The footy's finally back - and that's surely the biggest hit of all. But there were plenty of other hits and just as many misses during the weekend's action.
From young standouts to match review question marks, we've highlighted the best and the worst from Round 2 of the AFL.
HITS
Taking a knee
On Thursday night, Richmond and Collingwood players gathered in the centre square and collectively took a knee to express their solidarity with the Black and Indigenous Lives Matter movement taking place across the world.
Keep politics and sport separate? They've never been separate, despite some people's insistence. All players, from all backgrounds, should feel welcome on and off the field - that's both a no-brainer and non-negotiable. This was a small gesture, but a meaningful one.
Matt Rowell
Hits don't come much bigger than Matt Rowell. The two-gamer looked a 201-gamer as he spurred his Suns to maybe the best win in their history and himself to unbackable Rising Star favouritism. Geelong champ Cam Mooney already has a "man crush" on him, and felt a certain sense of deja vu at seeing the 18-year-old take a hold of the game.
โWhat a star. Sometimes clubs are lucky you have a young man walk through your doors who is just going to be exceptional," Mooney said on Fox Footy.
"We had that at Geelong with Joel Selwood. He is just going to be exceptional for the next 15 years."
6am flights
Much was made of Essendon and North Melbourne's shared 6am flight to Sydney. But with eight points returning on the plane back, the arrangement might not be so bad after all. Essendon came out of the blocks with a bang while the Kangaroos overran the Giants in the final quarter. It isn't going to become a pre-match ritual anytime soon, but less teams will fear the early flight now.
Darcy Parish
He hardly went near it in the first three quarters, but Essendon youngster Darcy Parish stepped up when it matters most, accumulating 13 disposals and a match-sealing goal from a tight angle in the final quarter. All in all, the Bombers' young brigade looks promising - Andrew McGrath put in a four-quarter performance as one of the best-on-ground.
Prison bars
Port looked mighty good on Saturday night - and so did the prison bars on their guernseys. The war-of-words between Port chairman David Koch and Pies president Eddie McGuire doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon, but for now, Port are doing the major talking on the field. A finals clash between the Power and the Pies - winner takes prison bars?
MISSES
The MRO
Shaun Burgoyne's tackle certainly didn't miss Patrick Dangerfield, but the MRO seem to have missed what was surely at least a one-match suspension, letting the veteran Hawk off with a $1000 fine. Plenty of similar tackles, including one laid by Dangerfield himself in 2017, have led to suspensions. All in all, this decision will do nothing to quell fans' questions over the MRO's consistency.
The Score Review
The absence of crowds has given the Score Review something of a reprieve in recent times - the almost-traditional chorus of boos that meets the signal to go upstairs has necessarily been absent from footy in 2020.
So perhaps finally the adjudicators can take a deep breath, compose themselves, and deliver a verdict that everyone can behind? Think again. Jack Higgins' contentious mark and goal on Thursday night became all the more significant when the two sides couldn't be separated when the final siren came. Mystery 'alternative angles' has been touted as the reason for the verdict - next time, let's get those on TV, too, if only to avoid the return of the crowds' jeers when crowds return.
Second halves
Collingwood, Hawthorn, Melbourne, West Coast and Adelaide combined for 5 goals between them in their respective second halves. The fact that two of those sides avoided defeat speaks as much to the low scores produced this round than anything else. Players rightfully may be still finding their legs after nearly three months off the field, but the coaches of these clubs will be hoping their sides show a little more life in the second half of games to come.
16-minute quarters
Stars Jack Riewoldt and Taylor Adams both thought Thursday night's clash between their respective sides was too short. The AFL has insisted 16-minute quarters are integral to mitigate five-day turnarounds and the conditioning issues the pandemic-enforced lockdown has caused. But is any fan salivating at the prospect of a shortened Grand Final?
Adelaide Crows
Yeah, we called out the Crows for their second-half performance, but, to be perfectly fair, they deserve more than that one passing mention. Really, after they kicked the first two goals of the Showdown, they showed little more than a pulse for the rest of the contest - and it was a contest in name only.
They seem to have serious issues on and off the field, and they better sort them out quickly - in a shortened season, an extended bad run will sink any sniff of finals a club might have had.
