Starting with the State Government for its easing of limits on participation in sports and recreation.

Until Friday's announcement there seemed to have been an over-reliance on the AIS return to sport guidelines. While they were originally as useful a tool as any in providing a framework for managing participation in the COVID-19 environment, the circumstances had changed a good while back.

They were also primarily intended as advice to high performance athletes and those organising events for them. The bigger problem was that as of last week they were still based on data from April and had not been updated since early May.

Fortunately now the Tasmanian Government, among others, has moved them to one side and begun to make decisions appropriate to its local environment.

What's particularly good about the new Tasmanian approach is that it strikes a sensible balance between providing a solid increase in allowable participation levels and the ongoing need for COVID-conscious attention to detail in event planning and delivery.

We've been allowed for some time, for example, to have 1000 people taking part in outdoor "free-moving" events. Now in broad summary we can go to 2000 with approval from State Growth and to 5000 with a tick from Public Health.

This firmly puts the onus on an event organiser to put together a COVID plan that meets the required level of compliance for the desired number of participants.

We still live in difficult times - even if things are going okay right now - so it should represent a good balance between what we would like to be able to do and objective responsibility.

And who knows - the sort of procedures and safeguards that we now put in place may in any case be a big improvement for many events on that which has been delivered in the past.

Continuing on the positive theme how good was Lachie Neale's response to his Brownlow Medal victory? Yes it may have been the most expected of wins in decades - enabling Neale to be the best prepared ever in delivering an acceptance speech.

But above all, it was refreshing. No platitudes, few if any clichés, just plenty of good wholesome reflections on why Neale came to be there at the microphone.

There was more than a strong hint of a quality country upbringing and loads of respect for those who contributed to him becoming a quality young man and footballer.

And there were also the revelations about the initially slow progress of his relationship with his wife Julie and the sacrifice she made for Neale to move to Queensland in giving up her own business in Perth.

It has often been suggested that mums around the country might have increasingly become concerned about the boys or girls playing Australian Rules football - for all sorts of reasons.

Neale's boy-next-door persona and carriage would surely have eased more than the odd concern. As would the possibility that they might end up in the care of a breath-of-fresh-air coach like Chris Fagan.

Brendon Gale was the other member of the Aussie Rules family who got some rightful recognition this week.

These days it's unbelievably rare that 10-year plans reach anything like fulfilment - although it's probably fair to observe that in past days no-one had ever heard of them - at least in sport.

It's also fair to observe that it's almost as rare that anyone lasts long enough at the top to be accountable for predictions or promises made 10 years before.

That's especially the case in AFL circles if that involves doubling membership and/or multiple premierships let alone both.

Gale's commitment to the task at hand both in terms of those long term goals and those that have emerged since has been exceptional as well as successful. The engagement of the club's faithful and through some innovative programs with the broader community equally so.

It takes a special sort of leadership to guide a high profile organisation.

And just maybe it's not such a long bow to draw a comparison between the regional Australian backgrounds of Gale and Neale and the humble qualities both possess - quite possibly as a result thereof.