Back for another season, even if 80% of the league hasn’t had to show up yet.
Still, i suppose that allows me to grab a few who are… deserving?
Here we go, the winners and losers of Round Zero.
WINNERS
FINN CALLAGHAN
The breakout game.
Four quarters of power running, goal-kicking, clearance-winning, metres-gaining brilliance from the bloke who was taken one pick ahead of Nick Daicos in the draft a few years ago.
An even bigger win because he cut the bullshit, signed his contract extension well in advance, and prevented any of the distracting “will he/won’t he?” crap that surrounds so many players throughout a season. An intelligent, club-focused decision.
Great to see his loyalty rewarded. And great to see a wonderful young player start to realise his potential. If you get the chance, watch his first few steps away from a contest. Huge power to put distance on an opponent the way Finn did in this one.
WILL DAY
Another one to make a statement, with Day compiling the type of first half that had the word “superstar” flash through the minds, and across the social media feeds, of many.
He was so good, that the Swans had to resort to going with a hard tag on him after halftime, collecting 19 touches and snagging three goals before the main break before James Jordon ran with him.
That, my friends, is how you silence those who may think you’ve been unfairly rated a little high. There were a few of those people going around prior to this weekend.
SAM WICKS
One bright light for the Swans was Sam Wicks, who was really at the crossroads of his career in 2024. Shifted into defence, Wicks got the tough job of locking down on Hawks livewire, Nick Watson.
And not only did he do that, he won plenty of the footy, as well, whilst holding Watson to a shocker.
Wicks may well come under scrutiny later in the year – one game does not gift him this spot in the side, but he did everything possible to prove he is up for the challenge. Best on ground for the Swans.
TOBY BEDFORD
You get Snooze… you lose.
Some may point to the fact Nick Daicos had 17 touches in the first half as proof this tag was ineffective. My guess is that those people didn’t watch this contest.
Daicos was the least effective I’ve seen him since Ryan Clarke used to sit on him and make him humble when the Pies played the Swans. Bedford has a huge tank, and stuck with Daicos at every contest. No easy one-twos, no time to assess and adjust his kicks – every time he got it he was under pressure. And it showed.
The lack of pre-season caught up with Daicos after halftime, and Bedford zoned off him in the last quarter. It didn’t matter. He’d already won.
LLOYD MEEK
What a journey for this bloke. He has gone from being second banana at Freo, to being recruited to Hawthorn looking like second banana to Ned Reeves.
And now, he is the undisputed number one ruck in the brown and gold, and throws everything into every contest.
His early work against Brodie Grundy helped the Hawks set up their win, and his two snags were the icing on the cake for the big fella.
SAM TAYLOR
Eight intercept grabs amongst 12 total intercepts for the game, Sam Taylor ruled the air against the Pies, and was easily the most dominant key defender on the park.
Backed up admirably by Jack Buckley (as always), Taylor was brilliant all game, losing only one contest… and didn’t he looked pissed about it! I love that about Taylor – every lost contest is treated like an insult to his heritage. He tucks it away and uses it to channel his aggression on the next play.
If not the best key defender in the caper, he is top two.
THE LOSERS
LACHIE SCHULTZ
Schultz had a poor 2024. He just couldn’t seem to get into the swing of the Collingwood forward line.
Fast forward to 2025 and guess what? He still seems like a fish out of water. The effort is there, but he is so far out of sorts, that his highlight of the game came when Toby Greene flattened him as he tried to get around the mark to chase his man and he ran right into the GWS captain.
A dirty day for Lachie.
Again.
Been a few too many.
NICK WATSON
Where there is hype, there has to be results, and the little man came into Round Zero with plenty of hype following his end to 2024.
And then it all blew up in his face.
I covered Sam Wicks above, but Watson needs to grab a copy of a Collingwood report and apply it to himself. He needs to Do Better.
So do Collingwood, actually.
WILL HAYWARD
How much were Adelaide offering this bloke at one stage?
Played the role of the invisible man in this game, and even when he did find himself looking like he might make a meaningful contribution by stopping James Sicily having a huge influence in the third quarter, the Hawks simply swung Sicily forward.
There, he continued to have a massive influence, and Hayward went back to having none. He is far too good a player to have these types of nothing games.
OLLIE FLORENT
Not the ideal start for Ollie. He didn’t look like it, and the Swans fans are sharpening their knives when they hear his name.
Sloppy ball use all night was capped by an atrocious last-quarter turnover to gift a goal to Connor MacDonald. It all but sealed the game for the Hawks, and I reckon there might be more than a few discussions about Florent’s role in this team, ongoing.
THE AFL
How about that opening round, huh?
How good was it!!!
Two games, a cyclone… Saturdays with no footy at all, and a public holiday Monday the league is NOT capitalising on. I’ll tell ya what, if I ran The Mongrel Punt like the AFL ran Round Zero, we’d fold. You’d all tell me what a shit job I did, and I would have to work hard to make it all up to you for months on end.
But the AFL has the golden goose, and even though they have been strangling it for years, the old girl still has a bit of life in her. Footy can overcome their continued stupidity. Bring on Round One.
NICK DAICOS
Ouch…
Harsh, I know. But when you’re touted as the best player in the game, and you can only get through half a game before your legs buckle underneath you… well, you’ve gotta take your lumps.
Could hardly move in the second half, and really, it was bloody lucky he didn’t tear a muscle by staying out there. Pretty unimpressed with the Pies not subbing him out, but then again, there is a strong argument that a Nick Daicos who cannot run is still more valuable than a completely fit Will Hoskin-Elliott.
THE FANS
Yep, you, me… all of us.
After what always feels like such a long wait, the season kicked off and here we are, sitting here on a Monday morning with two games in the bank.
And you know what is worse? It’s a public holiday in Victoria – Labor Day. The perfect chance for a club like St Kilda, North Melbourne, the Western Bulldogs, or the Dees to host a standalone marquee game with clean air to do so in. A season opener in Melbourne that would not impact anything to do with Round Zero promotion.
But no.
It’s wasted, much like the people in charge had to be when they opted for this idiotic opening to the season. And we’re the losers because of it.
As always, feel free to add your own. Plenty of winners and plenty of losers each and every week in the AFL. Usually, I just name one from each team, but as there were only two games, I had to get a little more… expansive
As always, massive thanks to those who support this work. You can see the amount of care that goes into it. I love footy, I love writing about it, and I hope you enjoy reading it. Without you, this whole thing falls over. Sincerely… thank you – HB
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