Round 2 Stat Declaration

by Andrew Gigacz

 

It took 83 years before it happened for the first time and now it’s happened twice in a row. After the Bulldogs joined the League in 1925, there were no occurrences of St Kilda and the Western Bulldogs/Footscray both winning the first two games of the season until last year. Now it’s happened for the second year in a row. The sequence could go no further last year, as the two sides met in Round 3. This season, they don’t cross paths until Round 6, and with both having winnable games at Docklands in the coming week, 2009 could be the most successful Dogs/Saints start to the season in history.

 

The Saints winning start was the result of a comfortable 32 point win against Adelaide on the enemy territory of Football Park. It was the fourth time out of their last six wins against the Crows that the Saints winning margin has been a multiple of 8 (32, 48, 8 and 8). Unfortunately Max Hudghton (who wears number 8) is out injured and was unable to be on the ground with his teammates to CELEBR8. (I know. That belongs on a bad personalized number-plate.)

 

Geelong took a while to shake Richmond off, with bad kicking for goal again proving a factor. The Cats kicked 15.15, continuing a run that has lasted since mid-2007. Round 13 of that year was the last time Geelong kicked more than 10 goals in a match, without also kicking more than 10 behinds.

 

Meanwhile at the MCG, Melbourne couldn’t kick enough goals or behinds against Collingwood. Their score of 10.4.64 included no behinds in the second and last quarters. The last time the Demons kicked less than 4 behinds in a match was in Round 19, 2006 when they kicked 10.3.63 in losing to Sydney.

 

Carlton maintained top spot, scoring 18.11 in beating Brisbane. For the second week in a row, the Blues fell one short of Geelong in the number of scoring shots they had. Despite going down, the Lions can feel happy in the knowledge that, by scoring exactly 100, they broke a long drought. 100 was the only final score between 60 and 130 that was not registered in 2008. The last time prior to this weekend that 100 was a final score was in Round 16, 2007. Amazingly, the last 5 occasions 100 has been scored, they have all been by sides that have lost.

 

In Sydney, Hawthorn, as they went down to the Swans, made it three games in a row in which their opposition has had more than 30 scoring shots for the match. Two of those matches have resulted in losses, but of course that blow is cushioned just slightly by the fact the other one resulted in them winning last year’s premiership.

 

Essendon managed to notch up their first win of the season, despite having one less player than Fremantle with a surname ending in Y.

 

The Bulldogs went from having the highest winning score in Round 1 to the lowest winning score of Round 2. Their winning score of 80 was the equal lowest of the season, matching St Kilda’s winning score against Sydney in Round 1. In fact the Dogs-Kangaroos scoreline of 80-65 was identical to last week’s between St Kilda and Sydney.

 

And in the weekend’s final game, a match that sparked little interest on the eastern seaboard generated an amazing stat. The West Coast – Port Adelaide final score of 125-75 was the FIRST TIME IN HISTORY that a VFL/AFL game has ended with that scoreline.

 

GOOD OMEN OF THE WEEK:

 

For all you Freo, Hawthorn, Melbourne and Richmond fans out there, it’s only 10 years since North Melbourne lost their first two games of the year before going on to win the flag.

 

BAD OMEN OF THE WEEK:

 

On the other hand, no side has won the flag after being 13th, 15th or 16th after Round 2. That knocks out all of the above except Fremantle.

 

CHEER-UP STAT OF THE WEEK:

 

More good news for Freo fans and also for North supporters. Losing to the Western Bulldogs might not be such a bad thing. In the last three seasons the eventual premier has dropped a game against the Doggies during the year.

 

CELEBRITY SCORE AWARD

 

The race for the most popular score of the year is wide-open, with six different scores having already been attained twice. They are: 105, 101, 86, 80, 67 and 65.

 

RIDICULOUS FOOTY ANAGRAM OF THE WEEK:

 

Great to see Adam Goodes back in form on Saturday night after an indifferent 2008 season. Goodes’ senior career started way back in 1999, which by coincidence was the last year of the AFL Reserves competition. The reserves were known by some as the “Magoos” (rhyming slang for the “twos”), so it seems only fitting that as a the name of a man whose career was born in the year the reserves kicked the bucket, Adam Goodes is an anagram of “MAGOOS DEAD”…

About Andrew Gigacz

Well, here we are. The Bulldogs have won a flag. What do I do now?

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