The top ten takeaways from round four

A weekend full of upsets and surprises, Zero Hanger discusses the ten things we learned from round four. The Blues are in trouble The Suns were always going to bring their best to Metricon Stadium on Sunday afternoon, so it just boiled down to how the Blues were going to show up. When it looked as though Brendon Bolton's men were going to run away with their first victory of the year, enter Jack Bowes. With 15 seconds to go in the last quarter, Bowes was able to scoop up a rogue ball and snap it over three Blues defenders, dribbling through a goal, putting the Suns two-points up. Bolton was left with a sour look on his face as the Blues tried to surge the ball forward for one last shot at taking home four points. It wasn't to be as it was devastation for Carlton and jubilation for Stuart Dew's men. Sitting at 0-4, the Blues now come up against a revitalized Bulldogs outfit who will be looking to bounce back after a disappointing fortnight. Bolton will be starting to sweat on his role within the club. Adelaide's forwards are struggling to fire A team we all expected to fire in 2019 after an extremely disappointing 2018 have seemed to continue to disappoint. An area highlighted by Crows supporters that are struggling is the Crows' forward line. With Eddie Betts beginning to show his age, the boys from West Lakes are struggling to find a spark in their forward 50. The 299-gamer looked in for a big one kicking three first-half goals before fading out of the game, co-captain Taylor Walker also failed to have a presence, booting just one goal from 11 disposals as well as fellow key-forward Josh Jenkins who misfired kicking 1.3 including a miss from the goalsquare in a vital stage of the game. If the Crows are to have a presence this season, their key-forwards will have to improve dramatically. The fighting Tigers Perhaps the upset of the weekend, the Tigers went in major underdogs to walk away with the four points. Without stars Jack Riewoldt, Trent Cotchin, Alex Rance, Bachar Houli and Brownlow Medalist Dustin Martin, Richmond looked likely to be 1-3 after round four. In what was a tight tussle throughout the day, but in the end it was star recruit Tom Lynch who was able to stand up booting six majors to secure a seven-point win over the Power. The Gaff Response With many calling for the Eagles' midfielder to be booed, and others calling for Fremantle youngster Andrew Brayshaw to be booed, it was a mixed response from many. With the Eagles having the privilege of a home game, the boos from the Fremantle faithful were out-weighed by the cheers of the Eagles fans. Gaff played another outstanding game collecting 34 disposals and nine marks. We would think this marks the end of Gaff-Brayshaw saga. From one of the toughest tasks to a walk in the park Sydney in Sydney was described as one of the toughest tasks in footy, on Friday former Melbourne forward, Gary Lyon stated: "The SCG is now a picnic ground", also claiming that the Sydney Swans era of never missing the eight is over. The Swans are 1-3 and have been nothing but disappointing at their home-ground, losing to the Demons on Thursday night as well as the Crows on Friday night the week before last. Will the Swans and Buddy be able to return to their brilliant best at their cauldron before the season is over? "Poort" Adelaide Were the Tigers too good or were the Power just too poor, well, maybe it was both? The Power stated that they weren't taking Saturday afternoon's game lightly. The Power led most team statistics in a tight battle including contested possessions 148-136, but it was the Tigers that came out on top in the end with a seven-point victory. Ken Hinkley was set to face a make or break year that would determine if he was right at Alberton. It doesn't get any easier this week with Port heading to the West to play the reigning premiers in the Eagles on Good Friday footy. A rivalry building You certainly can't compare them to Hawthorn and Geelong or the old Sydney and West Coast rivalries but the Blues and Suns have put together some thrillers in the last couple of seasons. The two young sides most likely put together the best instalment of their short rivalry on Sunday afternoon, decided in the last ten seconds, and we feel as though in years to come these two will continue to produce some classics as they both develop. A quiet Danger In a shock come-from-behind victory by the Giants in a nail biter, Star Geelong midfielder Patrick Dangerfield had his quietest day at the Cattery ever with just 17 disposals. Shut out of the game by Giants midfielder Matt de Boer, Dangerfield also shined the spotlight on himself when swinging a flying elbow at his opponent who is then seen dropping to the floor, approximately 70 meters of the ball. There's no doubt the Brownlow Medalist will bounce back, it's just a matter of when. No Jaeger, No Hawks? It was reported during the week that Hawks midfielder Jaeger O'Meara was unlikely to be named to face the Saints on Sunday afternoon, so many were surprised when Hawks coach Allistair Clarkson named him on Friday. It wasn't to be however, as the ex-Sun was named a late-withdrawal from the side, leaving a very young midfield in James Cousins, Harry Morrison and James Worpel to take on the rejuvenated Saints. The Hawks were overrun in the last quarter giving up a 26-point lead midway through the third term. Would Jaeger have made a difference to the outcome? Tippa is set for his best He booted seven goals in a scintillating display of footy against the 3-1 Lions on Saturday afternoon. The pocket-rocket proved why he is such an important part of the Bombers forward line, chasing, tackling and kicking straight from set-shots. 'Walla' is set to produce a big year, especially if John Worsfold's men can continue to show they are a relevant side in 2019, with two important wins in the last two weeks.