Ten Things I Learnt After Round 1
1. Carlton’s last six wins were by a goal or less
This is a stat one could easily miss due to their first four wins being last season. The Blues aren’t doing their long-suffering fans any favours in terms of stress levels. There would’ve been countless sets of white knuckles at the G on Thursday as the Blues made some critical errors late in the game which allowed the gallant Tigers a chance to snatch a victory despite Carlton seemingly in control.
First it was another Charlie Curnow brain fade when he marked in the square and played only to be run down. Somebody needs to remind this guy that in a close game halfway through the final quarter, using up time before slotting a certain goal would’ve iced the game. Then we saw Brodie Kemp’s inexplicable turnover which directly resulted in a goal to bring the Tigers to within four points.
The Blues did everything possible to snatch a defeat from the jaws of victory, and if they don’t correct this, their luck will ultimately run out.
The Tigers were stiff, and credit to them as they barely had a bench to draw from after half time. After their poor showing in Round 1 this was a good response and it’s clear that Richmond will still trouble a lot of teams. Taranto and Balta were excellent while Martin looked dangerous at times. For the Blues, De Koning was one of their best and Harry McKay is looking like having a huge year. On what we saw on Thursday night, the talk of a flag needs to be put on hold for a while. That said, good sides do win the close ones.
2. Are the Sydney Swans peaking too soon?
The Swans are looking ominous in 2024. They’ve easily disposed of two teams vying for a Top 4 spot including last year’s premiers on Friday night. Isaac Heaney probably already has six Brownlow votes to his name and Errol Gulden looks like taking the competition by storm.
You won’t get too many sides in the AFL that use the ball better than the Swans. Their first two games this season have no doubt sent a signal to the rest of the competition, but there is a long way to go, and they’ll be doing really well to maintain this high standard all year long.
The Pies, on the other hand, aren’t looking like a defending premier at this early stage. The term “premiership hangover” has already been uttered by many of the commentators. Aside from Nick Daicos, it seems quite a few of the players have come back a bit off the pace and the end result is two pretty convincing losses, albeit against two of the stronger teams. It’s certainly too early to panic, but if the Saints were to beat them next round then you will hear a lot of murmuring relating to the drop off in form.
Up until now, Craig McRae has been the golden child of the coaching fraternity, but a loss this week will turn the pressure up in ways he’s never experienced. Nobody will be calling for his head after taking them all the way last year, but questions will be asked nonetheless.
3. The Bombers kicking straight was the difference
In what was a fairly even game according to the statistics, Hawthorn butchered the ball when shooting for goal while the Bombers made the most of their 22 scoring shots finishing with 17 goals. It could’ve been a different story if the Hawks didn’t finish with just 11 goals from their 28 scoring shots.
It’s no excuse, although I’m sure it was a source of great frustration for supporters. The takeaway from this game is that we still don’t know how good or otherwise these teams are. Maybe next week will reveal more when Essendon takes on the Swans while the Hawks play Melbourne.
Essendon fans would be delighted with the game from Archie Perkins. He’s threatened at times in previous years but this would go down as his best game for the club. He finished with 24 touches and two goals with a staggering 12 tackles. Stringer finished with four goals, while McGrath and Merrett both had over 30 touches each. It was a promising debut from discarded Magpie Jack Ginnivan. He finished with 2.3 and looked lively but inaccurate. Some believe the Hawks would improve on last year’s performance, but I’m thinking they’ll probably finish this year in a similar position. Guelfi’s job on Sicily will be food for thought for opposition coaches this season.
4. Jesse Hogan stakes his claim for the Coleman
At his thirdclub and at the age of 29, it finally looks as though we’re going to see the best of the former number one pick. The signs were there last season, but with 10 goals to his name in the first two games, and with a bunch of elite kicks feeding the ball to him, he might be worth putting a few bucks on finishing the year with the most goals scored.
His wayward antics in past years suggested he’d never reach his potential, but it looks as though he might’ve realised his career only has a few years remaining. Whatever the case, with the Giants in the form they’re in, and with Jesse looking like he’s going to end his career on a high, Charlie Curnow might be struggling for a hat trick.
Most people predicted a 40-odd point win to the Giants in this game, and that’s what they got. It’s an all too familiar scenario with the Kangaroos and their recent lack of success. This year already looks like heading down the same path. If North Melbourne manage just four wins or less, where does that leave Clarko? I know it’s a lengthy rebuild, but has he got the patience to go through it all again? Time will tell. There’s some promise there in players like Sheezel, Davies-Uniacke & Xerri. It’s only one game in and I’d love to be wrong, but Saturday’s game looked familiar.
5. The Cats almost forgot the game was still going!
When Tom Hawkins finally kicked his first goal for the night at the 17 minute mark of the final term, the Cats had what appeared to be a match winning lead of 21. After booting a couple of behinds, the Saints banged on three late goals to get to within a point with a couple of minutes left on the clock.
The chance of victory was snuffed out by none other than Geelong skipper Patrick Dangerfield with a minute of time still remaining when his long range shot put the Cats a comfortable seven points up. Dangerfield had a great game finishing with 25 touches and that all-important major at the death. Young Ollie Dempsey had what might be considered his breakout game kicking three goals and looking lively.
The Saints welcomed back Tim Membrey to the group and he hit the scoreboard early and finished with three goals. It was a typical Ross Lyonesque performance with a low scoring game. It was strange to see them kick three goals in four minutes when the game was on the line after they’d only managed six goals in the previous 100 or so minutes.
St Kilda games can be scrappy for sure, and they’ll be hoping they can scrap their way into the finals like they did last year. They’ll need to beat Collingwood next week for that to happen. Now wouldn’t that get people talking!
6. The Suns almost cashed their chips in too early
In the first three quarters, Gold Coast had full control of the game in wet conditions up at Carrara. Adelaide seemingly couldn’t adapt and only had a paltry 1.2 on the board at half time. Early in the last term, the Suns booted their eighth goal giving the home team a very comfortable six-goal advantage. Then a switch was flicked and the Crows all of a sudden found avenues to goal kicking the last five of the game but falling short by just 6 points to add to their long list of narrow losses that cost them a finals berth last year.
The Suns are looking good, but against both the Crows and Tigers, they’ve had lapses in games where several consecutive goals were scored against them in what would be a concern for new coach Hardwick. No doubt this will be discussed during the week before they head to Ballarat to face the Bulldogs. Matt Rowell was brilliant once again.with 29 touches as was his mate Anderson with 35.
The Crows would be hoping for a big year from Rachele after an indifferent back half of last year. He booted three goals and looked active, but if the Crows want to play finals, wins on the road are what’s needed as well as winning close games.
7. Melbourne make a statement against a hapless Dogs
The talk during the week has been Melbourne’s inability to score heavily in what was considered a dysfunctional forward set up. The response this week was an emphatic 16 goal four quarter effort with a strong finish to the game against a Bulldogs outfit that look anything but an improvement on last year’s showing. Melbourne had a number of goal kickers with Chandler and Van Rooyen getting three apiece with both Brown and Pickett coming back in to get a couple each along with Neal-Bullen. Ben Brown probably did enough to retain his spot, and if he finds form, he could be the missing piece to the forward line puzzle.
The Bulldogs would’ve come into this game wanting to make amends for mixing the finals in 2023. To go down by 45 points would be hugely disappointing. They had few winners on the day and look a long way off at this stage. Bontempelli and Liberatore battled hard, but it may be time to swing the axe and send a message to the group that games must be earned. If people think that there’ll be pressure mounting on Beveridge after a bad loss like this, I shudder to think what they’ll be saying if the Suns beat them in Ballarat next round.
8. It’s going to be another long year for the Eagles
The 50 point margin in this game doesn’t tell the full story. In what is a record for the club, Port Adelaide’s tally of 16.24 is the highest number of behinds scored by the Power in their short history. This could’ve been so much worse for West Coast had the Power been on target. There are major problems in a defensive unit that allows 40 scoring shots from just 57 forward entries. No Eagles player had more than 20 touches, and one wonders where Andrew Gaff’s career is at after he was subbed off with just 4 touches. Yep. It’s going to another tough year all right.
The Power might’ve missed their chance for a real percentage boost. The last quarter in particular saw only 5 goals from 14 scoring shots. They had a fair spread of scorers. Charlie Dixon looks fit and ready for a big year. Connor Rozee was best afield and seems to relish his role as captain. Zak Butters fired and Horne-Francis looked classy. Port Adelaide looked good, but I believe most sides will look good against West Coast. They take on Richmond at home next week. That may give us a better idea.
9. Brisbane have only shown up for the first quarter so far this year
In the opening round against Carlton, the Lions banged on seven goals to just two in what was a scintillating display before they were eventually reeled in and lost by a point despite leading by as much as 46 points before Carlton kicked 8 unanswered goals. On Sunday they had four goals on the board before the Dockers knew the game had started.
Many had written off the Dockers for this year, and very few selected them in this game despite it being played in Perth. It has to be a major concern for Chris Fagan to see his team concede 8 unanswered goals in both games.
Many questioned the one year extension granted to coach Justin Longmuir. After knocking off the Lions in the manner they did, some may be thinking it was a stroke of genius, although we can revisit this notion later in the year. The combination of Treacy and Amiss paid dividends with seven goals kicked between them, but you can’t go past Caleb Serong and his incredible 46 possessions. A lot of Victorians don’t realise that we have a superstar in this kid. He wasn’t far off taking out the Brownlow last year. If he stays fit, you’ll hear his name a lot come that Monday before the Grand Final, even with his mate Brayshaw pinching a few off him. As for the Lions, this is not the start they wanted. After quarter time in both games, they’ve been soundly beaten to the tune of 11.18 to 23.15 across the six quarters. Let that sink in.
10. I believe it’s the first time ever the two Grand Finalists are 0-2
Now I could be wrong, so feel free to correct me if that’s the case, but I heard on SEN it being suggested that this has never happened before. So if I’m wrong, blame them! But on a serious note, we can see that Collingwood are certainly not playing at the same level that won them a premiership, and I’m sure they’re going to find their mojo at some point and get back on track. Brisbane are a weird one for mine, because we’ve seen patches of brilliant football followed by a drop in intensity and a capitulation. So we know they’ve still got form but seem to be struggling to maintain it. Maybe they can freshen up with a week off before facing the Pies in Round 3.
Speaking of Round 3, if results were to go a certain way, we could still have a scenario where both Grand Finalists go to 0-3. It would involve Collingwood losing to St Kilda, and then Collingwood beating Brisbane the following week. Nobody would’ve seen that coming at all. You never know. These two teams may fall short of finals action this year paving the way for the likes of the Gold Coast Suns finally featuring in September. The season already seems to have thrown up some shock results which only makes it more interesting. I think the ladder may start to take some shape after Round 7 when all sides have played the same number of games. There’s more surprises to come I imagine.