The opening month of the VFL season has come to a close, with the competition's top performers beginning to break away from the main pack.
A former Collingwood midfielder collected 38 touches against his old side over the weekend, while an ex-Hawk was equally impressive as his season at Williamstown grows each week.
A young Bomber is a step closer to AFL action, and a premiership Demon had a successful evening after returning from a few weeks away from the club.
Here's a wrap-up of all the action from Round 4 of the VFL season.
Carlton vs Richmond (68 - 59)
Blues recruit Alex Cincotta only strengthed his chances of an AFL debut in Friday's win over the Tigers, recording 34 disposals, eight marks, four tackles and 10 inside 50s at Ikon Park.
The defensive flanker led the way for Luke Power's side, while fringe backman Brodie Kemp also aided Carlton's rearguard with another strong performance of his own.
Paddy Dow was at his consistent best at VFL level in working tirelessly through midfield, while rookie Jaxon Binns added to a strong Round 3 performance with 29 possessions and 11 marks against the Tigers.
Former Essendon player Garret McDonaugh continued in his strong return to Punt Road with a 29-possession, two-goal outing against Carlton.
The Tigers had just the four AFL-listed players in Round 4 after an injury-riddled past few weeks at both levels.
Brisbane vs Southport (116 - 97)
Brisbane forwards Tom Fullarton and Nakia Cockatoo were just as dominant at the state league as the Lions' top attacking trio were against North Melbourne in SA on Saturday, with the VFL pair combining for seven goals en route to a 19-point win over Queensland rivals Southport.
Wylie Buzza added three of his own, while midfielders Deven Robertson and Jaspa Flethcer also bagged multiple majors.
Rhys Mathieson's dominant VFL career continued over the weekend, with the energetic onballer tallying a game-high 37 possessions against the Sharks, along with seven clearances and four inside 50s in the absence of Jarryd Lyons.
Noah Answerth added to his promising season at VFL level with another 30+ disposal game, joining the pack of Lions on the fringe that are knocking on the selection door.
Like most weeks, Jacob Dawson was among Southport's best on his way to collecting 34 possessions, while Fraser Thurlow booted a bag of six for last year's grand finalists.
Sydney vs North Melbourne (79 - 121)
The Roos levelled their season record after four rounds with a dominant afternoon against the Swans, who are still chasing their first win of the season.
After being dropped from the senior side, young forward Paul Curtis responded quickly to boot three of his five goals for the day in the opening quarter.
Aaron Hall was at his ball-winning best to collect 37 disposals from defence, while Charlie Lazzaro, Aiden Bonar and Miller Bergman stood out for the Shinboners.
Swans recruit Aaron Francis booted a team-high three goals through his role in attack, while Ryan Clarke and Nick Shipley were Sydney's top ball winners with 27 possessions each.
Werribee vs Geelong (47 - 60)
The Cats held off the Tigers in tough conditions at Avalon Airport Oval on Saturday to claim their second win of the year after a difficult past few weeks.
VFL-listed onballer Jye Chalcraft was arguably Geelong's best against Werribee with his two-way impact, while Oliver Dempsey will find himself back in the AFL selection mix after another 20+ touches and a goal.
Veteran ruckman Jon Ceglar got through three-quarters of the contest before having his afternoon finish early, likely due to load management.
Werribee star Shaun Mannagh could've cemented himself as the form player of the competition with some cleaner kicking in front of goal, ending the day with five behinds to his name along with 24 possessions, and nine tackles.
Port Melbourne vs Northern Bullants (88 - 63)
The two standalone sides both did it tough at ETU Stadium on Saturday as the Borough were hit with a string of injuries.
Former Sydney ruckman Sam Naismith has continued to impress in his bid to return to the top flight, amassing another 48 hit-outs against the Bullants to be fit and firing.
Felix Flockart and Jake Gasper both booted three goals each for Port Melbourne, while Brandon Ryan an Tyson Young managed the same for the Bullants.
Gasper was also among the leading disposal winners with 26 to his name, continuing a strong campaign for the Borough star.
Williamstown vs Coburg (110 - 56)
Ex-Hawthorn midfielder James Cousins continues to go from strength to strength at Williamstown, with Saturday's clash against Coburg seeing the onballer amass 39 possessions, 12 clearances and a goal in the 54-point win.
Averaging 30 possessions and just under one goal per game, Cousins is another name AFL clubs could look toward ahead of the Mid-Season Draft.
Club great Ben Jolley was a strong performer for the Seagulls on his way to 22 possessions and one goal, while Harry Jones added another 30 disposals to his season tally, working in tandem with Cousins.
The Lions found multiple goalkickers in Sam Mason, Daniel Johnston and Aaron Clarke but failed to land their opening win of the season.
Box Hill vs Collingwood (114 - 55)
Coming up against his former side, Box Hill recruit Callum Brown recorded 38 touches and nine clearances to help steer the Hawks to a large win over Collingwood.
Combining with former Bulldog Cal Porter, who had 33 disposals and a goal, Brown was a key piece in the 59-point win, which continued the Hawks' undefeated start to the season.
Following a four-goal haul against the Cats last week, fringe tall Max Ramsden booted a further four majors to put his name on the selection map at Waverley, with senior coach Sam Mitchell likely to consider the mid-season recruit ahead of dropped forward Jacob Koschitzke.
Nathan Kreuger made his return to the field following pre-season shoulder surgery and booted a goal, but managed just three possessions for the day.
Finlay Macrae is proving to be a ball magnet at VFL level this year, averaging 29 possessions from his four appearances.
Sandringham vs Frankston (56 - 82)
Sandringham couldn't keep up with the Dolphins over the weekend, falling to Frankston by 26 points to suffer their third defeat of 2023.
Frankston had the top seven disposal winners of the evening, with Will Fordham the only player to break the 30-possession barrier. Fordham also booted two goals in a strong outing against the Zebras, while Matt Johnson and Trent Mynott notched up four goals each.
Tim Membrey managed seven disposals in a successful short stint back from knee surgery but failed to capitalise in front of goal.
Jack Peris had two goals for Sandringham, while defender Tom Highmore got forward to boot a goal from one of his 21 possessions for the day.
Ruckman Max Heath laid 10 tackles and recorded 33 hit-outs against Frankston duo Nic Minchin and James Rendell.
Essendon vs Casey (42 - 82)
Ben Hobbs is likely to find himself in the selection frame for Round 6 of the AFL season given Zach Merrett's one-game suspension, with the second-year Bomber continuing his prolific campaign in the VFL on Sunday.
The Horsham product amassed 31 touches and recorded nine clearances against a sturdy Caset midfield that was comprised of some senior figures in James Harmes and Luke Dunstan.
Harmes led the game with his 34 possessions in what was a successful return from a period of personal leave, while Bailey Laurie has continued to flourish since being dropped from Simon Goodwin's side to add another 33 disposals to his tally for the year.
Josh Schache booted four goals for the Demons in the 40-point victory, with VFL-listed forward Ryan Valentine scoring a trio of majors himself.
Bombers spearhead Patrick Voss now has 12 goals from his four appearances this year after booting another two against Casey.
