Sounds like an easy job – listing five winners and five losers from the first full round of footy for the year, right?
I mean, there were plenty fitting each category. But who were the biggest winners? And who were the biggest losers? And who will I leave out, incurring your wrath?
Well, let’s leave that up to my terrible judgement to assess.
THE WINNERS
MITCH MCGOVERN
When you line up against the best finals player of the last… well, I don’t want to say ever, but three Norm Smith Medals kind of intimate that his name is in the conversation.
McGovern took on the role of playing Dustin Martin and, even though Martin kicked a couple of goals, did a stellar job of playing in front, backing himself, and taking the game on.
Dusty had six score involvements for the game. McGovern ran off him to be involved in eight, including a goal assist, as Martin appeared a little too keen to prop out the back and look for the easier option in this game.
I’ve been pretty critical of McGovern during his time with the Blues, but credit where it is due – he won this match-up and did it quite easily.
BEN MCKAY
The move from North Melbourne and the big contract were all heavily scrutinised this past off-season, with many speculating that McKay was not worth the type of money Essendon were throwing at him.
Well, if you watched the Hawks and Bombers, you would have seen McKay providing Essendon with exactly what they need in the form of a powerful defender who reads the footy well.
Opposed to Mitch Lewis, McKay was a monster, restricting Lewis to one goal and making him look slow as he continually beat him to the spot.
It’s way too early to claim this move has been a huge success, but based on his output in Round One, the Bombers would be stoked with what they saw from their key defender.
OLLIE DEMPSEY
And the Cats have found another one.
If you followed the pre-season games, the emergence of Ollie Dempsey would not have been a surprise. He was quite prominent in the AAMI Series game and backed it up with a stand out performance against the Saints.
As the Cats struggled at points to kick goals, Dempsey continually provided both a marking and running option that resulted in scoring opportunities.
He is good overhead, has a great goal sense, and his inboard kick to spot up Zach Tuohy late in the game was a ripper, as well. Another member of that damn blonde Geelong Mafia, Dempsey looks set for a big year.
CALEB SERONG
Every year, we hear about kids ready to take the next step. They’ve had huge preseasons, they look like they’re in amazing shape, and then…
… we get the same player we got last year.
Caleb Serong might be the standard others will have to live up to, after owning the footy against the Lions, to the point Chris Fagan had to send someone to him to restrict his influence.
Sarong became the 26th man to join the 40-20-10 club, registering 46 disposals, 21 contested possessions, and ten clearances. In a Freo team that had a few more winners to choose from, he gets the nod.
CLAYTON OLIVER
All the negative press. All the innuendo. All the chinese whispers from AFL journalists who kept telling you nothing whilst intimating they knew more… and then there is Clayton Oliver, back in the red and blue, playing out of his skin against the Bulldogs and absolutely bloody loving it.
There has been nothing but negative stories about Oliver for the past six months. Hell, even the club played their part in fanning the flames of that negativity, but to see Oliver running around out on the MCG, his clean hands distributing the footy to teammates… it was great to see.
LOSERS
SHAI BOLTON
Harsh?
Maybe. Hear me out.
Last year, Shai Bolton disappeared against good teams.
Against the top four teams (Collingwood, Brisbane, GWS, and Carlton), Bolton travelled at 20.25 disposals, and 0.75 goals per game.
However, when we look at how he fared against the bottom two sides, West Coast (x2) and North Melbourne, he averaged 26.3 disposals and three goals per game.
In this one, Bolton wasted his chances at goal to end up with 0.1 from 18 touches when the Tigers really needed someone to stand up and take control.
Another good team – another poor return. You’d hate this to become more of a habit…
2ND TIER LIONS MIDS
With Lachie Neale out of the game against the Dockers, the Lions needed something special out of that second tier of mids – you know, the ones who threaten to become part of the top group, but never quite get there.
Zac Bailey, Hugh McCluggage, Jarrod Berry, and Cam Rayner are all names that get thrown around as the next group of Brisbane players that will carry the team forward.
But are they? They flash in and out of games far too regularly and give bugger all in terms of consistency. Bailey does the spectacular but doesn’t do the meat and potatoes stuff. McCluggage is a wingman in midfielder’s clothing. Berry is a man whose footy has gone backwards due to shoulder injuries, and Cam Rayner is the eternal tease.
They combined for 60 touches between them in this game – nowhere near good enough. Bailey did snag two goals,but with zero clearances, his time on the ball was largely ineffective.
THE FREO BACKLINE
This may seem a little unfair, particularly considering both Alex Pearce and Luke Ryan were incredible in their win, however, I am talking about the future, as well as the weekend. And with two injuries to key position players, Fremantle now have some issues they need to deal with.
Oscar McDonald went down with a knee injury after landing awkwardly in a marking contest (he made a great spoil, by the way) and not long after, Brennan Cox led Harris Andrews to the footy when his hammy went ‘ping’ as he extended to attempt a mark.
At the time, Cox was playing forward, but that was a tactical move to quell the impact of Andrews. We all know Cox is best suited to playing in defence.
Now, the Dockers have to consider giving an opportunity to some untested talent. Luke Ryan may have to play taller, of which he is absolutely capable, and Freo will need to make some adjustments. The win was great, but it came at a decent cost.
DARCY MOORE
Come on, HB… what are you doing, here?
Well, I acknowledge that Moore is an excellent player and that he is arguably a top three key defender in the game…
… when he plays that role. But as of right now, he is not really playing a key defensive role, is he? He is playing floating defender and leaving the grunt work to others. And those others do not seem up to the task.
Moore and Collingwood seem intent on their captain remaining as the floating defender, but unless they can get some effective spoiling behind him, the chopping, changing Collingwood defence will be sacrificed at the altar of Moore playing his own game.
Time to man-up, Darcy.
JAMES SICILY
Got sucked in early by the Bombers, and almost gave them two goals in a row due to a free kick awarded against him after a goal had already been kicked. However, Mason Redman helped out by missing the shot.
The normally prolific Sicily couldn’t get near it, picking up just 11 disposals as the Hawthorn captain had one of his quietest days since returning from his ACL surgery a couple of years back. The Hawks need a lot more from him.
Got any of your own winners and losers from Round One? I could only fit in five of each, but there were a heap more. As always, comments and socials are always read and responded to.
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