The biggest winners of Round 2 were...
Hawthorn have leapfrogged reigning premiers Brisbane Lions into Premiership favouritism off the back of a third consecutive victory, this time overcoming a slow start against Carlton to register a third consecutive victory.
That's despite what should be one of the most impactful injury lists (albeit not nearly the longest) of the competition and yet it has been some of those replacements for early 2025, such as Josh Ward, Jack Gunston and Changkuoth Jiath, who have propelled them to success.
None of the teams they have defeated so far are right up there when it comes to current Premiership contenders, but for a team missing about one-fifth of their best 18 (Calsher Dear, Mitch Lewis, Jack Scrimshaw, and James Worpel), conceding no more than 85 points in a game is an excellent start.
Winning 11 of their last 13 games of 2024 has already demonstrated how capable they are of being dominant over an extensive period of time, so their upcoming games against GWS Giants and Geelong are going to be especially tasty.
The biggest losers of Round 2 were...
Fremantle started the season in sixth place for Premiership betting but have already slipped beneath Sydney (and even Carlton in some markets) after two embarrassing defeats to start 2025.
In a game against Sydney that at times became near-unwatchable, they were terribly sloppy and riddled with errors after half-time when squandering a 22-point quarter-time advantage by kicking just five goals from 13 scoring shots in the ensuing three-quarters. Pat Voss was one particularly guilty culprit, adding a shot that was out on the full to his final score of 1.3.
The Swans looked like they were struggling with the 31-degree afternoon heat early on and any genuine finals side would have driven them into dust after the first quarter they had, but Fremantle were at times 'out-uglying' the Swans.
The Dockers have managed hauls of just 69 and 65 points in their first two outings, are equal-last alongside Melbourne for clearances per game (33) and near-last for marks (69 per match), and Sydney's own unclean and inefficient performance kept Fremantle in the lead for so long on Sunday.
Longmuir's job is now under significant threat, having already started the year alongside Matthew Nicks and Luke Beveridge at the top of various AFL coaching 'pressure index' algorithms, and neither of their first two results will have pleased his bosses.
Goal of the Year: Round 2 nominees
Playing just his 15th league game, and with the game on the line in the fourth quarter, Western Bulldogs (or should that be Footscray?) rising star showed the composure and kicking accuracy of one Marcus Bontempelli to single-handedly create a turnover, clean it up and level the scores from outside 50!
Speaking of comparisons, wasn't there a bit of Eddie Betts or Jason Akermanis in this pinpoint boundary line shot from Port Adelaide's Sam Powell-Pepper?!
Or perhaps it's best reserved for Adelaide's Izak Rankine, who one-upped it not only by drilling it from even closer to the boundary but right on the 50m arc. Head down to your nearest footy oval and give it a shot - you'll forget just how difficult a shot it is!
Mark of the Year: Round 2 nominees
From the moment that Collingwood's Jamie Elliott had his eyes on the delivery from Jordan de Goey, only one man was grabbing this mark. He was the first of the three nominees for this week.
Anyone turning up just a couple of minutes late to Marvel Stadium on Saturday night missed the best mark of the game as Geelong's Ollie Henry wasted no time getting into the thick of things.
His teammate Connor O'Sullivan picked up the third nomination of the round in the second quarter, but with his grab not even making the AFL's own match highlights package, it's fair to say it has been overshadowed by the other two!