There was agony and ecstasy for two members of Tasmania's class of 2019 over the weekend who hail from the North-West Coast.
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First the bad news, as the low point came on Saturday at the MCG in the third quarter when Ulverstone's Alex Pearce made an unwanted return to Fremantle's injury list.
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The 23-year-old key-defender hurt his left ankle in what was an innocuous looking incident after a clearing kick from defence, with the club on Monday confirming he will miss the rest of the season after fracturing in his foot.
Before hurting himself Pearce, who has played 53 games for Freo and every game this season and was well and truly in the All Australian conversation, played on Ben Reid (who kicked 2.0) and had seven possessions (one intercepts), two marks (one intercept) and one score involvement.
Now for the good news, which was the confirmation of the remarkable rise of Ryan Gardner.
Less than a week after finding his way onto an AFL list, having previously been working in the "real world" and playing VFL for Footscray before last week's mid-season rookie draft, he made his long-awaited AFL debut in the Western Bulldogs' loss to West Coast on Sunday.
It came after he had spent three years on Geelong's list without playing a senior game.
The versatile key-position player, who turned 22 on Saturday, was used in attack by coach Luke Beveridge on Sunday, and kicked 1.1, with his goal coming in the final term.
He finished with nine possessions, three score involvements and two marks with Jeremy McGovern his first opponent in the big league.
"He'll keep getting better and better and he's a great competitor,'' Beveridge said about his newest pup.
"He's going to really add something as time goes on to our group."
Back at the MCG on Saturday, Burnie's Brody Mihocek came up against the team he made his made his debut against last year, but couldn't match his four goal haul from 2018 in the return encounter.
Despite a lack of goals, Magpie Mihocek, who had Joel Hamling as his main marker, was still quite busy out there as he finished with 0.3, one goal assist and six score involvements from 18 touches, nine marks and one tackle.
Teammate Jeremy Howe, from Dodges Ferry, was a strong contributor from defence for the Pies with 21 touches (six intercepts), 11 marks (six intercepts) and three score involvements.
Another bright moment of the weekend came with the continuation of Lachie Weller's strong season.
The Burnie product again had a role from half-back for Gold Coast and collected 22 possessions, three marks, two clearances, two tackles, 0.1, two goal assists and three score involvements as the Suns crashed to Greater Western Sydney.
Weller, 23, is averaging 22.9 touches, 4.3 marks and 2.3 tackles a game in his seven outings this season.
Meanwhile in Geelong, Launceston's Jake Kolodjashij spent time on former teammate Dan Menzal in Geelong's win over Sydney.
Kolodjashnij finished with 11 possessions (two intercepts), five marks (two intercepts) and two tackles.
Burnie's Robbie Fox again showcased his physicality across half-forward with a career-best eight tackles to go with his 11 possessions, one mark, one clearance, one goal assist and three score involvements.
In Darwin, Lauderdale's Hugh Greenwood played a significant role in Adelaide's come-from-behind win over Melbourne.
Playing both in attack and the midfield, Greenwood had 20 possessions (10 contested) at 85 per cent disposal efficiency, two clearances, seven tackles and three score involvements, and helped keep Clayton Oliver quiet in the second half.
Another Lauderdale product in Mitch Robinson also played an important role in his side's win as Brisbane downed Hawthorn.
Robinson, who is also having a fine season, played midfield and forward, had 22 possessions (including 10 in the third term) with 10 of those contested and five intercepts at 73 per cent disposal efficiency, three clearances, four tackles, 1.0, one goal assist and seven score involvements.
On Sunday, Launceston's Thomas Bellchambers was outplayed around the ground by direct opponent Matthew Kreuzer as Essendon defeated Carlton.
While Bellchambers won more hit-outs (39 with 21 to advantage to 32 with six to advantage), it was Kreuzer's work around the ground and ability to provide a target in attack that won this contest.
The Blue had 22 touches, three marks, three tackles and kicked 1.0 (and one out on the full), while Bellchambers had just two touches (both handballs), three tackles and one score involvement.
The round started with Devonport's Ben Brown helping ensure that Rhyce Shaw's first game as North Melbourne coach ended as a winning one.
Brown kicked 5.0 (his second five goal haul for the season) in the win over Richmond, and had 14 possessions, six marks and nine score involvements with Ryan Garthwaite as his direct opponent.
Brown now has 30.12 for the season and sits in third place in the race for the Coleman Medal, behind Jeremy Cameron (38.28) and Tom Hawkins (31.12).
North Launceston's Tarryn Thomas again showed some promising signs in the front half for the Roos, kicking 1.0 and having two score involvements from seven possessions.
Meanwhile, Launceston's Kade Koldojashnij made his return to football from his latest battle with concussion in the VFL affiliate for Melbourne, Casey Demons, on Saturday.
Kolodjashnij, who has played two games for the Demons this season to go with his 78 for Gold Coast, collected 12 possessions for the side coach by fellow Tasmanian Jade Rawlings in the loss to Werribee.