1. Players who stood up

Some of these are a given. We already know about Andrew McLeod and Peter Burgoyne, and we knew that Brendan Fevola had big talent. For others, there was a form of graduation, as there always is in these elite games. Take Nathan Foley. In a game which is allowed to be free-flowing and open, Foley is electrifying. We've been telling you for ages, say the Richmond supporters. OK, point taken. Another to stand out was Scott Pendlebury, who waltzed in and out of the traffic unfettered on Saturday night. Pendlebury did not look out of place alongside the Judds, Kerrs and Mitchells in the middle. For a few players, being able to perform in state footy provides a form of self-validation. Pendlebury might be one of those.

2. The Aylett Medal

Peter Burgoyne probably should have won the medal for best afield, not that Fevola was a bad choice by any stretch. At the end of a day, it is no more or less than a few people's opinions. Once again, though, there is this trend to give it to someone from the winning team as a matter of course. In a close game, it's always possible that someone from the losing team was best afield. Burgoyne did not merely rack up statistics zoning off down the back, he won plenty of hard ball and used it beautifully.

3. Looking for bona fides

How did we know it was an exhibition game? (a) When the Dream Team set up Peter Burgoyne as its spare man in defence in the first quarter, Victoria did nothing to close him down. Burgoyne had 21 disposals by half-time, by which time Mark Thompson had endured enough. He sent Ryan O'Keefe up to half-forward to make life a little tougher for Burgoyne, who ended up with 36 any way. In a club game, the Dream Team would never be allowed such a luxury with a player of Burgoyne's class finishing. (b) Third quarter, Matthew Richardson comes up the ground on a hard lead, near centre half-forward. Campbell Brown, moving laterally, has the chance to cut off the pass. Brown, one of the most fearless players to have strapped on a boot, takes one short step and allows Richardson to blow past and take the mark. Plainly in a Hawthorn jumper, Brown would have taken the crushing blow but stopped "Richo" from marking. Brown most likely would have been embarrassed. Then again, he'll be playing for Hawthorn this weekend.

4. Nicest moment(s)

A tie between the embrace of Adam Goodes and Andrew McLeod at the end, a modern-day indigenous great and an all-time indigenous great. Secondly, the reception given to Alex Jesaulenko, the immortal Jezza, when he was introduced before the match as an official legend of the game. Jezza's reception even outstripped the (brilliant) one given to Kevin Sheedy.

5. Too many forwards?

The perception was that the Dream Team's awesome forwards would win this game, but here's the catch: they actually got in each other's way. The Dream Team got 4.5 from Buddy Franklin, but very little from Cam Mooney or Matthew Richardson or Matthew Pavlich. Whereas at the other end, Victoria had the better structure with Jonathan Brown up high and Fevola deep, with Steve Johnson swooping past. There might be a lesson in this for St Kilda, perhaps, with its plethora of targets? Or maybe Victoria's defence, led by the impenetrable Matthew Scarlett, was just a lot better on Saturday night.

6. The way forward

It was the game where the result did not matter. In the Dream Team rooms, players laughed and joked afterward and Peter Burgoyne said the experience had been unforgettable. The crowd was mostly silent during the night, other than at the moments when Franklin or Fevola approached the football, Fev's hanger in the Punt Road End goal square being a highlight. But that's because it is hard to get passionately angry with the Dream Team. In the future, we need Victoria versus South Australia again, probably in Adelaide, maybe every second year, and needless to say, with full teams. The players seem to want it, and the fans would love it, too.
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