THE MOST anticipated centre stoppage of the summer took place at the opening bounce at Wonthella Oval on Saturday afternoon when West Coast got its first look at how Matt Priddis and boom recruit Sam Mitchell might work together. 

It was relatively straightforward. The hit-out was disputed, but when the ball hit the ground, Priddis shovelled the ball to Mitchell, who moved it out of the stoppage. 

Moments later, the ball found its way back to Mitchell, who then moved to his left foot and passed the ball to a teammate on the wing. He was away, and so were the Eagles.

Mitchell had 28 possessions in his opening appearance with West Coast – like a host of his teammates he was spared the long trip to Narrandera last week – and apart from the jarring sight of him in blue and gold, appeared to have lost nothing despite having turned 34 in the off-season.

How he and fellow ball-magnet Priddis will combine is one of the talking points heading into the new season. Champion Data's figures were not as comprehensive as they might have been for a game at a standard AFL venue, but Priddis and Mitchell were together for six of the 28 centre bounces. 

Individually, one of them was in the square for the centre bounce on 16 occasions (Priddis nine and Mitchell seven) and there were six centre bounces when neither was one of the starting four.

The final pre-season game is the main dress rehearsal for most clubs, with no more than six on the bench and a cap on interchange rotations. We'll have a better understanding of how Eagles coach Adam Simpson plans to use his star-studded midfield then, but given how sharp not just Mitchell and Priddis, but also Luke Shuey and Andrew Gaff looked early on against the Dockers on Saturday, there is more than a bit for West Coast supporters to be excited about. 

The 'It's only February' department (which means we have the right to walk these back come the regular season)

St Kilda looked good
The replay of the second half of Thursday night's win over Port Adelaide won't be sitting on too many hard drives, but St Kilda's first half was impressive, with ballistic ball movement and so many marking targets to kick the ball towards. Paddy McCartin, Josh Bruce and Tim Membrey took five contested marks between them in the first term alone and that's what the Saints are pinning their hopes on this season. Jake Carlisle and Nathan Brown were handy at the other end of the ground in what was a promising first-up effort from both for their new club. 

Christian Petracca is a jet
We saw Western Bulldog Marcus Bontempelli emerge as a star in his second AFL season and the Melbourne midfielder is tracking in a similar fashion in his third year, having missed all of his first with a ruptured ACL. On Saturday against Carlton at Casey Fields, Petracca kicked four goals from 19 possessions. There were midfield cameos but he was at his best across half-forward where he made every touch count. David Schwarz predicted on the weekend he will soon become the favourite player for Melbourne supporters and he might be right. 

Melbourne means business
It wasn't just Petracca against the Blues. The Demons had good players across every line, but what is most impressive to date is their midfield. Melbourne plays tough, hard contested footy but then moves the ball swiftly and with skill when given time and space. It is a recipe that should translate well to the MCG. It is clear that the Demons want to ingrain winning as a habit this year and February is not too early in the year to start. They round out their pre-season in a fortnight against West Coast at Domain Stadium and for pre-season footy, this will be about as good as it gets. 

Passage of the summer
This was the passage of play that has Richmond supporters a little excited that better times might be ahead. It was early in the third term on Friday night against Adelaide and the ball was hemmed in on the boundary, deep in the back pocket. Reece Conca handballed to David Astbury, who handballed to Dylan Grimes, who handballed to Ivan Maric, who feigned a handball to Dustin Martin but instead weaved past Curtly Hampton and kicked the ball into the corridor to Josh Caddy, who handballed inboard to Dan Butler, whose long, zone-busting kick went to Nick Vlastuin, who handballed to Jason Castagna, who ran into an open goal. You had to blink twice to make sure this was Richmond on display because this was slick, risky and inventive football and a complete contrast to the stodgy footy the Tigers played as the walls crumbled around them during an awful 2016. 

The Hawks have done it again
Former Tiger big man Ty Vickery did well for the Hawks in their 21-point loss to North Melbourne at Arden Street on Sunday. Two goals represented a good return, as did six marks, two of which were contested. Vickery will not be the focal point for Hawthorn, but he does have a role to play and on two showings so far, he is playing it well. The Hawks would have loved Jaeger O'Meara's 22-possession, one-goal outing against the Kangas. Forget round four as previously forecast, he'll be on the team sheet for round one. Add former Swan Tom Mitchell's team-leading 26 possessions in his first game for the club and it was a good day for Hawthorn, or at least for the list management team. 

Pressure on Majak... again
Majak Daw might not be the walk-up start for North's round one clash with West Coast we thought he might be. Daw went OK against Hawthorn on Sunday, but Braydon Preuss continues to be the talk of Arden Street. The former rugby player cleaned up Andrew Swallow in an intraclub game a fortnight ago, played well against the Swans last week then starred on Sunday with three goals while resting in the forward line. At 206cm and 109kg, you can't help but notice Preuss and the Kangas can't help but give him the ball. There are senior spots aplenty up for grabs at North and it would be fascinating to know whether Brad Scott has Preuss ahead of Daw in his thinking for the season opener. 

Ainsworth worth it
Four picks inside the first 10 at last year's NAB AFL Draft allowed Gold Coast the opportunity to move on from the misery of the past three years – as long as list manager Scotty Clayton nailed the picks. On the early evidence, it appears as though he has. Ben Ainsworth, at pick No.4, wanted to go to the Brisbane Lions at the time, but two goals and an assist against the Bombers on Sunday in Mackay showed he has settled in to life on the Gold Coast just fine, as any self-respecting 19-year-old boy should. Pencil him in for round one.