Despite the cantankerous protestations of Kevin Bartlett, and the interchange "cap" of 120 from which negligible change has been noticed, the little-league-style game of football so prominent today dominates, as players exhaustingly follow the ball to all corners of the field. This is not the domain merely of midfielders or the old-fashioned high half-forward. As Damien Hardwick has been at pains to point out, forwards such as Jack Riewoldt cannot simply stay at home, lest they become a sitting duck, neutered of any defensive presence, and only spasmodically a forward threat.

Not only is it unsightly to have so much congestion, it has also sounded somewhat of a death knell to the individual match-ups so central to the game of yesteryear. It is now long ago since players lined in up in 15 set positions around the ground, nobly assisted by a travelling brigade of three followers. But how refreshing it was to see respective club captains Marc Murphy and Nathan Jones, more crucially also both their team's midfield linchpin; traverse the MCG turf together on Saturday, forging a battle ultimately won by Jones and in turn his Demons.

Champion onballers running side-by-side throughout an entire afternoon is now exceptionally rare as midfielders rotate company hastily like swingers at some sordid soiree, but even the one-on-one battles of tall artillery inside 50 is no longer a certain sight at AFL grounds. The deadly potion of loose men in defence and zoning have made sure of it.

That is what made the Macaffer blanket job on Cotchin so alluring. There was little third party interference, either from the laissez-faire 2014-style officials, or Cotchin's rather timid teammates. Damien Hardwick would not be moved to think so, but it was captivating to witness two athletes battle to achieve diametrically opposed ends - a war within the greater war so to speak.

To see the likes of Dale Steyn or Jimmy Anderson throw down the gauntlet towards an on-song Michael Clarke in recent Test series is truly captivating, the technique and mettle of both batsman and bowler challenged to its core. One party attempting to subdue and ultimately topple the opposition's pillar of class, the other seeking to escape the tight confines and then capitalise on any occasional moment of sloppiness.

This was Macaffer and Cotchin on Friday night. It was intriguing for the neutral, and wonderful for the evening's narrative. If the odd questionable block or hold is the price to pay, then so be it.