1. Riewoldt's record
St Kilda captain Nick Riewoldt continued his outstanding start to the season and collected a record on the way, kicking his 358th goal at Etihad Stadium and passing former teammate Stephen Milne as the venue's leading goalkicker. Riewoldt, opposed to Michael Hurley, dominated in the air and finished with five goals. In a scrappy match, he made the most of his opportunities, with his set shot kicking assured. With 17.5 for the season, he appears to be kicking as well as ever in his 14th season.

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2. Young Saint steps up

After making his debut in round one, prized youngster Jack Billings spent the next month fighting in the VFL. He graduated to play a full game on Saturday night and shone, finishing with 19 possessions, five inside 50s and two goals. The classy half-forward showed why he was worthy of selection No.3 in the 2013 NAB AFL Draft, bursting into space to kick a 50m running goal in the first quarter, and his fourth-quarter goal secured the result.   

3. A clean tag
There was nothing dubious in the shutdown role Saint Tom Curren played on Dyson Heppell. Giving away one free kick for the night, Curren honed in on the young Bombers' star and kept him to just 17 possessions, well below his season average of 31. It was a key scalp for Curren, who has been handed jobs on Patrick Dangerfield and Bernie Vince this season. His discipline and work rate epitomised the Saints on Saturday night.  

4. Bombers crash
After being dubbed the second best team in the competition after their 2-1 start to the season, the Bombers have nosedived with back-to-back defeats. After a 53-point loss to Fremantle in Perth, their six-day break came at the wrong time as illness also swept through the camp this week. The Dons didn't appear capable of moving out of second gear on Saturday night and they paid the price against a St Kilda side that sniffed an opportunity early in the second quarter. The Anzac Day clash against Collingwood will be a significant test.

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5. Lucky it was close
'Not one for the archives' would be a nice way to describe the second quarter, which ended with scores tied. Nick Riewoldt kicked the opening goal within two minutes but 20 minutes passed before he kicked the second of the term. Essendon's short-kicking game style went into overdrive and it produced just 0.2 for the quarter. The roof was closed, but it didn't help the Bombers' skills with all three St Kilda goals coming from turnovers. The redeeming feature was the Saints' work rate, with Alan Richardson's men desperate from siren to siren.