While skipper Gary Ablett was the maestro, a support cast including Burnie's Luke Russell and Hobart's Aaron Hall played key roles.

Hall, who came into the game after a strong preseason, started the contest like a house on fire, collecting six disposals in the first 10 minutes all over the paddock.

He faded as the game went on, as did his disposal efficiency, but bobbed up to kick the sealing goal as the Suns won their third game in a row at Metricon Stadium.

Russell was dangerous across half-forward, and like Hall, kicked a vital goal in the final term.

He finished with 2.1 from 12 touches, three marks and three tackles, while Hall had 15 touches and 1.1.

West Moonah's Liam Jones showed some good signs as the Western Bulldogs thrashed Brisbane, despite the key forward contributing just 1.2 from seven touches and three tackles as the third option in attack.

For the Lions, Glenorchy's Aaron Cornelius's impressive summer form did not translate to the home and away season, with Tom Young and comeback kid Dale Morris keeping him to 1.3 from 10 touches and four marks.

Clarence's Josh Green tried hard with 15 touches, but was ineffective.

On Thursday night,  Clarence's Jack Riewoldt had a goal-less game, but still won plenty of praise, as his Richmond side broke its round 1 hoodoo against Carlton.

Rather than set up close to goal, Riewoldt pushed further up the ground in an attempt to take Blues full-back Michael Jamison away from goals.

It was a tactic that worked, especially in the first half, as without Riewoldt as the key focus and Jamison on the last line, the Tigers had 23 shots at goal before the long break.

The Tasmanian, who also had Lachie Henderson as an opponent at times, finished with 0.4 from 15 touches.

While Riewoldt's role was a surprise, the fact that Mitch Robinson became the first player to test the AFL's new concussion rule wasn't.

The hard-at-it midfielder from Lauderdale was injured after a head clash with Tyrone Vickery in the second quarter and briefly lost consciousness.

He was soon ruled out by the Blues doctors, meaning Glenorchy's Aaron Joseph remained in the game after coming on temporarily while Robinson was assessed.

It was a case of deja vu for Launceston's Tim Mohr in the ``Battle of the Bridge'' on Saturday, with the GWS defender again spending time on Sydney superstar Adam Goodes when he rested in the forward line.

Mohr, who pushed further up the ground at times, was solid, collecting 17 touches, taking three marks and laying two tackles.

At the MCG on Sunday, Dodges Ferry's Jeremy Howe took a high-flying grab and kicked two goals, but struggled to have any further impact opposed to Tomas Jonas and Campbell Heath.

Wynyard's Colin Garland played on Angus Monfries, who kicked three goals before being subbed off at three-quarter time.

Garland finished with 17 touches and six marks in the debacle against Port Adelaide.

Evandale's Nathan Grima had the responsibility of looking after whichever Collingwood forward pushed further up the ground in North Melbourne's loss the Magpies on Sunday.

This meant the boy from Evandale played mainly on Quinten Lynch and Travis Cloke.

Grima finished with 13 touches and two marks.

Yesterday at the MCG, Devonport dasher Grant Birchall was outstanding running off Geelong's Jordan Murdoch, collecting 29 touches and taking six marks as the Hawks again crashed to the Cats.