1. Tagger Tom blankets Bryce
We've seen an unusual collection of tagger success stories in the past few weeks, including GWS' Sam Reid and Tiger Dion Prestia, but the oddest of the lot is surely Lions' accumulator Tom Rockliff. The former captain went head to head with Bryce Gibbs and held him to just one handball in the first half. Gibbs has been in excellent touch this year, leading a young midfield and averaging 29 disposals a game. With Carlton struggling around the clearances in the first half, the quelling of Gibbs went a long way towards winning the match.

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2. Brisbane Lions hang on in the battle of the rebuild
The Lions, sensing a rare win, came out firing against Carlton. With both teams sitting on the bottom rungs of the ladder, it was the Lion cubs who overran the Blues on their home turf. They were full of run in the opening half, scything through Carlton's usually disciplined and stingy defence to have 71 on the board by half time. But the Blues have won fans all year with their fighting spirit, and scared many Lions fans desperate for a win with a second-half comeback. Led by some wins out of the centre, they cut the Lions' lead from 56 to just 11 points in the fourth quarter, before the home side steadied to eventually win by 30. The final score of 112 was the Brisbane Lions' highest score of the season.

3. Mixed bag for wilful Zorko
There were questions coming into the match as to whether Brendon Bolton would choose to tag Dayne Zorko, and that was answered a few minutes into the match. After a lean, 11-disposal match against Richmond, Zorko was eyeing off a big game against fellow cellar-dwellers Carlton. Tag-free, he had 17 touches and three goals by half-time and was letting the Blues know about it. But Zorko was angry coming into the second half, needlessly jabbing Lachie Plowman in the stomach right in front of the umpire. While there was no penalty at the time, he later threw an arm back at Sam Petrevski-Seton, giving away a free which turned into a 50-metre penalty as players remonstrated. Zorko finished his eventful match hobbling around with a corked calf, 26 disposals and a cheeky grin.

4. McKay's debut makes Silvagni an unlikely defender
Carlton fans have long been hoping to see their number 10 draft pick from 2015, Harry McKay, in the senior line-up. A bad back injury ruined the first half of last year, but McKay has been steadily plugging away in the VFL since. The tall forward looked lively in the first half, moving well to take several contested marks and kicking a goal. He faded as Carlton mounted a comeback, but his presence in the forward line saw Jack Silvagni moved to defence. He struggled early against the much more experienced Josh Walker, but read the ball well and intercepted several forward 50 entries.

5. First goals all round
Three players kicking their first goals is an unusual footnote at any time. But three consecutive first goals? Bizarre. The celebrations kicked off when Cedric Cox snapped a miraculous goal from the boundary line in the second quarter, while being heavily bumped. Teammates swarmed him, only to have to repeat the backslapping when the highly impressive Alex Witherden coolly slotted a set-shot. Not to be outdone, Carlton's Harry McKay teased, kicking a point before turning around and nailing his first goal. It was the first time the feat had occurred since round five in 2012, where Giants Josh Bruce and Taylor Adams and Bulldog Ayce Cordy kicked their first goals.