LATE in August with neither team destined for finals, there wasn't much to recommend Sunday's clash between Carlton and Melbourne.
But, as was the case with the infamous "Kreuzer Cup" in 2007, the game – easily won by the Blues – gave supporters reason to turn an eye to the future.
The two breakaway nominees for this year's NAB AFL Rising Star Award – Carlton's Patrick Cripps and Melbourne's Jesse Hogan – were on show in the same game for the first time this season.
The two West Australian youngsters have embarked on similar paths to this point.
Their first seasons were ruined by injury, with Cripps kept to three senior games last year following a leg fracture in May, after he arrived at the Blues with high expectations via pick No.13 overall in 2013.
Hogan was essentially a Christmas present that couldn't be opened until 2014, after being recruited in the 2012 "mini-draft" that meant he couldn't play seniors the following year.
Then, a back injury wrecked his 2014 campaign and the club had to wait even longer to unveil the new centerpiece of their forward line.
In 18 games each this season, they've been able to show their supporters why they were well and truly worth waiting for.
But, in a largely lopsided contest, it was Cripps who stood out more on Sunday with the midfielder all but sewing up this year's Rising Star with a commanding, best afield game.
Performances on Sunday at the MCG
Cripps was asked to do what he's done all season, and especially since the retirement of Chris Judd after round 10 - win the ball at the centre bounce and stoppages.
Not only did he do that, with a game-high eight clearances, but most of the time he managed it with Melbourne midfielder Bernie Vince hanging off his waist.
It was an old-fashioned tag with Vince giving Cripps little room to move and resting when he did, but it didn't matter.
The 20-year-old was a bull through the middle, often pushing off Vince – who is nine years and 152 games his senior – to amass 26 disposals, including 16 contested possessions.
He added another facet to his impressive inside game with periodic bursts of speed that caught the attention of interim coach John Barker.
And, when captain Marc Murphy went off with a dislocated shoulder in the third quarter, Cripps wasn't intimidated by the extra responsibility and kept going as the Blues held on.
For Hogan, it wasn't the best day to assess his standing as a young up-and-coming key forward with the Demons struggling to cleanly take the ball inside 50.
He was matched up on Michael Jamison, and later Zach Tuohy, and from the opening bounce showed he wasn't prepared to be pushed around by a more experienced opponent.
He was restricted to one contested mark, which has been his strength this year (he is ranked third in the competition), and went goalless for the first time this season.
But that one contested grab – a one-handed pack mark in the first quarter – was an example of the talent he holds in spades and his potential to use it when delivery is more consistent.
High point
In the second quarter, Cripps gathered the ball in the centre square and exploded through the middle to set up Matthew Kreuzer for a running goal. It was a nice example of the new dimension the midfielder is developing, having already shown his inside game is sound.
Low point
Hogan won't want to remember a moment in the second quarter when he found the ball after it came off hands deep in the Demons' attack. He charged into goal, not hearing the whistle that signaled a free kick to Kade Simpson, and tried to put the ball on the third level of the Ponsford Stand in what would have been an emphatic goal. It resulted in a 50m penalty.
The stats sheet
Patrick Cripps
| K | HB | DISP | M | Clr | T | G.B | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1.0 |
| Q2 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.0 |
| Q3 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 |
| Q4 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1.0 |
| Total | 9 | 17 | 26 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 2.0 |
Jesse Hogan
| K | HB | DISP | M | CM | T | G.B | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0.1 |
| Q2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| Q3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| Q4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0.1 |
| Total | 5 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0.2 |
What they said in the rooms
"Rising Star. Absolutely. He's very, very good. I don't like making too many comparisons like that from different ages but his dominance in the contest, and then we started to see a bit of burst into space today, which we haven't seen much of but it's ominous. He's got real character, resilience." – Carlton coach John Barker.
"[Cripps] is extremely important to us now. He's such a strong body and has stepped up to the table since Chris [Judd] has gone. There's no doubt he was going to have a good year with the amount of work he put in across the pre-season. I'd be super surprised if he didn't [win the Rising Star]." – Carlton forward Andrew Walker.
"It's going to happen (quiet days). Jesse's got good habits and he's a good listener and a good learner – he's going to play for a long period of time and he's going to have ups and downs in his career as all good players have, particularly in that area of the ground and in that position." – Melbourne coach Paul Roos.
Who will be the 2015 NAB AFL Rising Star?
Cripps and Hogan have shared favouritism throughout the year but Sunday's performance solidified Cripps' status as the outright favourite.
There's no doubt both players will be very important for their respective teams in the coming years.
As Barker said after the game, Cripps is the sort of player you can build a midfield around, and it's believed his professionalism in the recent off-season is behind why he's made such in-roads this season.
But Melbourne fans should be as equally encouraged.
Hogan had a quiet day on Sunday but he is a rare talent who plays in a position that is so hard to fill.
He might lose this award to his Carlton counterpart but there will be plenty of accolades for the strong, goal-kicking talent in years to come.
