There were positives aplenty for Brad Scott's sputtering Essendon side on Sunday night, which would have felt a foolish statement at quarter time.
The Bulldogs exploded out of the blocks, putting 44 points past the hapless Bombers in the first stanza. It felt as though this game would follow pundits' scripts - the Dogs, by a lot.
But Brad Scott's men then showed something that had not been a hallmark of their first few performances this season - fight.
The Bulldogs were less than clinical in front of goal, which contributed to a somewhat flattering scoreline, but Essendon stuck around, and at one stage, put a run of four consecutive goals past the consensus flag favourites.
Commentators pointed out that they did enough to 'win the game after quarter time', going down by 34 points, when they trailed by 35 at the first change.
Brad Scott found reason for optimism, post-match, while still maintaining that starts like the one they gave away are not acceptable.
"We're really disappointed with the start, for obvious reasons, not just the scoreboard," he said.
"Their good players looked really dominant - we talked about getting on the front foot, and really they (the Bulldogs) got on the front foot.
"There are some things to be pleased about. I think the most pleasing thing is that it would have been easy for our players to get a bit dejected and flat (but they didn't)."
"I felt it (momentum) starting to turn a bit in the second quarter, but the third quarter is how we wanted it to look from the start of the game.
"They're a good side, and to be able to wrestle back some sort of control in the third quarter was pleasing, but we need to put it together for longer."
Scott heaped praise on maligned former skipper Zach Merrett, singling out his midfielder for his role in steadying the ship. Merrett had laid no tackles at half-time, somewhat embodying his side's lack of hunt to that point, but finished the match with a game-high seven.
The loss means the Bombers are still winless to start 2026, but more than that, this iteration of the playing list co-owns some unwanted history at the Hangar. 17 consecutive losses, dating back to last May, ties the club record.
That is rather obviously, less than ideal, but there was still plenty to like in last night's performance, and Scott has called on his side to frank the positive outing with consistency in the coming weeks.
"We just want to play a consistent style all the time - be really consistent in the contest and consistent in the way we set up.
"Our pressure was non-existent in the first two rounds of the year - that has looked very different in the last two weeks. Our execution still is a work in progress."
"Significant improvement, but significant improvement to go."
