THE usual caveats apply. It's February. The scoreboard was flashing up cricket scores from the MCG. The Bulldogs didn't even bother with a banner. There were lots of high numbers on the field, low numbers at the gate. but enough to put up a groan when Essendon rookie Danny Chartres dropped an early chest mark. That was harsh; it's only February.

But for Essendon, this is not just the start of a new year, but a new era. Last season finished with a series of fond farewells, this one is beginning as an unveiling. The Matthew Knights stamp, as revealed to the club faithful for the first time last night, is run and pace. Repeatedly, the Bombers ran the ball at breakneck speed down the ground, drawing opponents, handballing frequently, accelerating as they went, and taking the crowd with them.

Alwyn Davey, Leroy Jetta, Nathan Lovett-Murray and Dean Dick were not necessarily the best players on the ground last night, but they were the most eye-catching. Teammates were emboldened by them, opponents unnerved. Davey, skimming towards a plodding and unsuspecting opponent with the ball, creates a frisson in the crowd, as does his cousin, Aaron, at Melbourne. Opposition fans try to shriek a warning, but also always too late. It is pantomime.

Of course, the running game is not new. The Bulldogs under Rodney Eade patented this style, playing to their strengths. It won them friends and admirers, but no silverware, and it was instructive last night that the Dogs had changed their game, too, preferring to move the ball by foot than hand, and kicking long to leading players. It didn't work.

Arguably, the Bulldogs were thrashed at their own (former) game last night. But the Bombers look to have refined it under Knights. One of the illusions Essendon created last night was to make Jason Johnson, for instance, appear to have found a new turn of speed. Even David Hille showed a bit of toe. It remains to be seen if this mirage will last all season.

Football played this way has the same sort of rhythm as Manchester United at its best. It is effervescent, invigorating for players, exciting for fans.

The Bombers looked as captain Matthew Lloyd has described them, a breath of fresh air.

It didn't always work. Jetta, for instance, was sometimes too fast for his own good, running out of trouble and then back into it. But he will still be told to back himself. The principle is sound, the practice takes time. This is the essence of the pre-season competition.

Other changes were observable at Essendon, of emphasis rather than strategy. Scott Lucas kicked five goals, three of them super, but he also centred the ball twice!

Peverill and Adam Ramanauskas played the entire match on the back line, a luxury the Bombers will not always be able to afford.

At match's end, the Bombers' theme song was played twice and Knights was acclaimed by the crowd. He left quickly, with his head bowed, as if shy. He is not Kevin Sheedy, and this is not the season proper.

Results are of little consequence at this time of year, but victory always is preferable to defeat.

The roof was shut at Telstra Dome last night, which meant that it could have been anywhere and any time. September? Why not? February is nothing if not dreamtime.