At long last, Good Friday football found its way onto the AFL calendar. The clash between North Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs attracted a healthy crowd to Etihad Stadium, and boy were they treated to an absolute classic as the reigning premiers came from behind to snatch a memorable win.

The Eagles bounced back from last week's MCG disappointment by holding off the Swans out west. Amazingly, Sydney, along with the Hawks and Kangaroos, have all fallen to 0-4 and will have to make history if any are to play finals.

At the other end of the ladder, the Crows remain unbeaten and top thanks to a dominant 65-point win over Essendon. Richmond, who eased past the Lions, are also yet to taste defeat in 2017, sit second on the ladder in what is the club's best start to the season in 22 years. On Monday, the Cats were well short of their best but did enough to dispose of a suddenly very brittle Hawthorn outfit.

Geelong players celebrate in front of a dejected Cyril Rioli. Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

And then there's the Giants who are tracking along nicely, despite the plethora of injuries, at 3-1. What a cracking season this is shaping up to be.

HEROES:

Good Friday football: Not even in Gill McLachlan's wildest dreams could he have envisioned such a remarkable beginning to Good Friday football. The Western Bulldogs and North Melbourne played out a thriller in front of 42,814 fans, with the reigning premiers holding on to win by three points despite Lindsay Thomas having a shot to win it in the dying seconds. Luke Dahlhaus was superb with 32 disposals and two goals, while Marcus Bontempelli continued his hot start to the season with 25 touches and a fantastic on-the-run goal. With $5 of every ticket sale going straight to the Royal Children's Hospital appeal, it's a win-win.

(Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

Freo's fightback: Whatever Ross Lyon said to his troops at halftime at the MCG on Saturday should become a go-to speech from here on out. The Dockers trailed by 21-points at the main break before going on a seven goal to zero rampage to set up a memorable win. Fremantle's pressure was ferocious in the third quarter, laying an astonishing 13 tackles inside their attacking 50 while Lachie Neale and David Mundy combined for seven goals in a superb attacking effort. A fortnight ago things were looking bleak for the Dockers but now with back-to-back wins and at 2-2, anything is possible in 2017.

(Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)

Eddie Betts: Having been thrust into the media spotlight for all of the wrong reasons this past week, Betts responded and let his football do the talking as he played a vital role up forward for Adelaide as they demolished Essendon to the tune of 65 points. Betts leads the league with 16 goals at an accuracy of 66.7 percent and has taken more marks inside 50 than any other player, a remarkable effort for a footballer of his stature. He has well and truly entered in his name into the discussion as one of the game's greatest small forwards. And he showed, after such an emotional week, he is able to lead from the front on and off the field.

(Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Media/Getty Images)

VILLAINS:

Kieren Jack: It wouldn't be fair to pin Sydney's woeful 0-4 start to the season on an individual, but if we did, we'd be pointing at Kieren Jack. In Thursday's loss to the Eagles, Jack had just 14 disposals and zero clearances - the first time since the beginning of the 2014 season Jack has pieced together three games in a row under 20 possessions. Through the opening four matches this year, the former skipper is well down on many career averages including disposals (-5 per match), tackles (-3 per match) and clearances (-2 per match). With Tom Mitchell now at the Hawks and Isaac Heeney and Jarrad McVeigh sidelined through injury, Jack has to stand up in the midfield and play as a senior star should if the Swans are any chance of turning their season around.

(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

The third man up rule: As if the new rule didn't need any more controversy. In the third quarter on Friday night, Kangaroos midfielder Andrew Swallow was penalised for blocking the run of Josh Dunkley at a boundary throw in even though Marcus Bontempelli clearly raised his hand to nominate himself as the ruckman for the contest. While the AFL said the correct decision was made, the rule has been the subject of confusion through the opening four rounds of the season and the Laws of the Game committee must address it. Even Australian NBA star Andrew Bogut was not impressed.

Not a fan of the 3rd man up rule. If extras contest ruck, so be it, extra players free/unmarked around contest. — Andrew Bogut (@andrewbogut) April 14, 2017

Buckley's blunder: It seems as though Nathan Buckley isn't a believer in having your best players around the ball late in tight matches. Hell, he's not even a fan of having them on the field. It's either that or there was something seriously wrong (that nobody seems to know about) with Scott Pendlebury in the third quarter of Sunday's clash with Richmond. The Magpies skipper spent 14 minutes on the pine -- a period that saw the Saints boot four goals to set up the win -- in a match that was there for the taking for Collingwood. Former Geelong star Cameron Ling slammed Buckley over the match-losing move, while the decision just raises more questions about whether he's the right man to lead the club back up the ladder.