Joel Selwood was far from Geelong's best player against Collingwood, but his influence in the frantic last 10 minutes encapsulated his great qualities as a leader.
As he has done since he arrived at Kardinia Park as a teenager from Bendigo more than 15 years ago, Selwood lifted the Cats with his inspirational acts that do not always show on the stats sheet.
An integral part of Geelong's three premierships earlier this century, he has slowed up and is in the twilight of a magnificent career as a champion midfielder at almost 34.
To the chagrin and frustration of many opposition supporters, Selwood has enjoyed a charmed run with umpires and the game's judiciary, but his courage and determination cannot be denied.
Off the field, he is an AFL poster boy, while on the field he is a warrior who has given his heart and soul to the Cats.
Geelong's remarkable comeback victory was a fitting reward for Selwood as he broke the long-standing record set by Carlton's Stephen Kernahan for most games as an AFL/VFL captain.
While Selwood is the new record-holder, Kernahan was the Blues' greatest captain and it is important to note that he led them to two premierships.
Renowned as one of the game's greatest key forwards, Kernahan captained the Blues in 226 of his 251 games.
He was also skipper of the club's Team of the Century.
Kernahan is Carlton's leading all-time goalkicker and an Australian Football Hall of Fame inductee, so his standing in the game should not be diminished or forgotten.
Mental scars for Power?
As Port Adelaide sits winless in 16th place on the ladder with a poor percentage after three rounds, the question remains and the argument is building that there are lingering mental scars from its preliminary final thrashing at home to the Western Bulldogs last year.
History has shown teams often have a dramatic fall the season after a finals capitulation and it may take years to recover.
The Power needs to look no further than crosstown rival Adelaide after its disastrous Grand Final loss in 2017.
But there is a fine line in this tight competition and the narrative about Port would be so different if Jordan Dawson had not steered through his goal after the final siren to give his new club Adelaide victory in another memorable Showdown last Friday night.
Port Adelaide's midfield, led by Brownlow Medallist Ollie Wines and veteran Travis Boak, is winning plenty of the ball, but the Power lack the efficiency going forward with the absence of stars Charlie Dixon and Robbie Gray biting the club hard.
They are also missing All-Australian Aliir Aliir to shore up a defence leaking too many goals.
With last year's premier Melbourne (Adelaide Oval) and unbeaten Carlton (MCG) to come in the next two games, Port Adelaide faces the prospect of a 0-5 start to the season.
That would build pressure on everyone at the club, including Ken Hinkley, despite the coach being contracted with the Power until the end of next season.
Give game time to debutants
For players making their AFL debut, it is an occasion to be celebrated among family and friends.
Well, at least it should be.
But when a player is chosen as the medical substitute and sits on the bench for the whole game because there is no need to use him, the feeling falls flat.
This leaves a sour taste for those close to the player in the stands as they watch what should be one of their proudest moments.
The AFL would not want to interfere in team selection and introduce a rule forcing clubs to pick players in their 22 in their first game.
Richmond coach Damien Hardwick suggested first-game players selected as the 23rd man could be used after half-time.
That makes sense.
This round, Collingwood's Reef McInnes and Carlton's Jordan Boyd played their first AFL games and both were in their team's 22.
Since the AFL introduced the medical substitute at the start of last season, 12 players have made their debut in that slot, including three this year.
While this is tough on everyone, paradoxically, it is even worse when the team wins.
Players are forced to stand in the huddle during the team song after having contributed nothing towards the team's victory - and that is embarrassing and cringeworthy.
Women rule, Finch in strife
Australia's women cricketers demonstrated again how far ahead of the opposition they are as they secured a seventh World Cup title in New Zealand.
Alyssa Healy starred, posting the highest individual score in a women's World Cup final with a brilliant 170 to follow on from her 129 in the semi-final win against the West Indies.
Australia's victory capped an unbeaten run in the tournament after a superb summer against the touring England team.
However, in the sub-continent, the results were not as positive for the Australian men's cricket team, with Pakistan winning the one-day series 2-1.
Of most concern was the form of skipper Aaron Finch with ducks in his past two innings, continuing his lean run in all forms of white-ball cricket this year.
Finch, 35, needs a score desperately in the remaining T20 international against Pakistan or his place at the top of the order must come under scrutiny.
Has Howard Kotton got it right?
Email: howardkotton11@gmail.com
Twitter: @hpkotton59
