We're past the halfway point in the league and it's clear that the predictions that the enhanced rules would create a forwards' paradise are bearing out.
No more was this evident than in Pomeroy and Salthill on Sunday where the two stars of the 2022 All-Ireland final had a ball.
David Clifford cut a dejected figure in the aftermath of last year's semi-final defeat to Armagh. In the previous game against Derry - where Kerry did manage to get over the line - he'd almost been used as a decoy, there to attract markers towards him and leave space for the likes of Tom O'Sullivan and Diarmuid O'Connor to pour through and get shots off.
But that was under the old game, where he was forever hounded by a cluster of defenders.
At the weekend, operating as one of the three up-top, he looked like a man reborn. He made little impression in his cameo against Dublin, only coming on when the Kingdom were struggling to play into a very stiff breeze. But in Pomeroy, he showed that he has the capacity to absolutely run riot in the post-FRC era.
His three goals were taken with such style and swagger - the usual little bounce and shimmy - and he could have had five. He linked up especially well with Paul Geaney, who laid on two of the goals, as well as another attempt, which slammed off the crossbar. It was exhilarating stuff, if possibly a little frightening for the rest of the country.
In contrast to last summer, practically the only time he was smothered all afternoon was when the local kids ran onto the pitch to grab a feel of his jersey.
This was all despite spending 10 minutes in the bin for a pretty harsh black card - under the letter of the law, it was a foot-trip, although it looked like a genuine attempt to win the loose ball rather than a cynical act. Not that Kerry suffered too much as a result - more on that later.
It's striking the varying approaches that teams have taken to the new rules. Donegal are continuing to run the ball, focusing on speedy hand-passing in transition. But Kerry have been mixing it up with more direct kick-passing, particularly in the first half against Dublin in Tralee and in the second half last weekend. They've been hungry for goals, scoring 10 across the four games.
Out in Pearse Stadium, the other leading man from the '22 decider was similarly magnificent, albeit deployed in a different fashion.
Whereas Clifford was usually hovering close to goal, Shane Walsh was instead free-floating around the perimeter of the arc, Galway building their attacking plan around getting him the ball as often as possible in two-point range.
The resulting shots were food and drink for Walsh and it made for a particularly surreal first half. It was the first time we had really seen a team make it so aggressively clear that they were playing to kick two-pointers.
Any time a Galway player wandered inside the scoring arc, you'd see them reverse out of it and seek out Walsh, standing in the 'pocket'.
Even on the rare occasions they missed, Shaun Patton still had to kick into the teeth of the wind with Galway mounting a full press, with the likes of John Maher on the rampage in the middle third.
The wind was so strong, some were inclined to wonder whether the game should have gone ahead there at all.
I've probably dwelt enough on my experiences in Salthill at this stage. It tells you enough that we all hated playing there despite the fact that I only lost there once in championship (it was in Castlebar where we struggled to beat Galway).
Suffice to say, the gale there last weekend was extreme even by the regular standards of that venue. Galway are playing Tyrone in Tuam this weekend, which is no harm at all.
While Walsh gave an exhibition of long range kicking in the first half, probably his best point of all was the one off his left - worth only one point - in the second half. He was in the groove at this point and is clearly enjoying his football. Kilmacud's relatively early exit in the club championship, aka the county final, was probably a blessing for the Tribesmen.
All told, it was a hugely impressive performance from Padraic Joyce's men. There are caveats in terms of Donegal's attitude to the game. With three wins under their belt, Jim McGuinness decided to rest a few key players (Ryan McHugh, Paddy McBrearty) and the suspicion is they'll be wanting to avoid a league final altogether, with the Ulster opener against Derry following so soon after.
Galway, with only a game against New York to navigate, should be gunning for the league title this year. They look to be in rude health, with the likes of Damien Comer and Cillian McDaid still to return.
The bizarre half-time scoreline - 0-17 to 0-01 - has led some to argue that the two-point arc should be dispensed with.
I can understand those reservations and would definitely like to see it abolished for placed balls but otherwise I'd be inclined to hold fire on that.
We're no longer fixating on 'the scoring zone' and the best case scenario is that defences will have to push out to prevent two-point attempts, potentially leaving more space inside. I think it should be left in place for scores from play for a while yet.
But one tweak that is definitely on the horizon concerns the issue of red and black cards. It was slightly amusing to hear Malachy O'Rourke - the FRC's Malachy O'Rourke - pointing out that the 3v3 rule didn't work in the context of black cards.
He also reckoned the kick-outs rule needed to be changed on the basis that it was creating too many 50/50 battles - which is probably more of a problem to managers than it is to spectators.
In fairness, the issue around red and black cards is one where reform is required. Being down two men - as both Galway and Kerry were for stretches on Sunday - made zero difference whatsoever, with both teams allowed leave one player up-top. This meant they weren't disadvantaged defensively and they were still able to engineer a 12v11.
Fortunately, it should be an easy fix, with teams asked to keep three in attack even when down a man. We can anticipate that change coming after the Round 5 games.
