This story originally appeared on afl.com.au

1. Port Adelaide continues to do it easily
After six rounds, Port Adelaide is sitting comfortably in the top eight with four wins and two losses. The Power were disappointing last year, dropping games they should have won while showing the occasional flash of brilliance. They finished ninth in 2015 and 10th last year after nearly snatching a Grand Final spot from Hawthorn in 2014. But it looks like Port Adelaide is back. Its two losses this year have come against the form sides of the competition in Adelaide and Greater Western Sydney, while it has been dominant in all of its wins, averaging a 72.5 point winning margin.

2. Charlie's big day out
Charlie Dixon had clearly set himself for a big day against the Lions. He started aggressively, crashing packs and throwing his considerable weight around against an inexperienced Lions defence. The former Gold Coast forward was clearly comfortable playing in Queensland. His contested marking was a highlight, finishing with four for the match (and 12 overall), and he worked hard on his leading in and around forward 50 to rack up 20 touches. With five goals against the Lions last year, Dixon repeated his heroics to finish with four. He also had 16 score involvements, the most of any player this year.

3. Disappointing Lions
The Brisbane Lions have shown so much promise over the season – hanging on after a fast start against Gold Coast, while giving Essendon, St Kilda and the Western Bulldogs big scares with dominant quarters. While they didn't fall back into all of their bad habits from their poor 2016, the Lions put in their worst performance for the year. They did try to take the game on and use the corridor, but struggled badly with basic kicking and handballing skills. Stars Dayne Beams, Dayne Zorko and Tom Rockliff were quiet, but Eric Hipwood and Lewis Taylor battled hard. For long-suffering Lions fans, hopefully this was a blip in an otherwise promising season. 

4. Power forwards
Port Adelaide's forwards, while a similar make-up to last year, are now in ominous form. They appear a lot more balanced – the addition of Paddy Ryder in the ruck has allowed Jackson Trengove to move forward, taking the spot of the retired Jay Schulz. The clever Robbie Gray is in career-best form; spending more time forward (kicking 18 goals already in 2017) and dragging defenders away from his teammates. Small forward Jarman Impey (four goals) seems keen to make amends for his pre-season misdemeanour, while Port's midfielders are pushing forward and creating havoc. 

5. Kicking in danger?
Jared Polec could find himself under a bit of scrutiny for an unusual kick in the third quarter. Having taken a fine intercept mark inside the Lions' forward-50, Polec was brought to the ground by Michael Close. With Dayne Zorko standing the mark and Close, well, close-checking Polec, the former Lion lashed out. Trying to aim a kick at Close in retaliation, he accidentally hit Zorko instead. The umpire halted play and had stern words with Polec, but did not award a free kick to the Lions.

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