1. Geelong's famed midfield isn't invincible
It would be easy to look at who was out for the Cats in Saturday's loss to Sydney and forget who was there. A combination of Patrick Dangerfield, Joel Selwood, Mitch Duncan, Sam Menegola and Tim Kelly makes for a pretty handy midfield. Sure, it could also include Gary Ablett jnr, Scott Selwood, Brandan Parfitt, Cam Guthrie and some Nakia Cockatoo spunk – and George Horlin-Smith's mid-game concussion hurt. But the guys who were there received a 30-minute reality check at GMHBA Stadium on Saturday. Triple All Australian Swan Josh Kennedy reminded everyone that a tardy fortnight does not make the man. Sydney's captain turned in a best-on-ground performance highlighted by 13 disposals (eight contested), six clearances, including three in the centre, and four score involvements in the last quarter alone. His 13 clearances in total were just one short of Dangerfield, Selwood and Duncan combined. The Swans won the clearances 16-5 in the match-altering final term, where the visitors kicked seven goals to one. There is work to be done at the Cattery. - Marc McGowan

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2. Billings needs a spell in the VFL
Touted by many as finals contenders ahead of the 2018 season, St Kilda has just six points in the bank after six rounds. There’s a raft of issues with the Saints, including the output of highly regarded forward/midfielder Jack Billings. The 22-year-old’s form is worrying. Taken with pick No.3 in the 2013 NAB AFL Draft, Billings has been incredibly wayward in front of goal. After 23.36 last year, Billings has returned 4.11 in six outings this season. He’s been goalless in three of those matches, and his disposal efficiency is a woeful 61.8 per cent. Against the Hawks he had just 15 touches at 40 per cent and booted 1.3. - Trent Masenhelder

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3. Gawn should spend more time forward
Of course we are all going to remember Max Gawn's round one miss at goal that saw the Demons fall just short of Geelong, and the Melbourne ruckman has admitted his kicking in straightforward situations isn't always great. But the 2016 All Australian showed on Sunday he can be very adept roaming around goal. In the win over Essendon, he exposed opponent Matthew Leuenberger by making a concerted effort to drift forward and be a marking target. Twice he kicked checkside goals from the boundary line, and many other times he provided a contest for the Demons' stack of ground-level types. Young tall forward Sam Weideman also held his own in the ruck and competed when Gawn was based predominantly forward, which will make it easier for the tactic to be enacted more by coach Simon Goodwin. - Callum Twomey

WATCH: Gawn gives it back to a fan

4. Dimma wouldn't swap Toby Nankervis
Brodie Grundy has been the competition's in-form ruckman over the opening rounds of 2018. And the Magpies big man looked set to make Richmond's Toby Nankervis his latest victim, when he had eight possessions in the opening quarter of Sunday's game and won 10 hit-outs to the Tiger's three. However, Nankervis fought back hard and, in the opinion of Pies coach Nathan Buckley, claimed the points over Grundy after finishing with a career-high 29 possessions, along with 10 marks and 17 hit-outs. He also short-circuited three Magpie attacks early in the final quarter, when the game was still very much alive, with telling intercept marks. After the match, Richmond coach Damien Hardwick made it plain how highly regarded Nankervis is at Punt Rd: "People speak about the Gawns and the Goldsteins and Grundy, I'm pumped we've got our bloke. He just competes. He's like another midfielder in there. Does he get beaten in ruck contests? Yeah. Does he give everything? Absolutely. He's a fantastic player, a fantastic person. He's been a godsend for our footy club."

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5. Carlton's inexperience can't be an excuse against the Western Bulldogs
Most weeks, it would be reasonable for Carlton to point to its mass of younger players as reason for an underwhelming performance. The Blues lack experience, with Marc Murphy (left foot), Matthew Kreuzer (groin) and Sam Docherty (left knee) on the sidelines, and Brendon Bolton argued Carlton is going through the first genuine rebuild in its history, and it had 10 players with fewer than 50 games' experience against the Western Bulldogs. However, the numbers don't lie. The Dogs are also overhauling their list and were, in fact, the youngest team fielded in round six. Bolton's side lost because it was comprehensively beaten on the outside, particularly in the first half, by a side that even Luke Beveridge admitted was sloppy with the football. The rebuild might be on the right track – it probably is – but that's damning. - Dinny Navaratnam

6. Crows' glut of hamstrings is a concern
Adelaide skipper Taylor Walker was the latest Crows player to succumb to a hamstring injury in his side's 48-point win against Gold Coast on Saturday night. Walker's injury was described as hamstring awareness, the club taking a no-risk approach given the skipper's interrupted pre-season, the fact they had the game in the bag at half-time and the number of players already with hamstring issues. Eddie Betts, Kyle Hartigan, Sam Gibson and Kyle Cheney are all sidelined, reigning club champion Matt Crouch missed the past three games before returning against the Suns, and small forward Lachlan Murphy missed a couple of games, but is now available for selection. The Crows will need to review their training program to see what is causing the issue. - Lee Gaskin

WATCH: Tex twinges his hammy

7. Forgotten Docker Kersten should keep his phone switched on this week
After seeing maturing spearhead Matt Taberner go down with a fractured metatarsal the last thing Fremantle needed was to lose its most reliable avenue to goal, Michael Walters, in Sunday's Western Derby. Walters' season was ended by a left PCL injury in round 18 last year and the gun small forward cut a dejected figure after hurting the same knee in the opening term against West Coast. The Dockers' three-time leading goalkicker could be set for a stint on the sidelines and with Ross Lyon running out of options he could turn to Kersten, who hasn't been sighted at AFL level since round one and had even been thrown into defence in a bid to kick-start his stalled career. Losing Walters would be a major blow for Freo ahead of the toughest task in football – Richmond at the MCG – but it could be the reprieve Kersten has been waiting for. - Travis King

8. Power defender proves that size isn't always everything
Tom Jonas gave away 11cm to Ben Brown but it didn't matter one iota. The versatile defender, renowned for his ability to play on opponents of all shapes and sizes, again showed that height can sometimes be just a number. Jonas was excellent against the in-form forward, and while he was helped by backline comrades Dougal Howard, Jack Hombsch and Tom Clurey when the ball came in fast, he clearly won the one-on-one battle with Brown. The Coleman Medal leader still kicked four, but two were from free kicks early on and the others came late in the game when the contest was well over. - Jennifer Phelan 

9. De Boer is a gem from the bargain bin
When GWS swapped pick 58 in the 2016 NAB AFL Draft for Matt De Boer, it was the footy equivalent of finding something you thought you might be able to fix in a roadside collection. After eight years on Fremantle's list, De Boer had been tossed onto the scrap heap, and was paying in the WAFL. Two years later, he's starring in the midfield of one of the AFL's premiership contenders. The 28-year-old played the best game of his career against the Brisbane Lions, finishing with 35 touches and a goal. Nothing like a bit of confidence. - Riley Stuart

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