The Tigers and Bombers claim inspirational breakthrough wins, the Demons flex their muscle in Adelaide while the Crows face an early-season crisis.

Here are the biggest talking points from every game of round three.

1. Magpies tackle their way back into form

Craig McRae said Collingwood spent the last week facing up to the home truths that the Pies were no longer among the best pressure sides in the league. In fact, the stats said they were closer to the bottom than the top.

That simple fact seemed to refocus Collingwood and give them one clear point of emphasis against Brisbane — they were going to tackle hard, often and in numbers.

And didn't they deliver on that. The Pies racked up a crazy 85 tackles to pressure the Lions into oblivion, backing up that work by matching them in winning the contested ball too.

The Lions will point to wasted chances inside 50 as the reason for their defeat, but there was more to it than that. They lacked Collingwood's commitment to the contest, and it told in the end.

ABC player of the year votes:

3. Nick Daicos (Magpies)

2. Dayne Zorko (Lions)

1. Tom Mitchell (Magpies)

2. North Melbourne's defensive dilemma

On the evidence of the first three weeks of the season, the key tenet of Northball is ballistic, aggressive ball movement out of defence. At times it has worked, and looked sensational.

The key to this is largely in personnel back there. Harry Sheezel, Colby McKercher and Zac Fisher are all offensive players by nature who have spent their junior or early AFL careers as mostly midfielders and forwards.

As counter-attacking half-backs, they can be unstoppable. As actual defenders, they are leaking like sieves.

So much defensive work is being left to Aidan Corr and Toby Pink, and they aren't equipped to handle it. The benefits of playing such offensive footballers down back are being outweighed by the massive scores North are shipping every week.

Maybe that's not important to Alastair Clarkson at this stage in the rebuild? But no matter how much more attractive the Roos are to watch, they're going to win many more games this year if they're dumping 20 goals a game.

ABC player of the year votes:

3. Harry McKay (Blues)

2. George Hewett (Blues)

1. Patrick Cripps (Blues)

3. The Crows might be broken

It was a mighty tough watch over in the west on Friday evening. You couldn't question the effort of the Dockers or Crows, but the quality of the footy was about as bad as we've seen this year.

Fremantle eventually ran away with the win, as they always should have given their dominance on the game. But Adelaide leave Perth with enormous question marks around them, and a sense they are miles away from being finals contenders.

The midfield wins enough of it but struggles to hurt with those touches, the synergy with the forward line is completely gone and the backline is depleted almost beyond salvation. It's disjointed, it's scrappy and it's completely devoid of confidence.

To think Adelaide were the best scoring team in the league in 2023. Nothing is clicking at the moment, and in such a tight season the horse might already have bolted.

ABC player of the year votes:

3. Hayden Young (Dockers)

2. Alex Pearce (Dockers)

1. Jordan Clark (Dockers)

4. The Essendon Edge — with a twist

After a week of chat about the new Essendon — one with a physical edge that will occasionally bump up against the limits of fairness — there was an expectation of fireworks against the Saints.

But if you turned up wanting to see some fights, you would have been disappointed. The off-the-ball stuff was nowhere to be seen, replaced by a Bombers side that played with the sort of edge that will actually win games.

A total commitment to the contest was the backbone that allowed Essendon to stare down periods of St Kilda dominance but stay in the fight, and eventually overwhelm the Saints once the game reached its climax.

There are still structural flaws to this Essendon team, but the spirit with which they are playing can compensate for a lot of them. This was a significant win.

ABC player of the year votes:

3. Nic Martin (Bombers)

2. Jake Stringer (Bombers)

1. Zach Merrett (Bombers)

5. Demons take their chances and pinch the points

Simon Goodwin and Ken Hinkley will no doubt break down the excellent Melbourne-Port Adelaide game in more fine detail, but we can all safely surmise that this match was won and lost with kicking at goal.

It was an arm wrestle from start to finish, but if either side had the better of the general play it was Port Adelaide. The Power dominated the inside 50s and had plenty more shots on goal than their opponents, but left the door ajar.

Melbourne, on the other hand, were dobbing them in from everywhere. Alex Neal-Bullen, Ben Brown, Max Gawn, Caleb Windsor and Bayley Fritsch all kicked remarkable goals at times when Power opponents were missing much simpler looks.

Melbourne have lost finals in recent years due to the inefficiency of the forward line. It's probably about time they flipped the script.

ABC player of the year votes:

3. Max Gawn (Demons)

2. Trent Rivers (Demons)

1. Clayton Oliver (Demons)

6. Are we supposed to just be okay with West Coast?

Nobody expected the Eagles to win any of their first few games. Or many of their next games. Or many games all year, to be honest.

Adam Simpson says he is stepping back from wins and losses to look at "little wins" through the year, presumably meaning the team's improved clearance and inside 50 numbers. But those alone don't tell the story of a team that is miles — miles! — away from AFL standard in terms of skill, structure, strength or fitness.

But what is most scary about West Coast is that their lack of ability to compete is badly hampering the growth of their young players. The future rests in the hands of players like Reuben Ginbey, Campbell Chesser, Noah Long and Brady Hough, and it is might hard for these kids to improve while playing in weekly 10-goal beltings.

As for Harley Reid, how he must wish he could have been eased into league footy as many of his contemporaries have, being dished off handballs and kicks in space with a chance to show his skills. Instead he's at the bottom of packs, fighting for scraps, getting no easy ball and running out of gas early.

ABC player of the year votes:

3. Tim English (Bulldogs)

2. Adam Treloar (Bulldogs)

1. Laitham Vandermeer (Bulldogs)

7. The next generation of Tigers

In direct contrast to West Coast, Richmond on Sunday showed the value of inserting young talent into structures equipped to support them.

Against the Swans, the likes of Tyler Sonsie, Seth Campbell, Rhyan Mansell and Thomson Dow had clearly defined roles and were able to showcase their talents within those.

And they thrived. In a game of ferocious pressure from start to finish, no Tiger looked overawed, and if anything were emboldened by the occasion. The MCG lifted with them, making for what felt like a significant day for Adem Yze's team.

That's all you want from a rebuilding team — bright signs from the youth, a clear game plan and structure, good skills and unwavering effort. Those ingredients sometimes lead to surprise results.

ABC player of the year votes:

3. Nick Vlastuin (Tigers)

2. Tim Taranto (Tigers)

1. Shai Bolton (Tigers)

8. Geelong continue lightning fast start

Geelong maintained its perfect start to the season prevailing in a heated Easter Monday clash against its arch-rivals Hawthorn in a contest that was briefly dragged to a halt by nearby lightning at the MCG. 

While the Cats wound up comfortable winners in the end, the match wasn't without a few scares against a spirited Hawks side that briefly threatened an upset. 

The evergreen Tom Hawkins celebrated his 350th game with four goals, but Chris Scott will be encouraged by the performances from some of his younger players, namely Tanner Bruhn, who racked up 15 of his 27 disposals in a blistering first quarter, and Ollie Henry, who also booted four majors. 

Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell is yet to taste victory this season, and will rue a couple of missed opportunities that could've seen his side leading at half-time. Young gun Nick Watson's miss, where he inexplicably kicked one out on the full from almost inside the goalsquare, is one that would've had Mitchell pulling his hair out.

Mitchell will also be frustrated by the umpiring against polarising recruit Jack Ginnivan throughout the match. Ginnivan appeared to be caught high by Geelong tacklers on numerous occasions but umpires continued to turn a blind eye towards the 21-year-old. 

ABC player of the year votes:

3. James Worpel (Hawks)

2. Mitch Duncan (Cats)

1. Tanner Bruhn (Cats)

ABC Sport player of the year top 10

1. Tom Green (Giants) — 8

=2. Isaac Heeney (Swans) — 6

=2. Christian Petracca (Demons) — 6

=2. Matt Rowell (Suns) — 6

=5. Jesse Hogan (Giants) — 5

=5. Caleb Serong (Dockers) — 5

=7. Patrick Cripps (Blues) — 4

=7. Max Gawn (Demons) — 4

=7. Harry McKay (Blues) — 4

=7. Nick Vlastuin (Tigers) — 4

(Votes are compiled by the ABC Sport commentary team after each match)