximum 30 seconds to compose himself before starting his walk in for goal. But that was part of the feigning – instead of having a shot, at last moment, he pulled a short kick to teammate Hudson O'Keeffe in the pocket. 

The same happened on Saturday when Bailey Smith won a free kick outside the 50-metre arc, waited 30 seconds and then passed to a contest in the forward pocket. 

All within the rules and fair play to Kemp and Smith – but it is not what the shot clock was designed for and dupes umpires. Even late in Melbourne's win over the Saints the Dees were able to milk the clock with some chipping around the arc. 

The AFL is on a crusade against cutting out dead time of games and it was a significant factor in the batch of adjustments to come into the game this season, with the League telling clubs it had wiping out the shot clock on the watch list for its 2027 changes.

There is merit in giving players a certain period of time that isn't arbitrary to prepare for a set shot at goal rather than leave it in the umpires' hands, but the Kemp manoeuvre shouldn't be allowed. 

PARK IT, DEMONS

RICHMOND is already espousing the recruiting benefits when its Punt Road redevelopment is complete. And fair enough. 

It will be the shiniest, newest facility in inner Melbourne on the city's busiest road and will remain a torpedo punt from their home ground the MCG. 

When chasing rival players, facilities are important. It is an arms race when attracting professionals who want ease of travel, world class surrounds and the modern benefits that come with being an elite athlete. 

It is why Melbourne's move to Waverley Park as an interim base is both overdue but also the right decision.

The Demons have said for months – as recently as late February – that their only consideration in terms of their next facility was sorting their Caulfield Racecourse base. 

But all the while they have been scoping out Waverley Park, the former headquarters of Hawthorn, with multiple visits while their players – in both men's and women's programs – have been of the understanding they were heading there. 

This comes nine months after departing coach Simon Goodwin's quip that he wouldn't miss driving to Casey Fields – one of three homes the Demons have had alongside their training at Gosch's Paddock and AAMI Park and administration at the MCG.

Melbourne first released its feasibility study into the Caulfield Racecourse as its new home in late 2023. Yet the project still looks a long, long way down the track from materialising to the point of being the Dees' home. 

Whilst the Demons seem to want to be able to announce the next steps of Caulfield before confirming a Waverley residency, surely a move there over summer would have been better than a get-up-and-go during the season.