Like every other round of footy, there was good and bad news.
There were plenty of positives and negatives for each team. Find out what they were.
Pros
The Crouch brothers and Rory Sloane continued their good form. The three midfielders didn’t just get plenty of the ball, but they each hit the scoreboard.
Tom Lynch provided a target up forward, taking eight marks and would have kicked more than two goals if he had shot accurately.
The Crows may have lost the game, but they had 18 more tackles than the Cats, which shows that the endeavour was there.
Cons
The Cats had 33 more contested possessions than the Crows.
Despite having one more scoring shot than Geelong at quarter time, Adelaide trailed by 14 points, which can be extremely deflating for a team that has had opportunities and failed to capitalise on them.
That proved to be the case with the Crows capitulating and losing the game by four goals.
Pros
The Cats had their third win in a row to remain undefeated this season, which indicates that their first two wins of the season weren’t an aberration, but possibly a sign of good things to come.
Patrick Dangerfield was prolific, which is no surprise, and youngster Gryan Miers kicked three goals to provide another option in the forward 50. Rhys Stanley has been a revelation this season, taking the No.1 ruck mantle and Round 3 was no exception. The former Saint finished with 32 hit-outs.
Cons
The Crows won the clearances by seven and had more tackles and contested possessions than the Cats.
Pros
The Dees had the same amount of clearances than the Bombers and just three less contested possessions than the Bombers.
Angus Brayshaw was a shining light with 34 possessions, but it wasn’t only Brayshaw’s statistical output that shone through.
He showed great endeavour and tried everything conceivable to help the Demons get the four points.
Cons
Melbourne had eight less scoring shots than the Bombers.
It was a disappointing night for the Demons with few positives to speak of.
Pros
Devon Smith was outstanding for the Bombers. Smith finished the contest with nine tackles and two goals.
The Dons finished the game with eight more scoring shots than the Dees.
Cons
Essendon trailed Melbourne at half time, despite having three more scoring shots.
Max Gawn controlled the ruck battle with Tom Bellchambers, doubling the hit-outs.
Pros
The Blues won the clearances by seven.
Sam Walsh has been a revelation this season and Round 3 was no exception. The talented youngster should win the Rising Star Award this season barring injury.
(Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)
Ed Curnow embraced his role as a forward, kicking four goals.
Cons
The Blues had one more scoring shot than the Swans, but Carlton were wasteful.
Pros
The Swans controlled the tempo of the game.
They had 107 more disposals than the Blues.
Isaac Heeney was in good form for the Swans, finishing the contest with four goals.
Cons
Sydney didn’t win the game by more, given they had much more of the ball than the Blues had.
Pros
Lachie Whitfield was outstanding for the Giants with 42 possessions, while Jeremy Cameron kicked seven goals and Jeremy Finlayson kicked five goals in a new attacking role.
Cons
Tommy Sheridan injured his calf.
Pros
Tom Lynch kicked four goals.
Kane Lambert and Dion Prestia had a total of 67 disposals between them.
The Tigers narrowly lost the clearances and contested possessions stats.
Cons
Richmond were thoroughly outplayed after quarter time.
Incredibly, the Tigers led on the scoreboard at quarter time, but lost the game by 49 points.
Pros
Lachie Neale was outstanding for the Lions once again.
Eric Hipwood showed what he is capable of at AFL level, kicking six goals.
Cons
Despite winning the game, the Lions lost the contested possessions and clearances stats.
Pros
Youngster Connor Rozee was exceptional with five goals, while Travis Boak was prolific once again, as he continues his stellar form this season.
Cons
Port allowed Josh Walker to do as he pleased, with the Lion taking 16 marks for the game, which is unacceptable from a Power perspective.
Pros
The Magpies led on the scoreboard at quarter time.
Collingwood had eight more contested possessions than the Eagles.
Cons
Andrew Gaff did as he pleased with 35 disposals, which indicates a lack of accountability by the Magpies midfielders.
Collingwood kicked more inaccurately than the Eagles, so the result may have been different had the Pies kicked straight.
Pros
It was great to see Andrew Gaff back in the team and showing why he could be the best player in the competition.
(Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)
Jamie Cripps and Dom Sheed combined for a total of seven goals.
Cons
Brodie Grundy controlled the ruck battle with more than double the amount of hit-outs than Nathan Vardy and Tom Hickey put together.
Pros
Jack Macrae and Tom Liberatore worked hard, winning plenty of the ball and finishing with nine tackles each.
The Bulldogs won the clearances and contested possessions stats.
Matthew Suckling used the ball extremely efficiently, going at 90 per cent.
Cons
The Dogs lost the game, even though they had the same number of shots on target as the Suns.
Pros
Jarrod Witts was an instrumental part of the Suns win. The ruckman finished with more than triple the hit-outs of Bulldogs ruckman Tim English.
Cons
The Bulldogs won most of the key stats apart from hit-outs and the most important stat of all: the scoreboard.
The Suns can consider themselves lucky to win the game and shows that they have a few areas of their game to work to work on.
Pros
Luke Breust and Ben McEvoy kicked seven goals between them.
James Worpel and Jaeger O’Meara combined for 59 disposals.
Cons
The Hawks only had six different goal-kickers.
Pros
The Kangaroos led on the scoreboard at quarter time and half time.
Cons
North kicked more behinds than goals.
For the second week in a row, the Kangaroos lost a game that they had a chance of winning so they have plenty of work ahead of them on the training track.
Pros
The Dockers won the game even though they had five less scoring shots than the Saints.
Michael Walters, Matt Taberner and Brandon Matera combined for seven goals between them.
The Dockers won the game without their captain, Nat Fyfe, for a portion of the game due to concussion.
Luke Ryan was outstanding for the Dockers. The talented defender finished with 32 possessions.
Cons
The Saints had more shots at goal than the Dockers, despite the fact that the Dockers controlled most of the other stats, including the scoreboard.
Pros
Rowan Marshall controlled his ruck duel with Rory Lobb, at least from a hit-out and tackling perspective.
Jack Billings was exceptional with 32 possessions and two goals.
Cons
The Saints lost a game they should have won.
The Saints could have been undefeated from their first three games. Instead they lost their first game of the season and miss out on the momentum a win would have given them.
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