1. Collingwood have definitely lost their mojo
I’m sure that the club will publicly be saying there’s no need for panic, and platitudes such as “it’s a long season” will be being repeated ad nauseam. The reality is that something is amiss.
A look at their three losses tells a story of numerous players who seem to have forgotten they are premiership players. They are making several uncharacteristic mistakes and look a little timid at times in comparison to their bold and ruthless 2023 style of play. Darcy Moore is nowhere near the form that put him at the top of the pile in the league’s defenders. Sidebottom and Pendlebury are finally showing signs of ageing, while it looks like some opposition coaches have figured out how to deal with Nick Daicos. I could go on, but you get the picture. Going to the GABBA this week suggests they could be 0-4, and suggesting there’s no premiership hangover if that were to happen would be foolish.
Of course, Saints fans by now would be getting a little annoyed with talk like this. They’d be wondering why commentators and pundits aren’t talking about how good they were on Thursday night.
And they were good.
Kicking 14 goals under coach Ross Lyon is a welcome change from the defensive style he’s renowned for. We’ve seen the emergence of Wanganeen-Milera. Max King is finding some consistency, although he’ll be missing next round. Despite having a limited number of so-called A-Graders, at this early stage it appears that St Kilda will contend for September once again.
2. Oh no! Geelong is good again!
Make no mistake, beating the Crows on their home deck is massive. They’re easily a five-goal better team at Adelaide Oval, and for the Cats to prevail shows this team is back yet again after most of us thought they’d be on the slide.
Patrick Dangerfield is still as good as ever, and Tom Hawkins is in total defiance of his age. Geelong will probably blow the Hawks away next week to start their 2024 campaign off with three wins.
Just like the Swans, Geelong refuse to bottom out, and early indications suggest they may feature in September this year. There are certain clubs out there that just know how to stay competitive, and it was foolish for any of us not to factor in the Cats as any sort of meaningful threat this season. And when there’s a fella like Tom Stewart in your defence, opposition scoring isn’t easy.
The Crows have come into this season expecting to play finals, and many would’ve thought this game would go their way. Last year they were unable to win games on the road, and it cost them a spot in the finals, as well as an incompetent goal umpire. So any loss at home is not ideal.
Next week they play an in-form Dockers in Perth, so a third straight loss is on the cards. The pressure on Nicks will be huge after his recent contract extension. The ingredients of a good team is there, but it just seems when the moment comes they fall just short.
Darcy Fogarty will be ruing his inexplicable poster from the edge of the square. It would’ve brought the house down and may have been the spark, but it wasn’t to be. If the Crows don’t find wins away from home this year, they’ll fall short once more.
3. Slow starting Dockers storm home again
It has to be a small concern when two weeks in a row the Fremantle Dockers have given their opposition a handy start. Against the Lions they were four goals down just ten minutes in, but more alarmingly against the Kangaroos they trailed by 33 points midway through the second term. It’s all well and good that the Dockers ended up winning on both occasions, but I’m sure it’s something Longmuir wants to address.
Once again, the Dockers ran over the top of their opponents, this week with nine unanswered goals. Luke Jackson looks to be gearing up for his best year of football while Serong and Brayshaw are getting the ball at will. With a sound backline, strong midfield, and a forward line that seems to have a few options, the Dockers already look set to be one of the surprise packets of 2024.
The most disappointing thing for the Kangaroos was the dismal numbers at the game on Saturday. Just 17,589 attended on what was a pleasant Melbourne day and an early season promise of a possible win against an interstate side who’ve been shaky when travelling. Surely not all Roo fans are into Formula One? And they looked good early.
Curtis was lively up forward. LDU was damaging out of the middle. At almost six goals ahead, the supporters in the small crowd would’ve been daring to dream of going home with a victory. All it took to snuff out any hope was a couple of late goals to Freo before half time and you could see the game had shifted.
During that 30 minutes of football where the Dockers kicked nine unanswered goals, there were blue and white witches hats seemingly escorting their opponents towards goal. The final quarter was fairly even, but the damage was done.
The Dockers season is all set up, while the Roos look likely to have no marked improvement to get excited about. And with Carlton and Brisbane at the GABBA coming up, it looks likely to be more painful yet.
4. Hawks fans are bracing for another year of pain
It looked as though the Hawks were starting to find something late last year. They notched up a few strong wins against teams who ended up playing in the finals. Many thought they’d improve on last year’s effort, but on what we’ve seen so far, it’s looking as though they’ll be down somewhere near the bottom four again. Granted, there’s a few key players missing, but this isn’t the result I’m sure the fans were hoping for.
The Demons were a class above and the Hawks didn’t have the answers. The next fortnight sees them take on the Cats and the Saints. One suspects they’ll be 0-4.
Bayley Fritsch kicked a bag of five in what was a strong display. Surely now, opposition teams recognise the danger he presents. And with Pickett chipping in with three, perhaps the forward line woes that plagued the Demons in sections of last season may have the solution right there.
The problem is this win came at a cost, with both May and Lever going down. If both are missing in the coming weeks, that’ll be a huge whole to fill. And it doesn’t get a lot more difficult than two games in a row over in Adelaide. We’ll find out just how strong the Dees really are after that.
5. Two metre Peter will sit out the next few weeks
The incident involving the head high hit will dominate the AFL news cycle once again. The question needs to be asked however: What does the AFL want players to do in these situations?
Wright had eyes for the ball right up until the final instance where he caught sight of Cunningham and then braced for contact. He was clearly not trying to hurt him. His intent was to mark the ball. If he decided to leave that contest, and the Swans player ended up taking a mark, what would be saying today and how is that in the spirit of the game?
I’m not going to use the same cliches many use when complaining about the sanitisation of our game, but if players are made to simply sign a waiver knowing they are playing a contact sport which can pose a threat, wouldn’t that be enough to ensure the liabilities that may result from these matters? Because, let’s be honest here, that’s probably why these measures are being taken, and in cases like this, it’s hard to imagine that Wright had many other options that might not result in a good outcome for his team.
As for the game itself, the Bombers worked hard but the Swans were just too strong. There’s too much firepower up forward as well as A-Grade midfielders and a sound defence. Sydney look to be on a mission this year and will take some beating. Papley was busy kicking four goals from his 24 possessions in a stellar game. Perhaps his effort may prevent Heeney from being awarded a third best on ground despite another 30+ possession game. It’s all looking very good for the Swans.
The Bombers are hard to read. Some good signs but there does appear to be something missing as well. Zach Merrett looks as good as ever and Setterfield seems to be playing his best footy at his third club. Gresham has settled in well. Both he and Stringer kicked three goals. The team scored over 100 and still went down by five goals. Perhaps losing Ridley in the pre-season has really hurt them. Time will tell.
6. Bevo can breathe easier for one more week.
The doomsday scenario coming into this round was the Bulldogs going down to the Suns in Ballarat and what that could’ve meant in terms of the shockwaves that may have rippled through the club at every level.
If we’re being honest, since 2021, the Bulldogs have underperformed. They have what looks like a strong list, and a loss last year to the lowly Eagles at home was ultimately what cost them a finals spot. This year was supposed to be a year of redemption, but after their poor showing in Round One, some even thought the coach may lose his job at some point if the Dogs don’t find some form. A loss this week would’ve been a disaster.
They came out breathing fire on Sunday kicking nine goals in the opening term which included four by Cody Weightman. He went on to finish with six for the day in a welcome return to form. The margin at quarter time was a whopping 41 points and it remained around that figure for the whole game. Bontempelli was his usual best with 32 touches and two goals. The Dogs took full advantage of the wind in the first quarter.
Having been to Ballarat to watch a game, you won’t find another ground in the AFL where the wind is a bigger factor. When it blows in Ballarat, it really blows, and Mars Stadium becomes a veritable wind tunnel. It’s very tough for visiting sides to combat this, and the Suns were no exception.
Touk Miller and Rowell battled hard, but even in their wins, there’s been periods where they’ve been heavily scored against. They tried to get back into the game but another unanswered four-goal burst put it out of reach.
The Suns have suffered their first loss under Hardwick and have a week off to try and get their season on track. A tough assignment in Adelaide for Gather Round awaits them as they take on the Giants. A loss there will see them returning to the pack and putting the prospect of an inaugural finals campaign just that little bit further out of reach.
7. The Power have come to play this year
Starved of finals success, it looks as though this year the Port Adelaide Football Club means business. Bad kicking cost them a huge win against the Eagles in Round One, but this win in hostile territory against a Richmond team that seem to be competitive despite opening the season with three losses, sends a clear message.
In front of a parochial crowd, and despite being challenged, they stood firm and scored 120 or more for the second week in a row. Todd Marshall booted four in a welcome return to form while the other goals were spread amongst nine players.
After several Top 4 finishes in recent times that ultimately bore no fruit, there does seem something different about the Power this year. They definitely look to be on a mission.
Richmond are beginning to look like a side that will be out of contention as many predicted this year. Their performance against the Blues was an improvement on their first outing, but holes were revealed this week. They lead by as much as 17 points just before half time, but the third quarter blast from Zak Butters set up the win for Port as he orchestrated a seven goal term. Two very late goals by Liam Baker brought the Tigers back to within 13 points and their tails were up, the Power banged on six last quarter goals to see them win by five goals in a strong display. The Tigers will have no respite as they take on Sydney next week. Another loss there seems likely.
8. The Eagles are still a basket case
Whilst we recognise the quality of the opponent in the Giants, it is clear as day that West Coast are still as bad as ever. A 65-point thrashing in their home town in which they managed just five goals against 16 tells a story of woe.
They always seem to have injuries, and nothing ever seems to go right for them. It’s beginning to look like a battle between three teams in the Eagles, Kangaroos and Hawks to see who is furthest from the pack. That said, it’s very strange to see a ladder after two and a bit rounds with seven sides still without a win. I still believe a sizeable gap will eventually open up and those three teams will occupy the bottom three places.
The Giants more or less had a training run this week. It was a sizeable win which boosted their percentage to put them on top of the ladder after three straight wins. Tom Green was best on ground with 34 touches. He’s being touted by some as a possible Brownlow threat and looks like having his best season to date.
Their 16 goals came from nine players which will no doubt please Adam Kingsley. Number one pick Cadman topped that list with three and is starting to live up to his potential. It all seems very bright for GWS this year and Toby Greene hasn’t really got going yet. They’ll take some beating this year.
9. After Round 2, I’m dedicating the following movie titles to each team
Adelaide – Home Alone
Brisbane – Falling Down
Carlton – Close Encounters
Collingwood – Once Were Warriors
Essendon – Fight Club
Fremantle – The Colour Purple
Geelong – Forever Strong
Gold Coast – Fool’s Gold
GWS – They Might Be Giants
Hawthorn – Are We There Yet?
Melbourne – Don’t You Forget About Me
North Melbourne – Gone in 60 Seconds
Port Adelaide – Last Chance
Richmond – The Good, The Bad & the Ugly
St Kilda – Middle Men
Sydney – Flying High
West Coast – The Abyss
Western Bulldogs – Dr Jeckyl and Mr Hyde
