Happy Easter to all and we’re back into the footy season. Hope you’re all well and involved in what appears to be an exciting and even season as it unfolds..
Round 1: The horses are on the track…and they’re off and racing
A draw to kick off the season! 58pts apiece on a warm night with a dry surface post Ed Sheeran and the Rangas in concert. Some it was great, others not so sure! Nearly 90000 and more watching on the tv. Carlton and the Tigers tied after a Tom Lynch goal. Honestly, the Blues threw it away. D Rioli’s dash off half back was a highlight. C. Curnow 3, T Lynch 3.3
But footy’s back for a new season…
Another night, another 90000 crowd at the G. This time the Collingwood fans will tell you this should’ve been a Grand Final rematch…yeah right…not that it really mattered until Cats champion Tom Stewart got injured. Oops! A gamechanger…and then the Pies picked up from season 2022 and stormed home to win by 22pts. De Goey and ex-GWSer Hill 3 each.
A lesser crowd size, Roos and Eagles set about producing a game to atone for 2022 season. Under the roof on a 35+ degree day…like the Australian Open, however the interchange and the fluids were working overtime as were the cramps. Roos managed to hold off flying Eagles to win by 5pts with newcomer Sheezel racking up 34 stats in game 1. LDU solid.
Probably the season’s first turnup as highly fancied Lions were schooled by the Power from Port. The Hornet made his debut for the Power and showed glimpses of what had the club had sought and got. A 54pt win could probably have been bigger but for Port’s inaccurate kicking. Port potent forward 50 – Marshall 4, Dixon, Jones, Rioli 3. Lions stop stop stopped.
Clinical. End of story. For all that Melbourne did good, the Bulldogs did not. Both finalists in 2022, Dees looked like it in 2023. Dogs looked like a rabble with too much from too few. The Demons’ tap brothers, Grundy and Gawn, helped a more productive forward 50 with Brown and Pickett 4 each! A 50pt win by the Demons made easier – tall Dogs forwards poor.
Similarly clinical were the Swans. As if intent on making up for last year’s Grand Final, the Swans put their foot on the Suns’ throat on the Gold Coast to never give them an inch. Game sealed with 6 goal 3rd qtr. Buddy kicked 2 and the visitors won uncontested stats. Warner and Stephens racking up. Suns skipper Touk Touk tried as always. Swans won by a solid 49pts.
Heat, as Toby Greene led GWS out in his first as sole captain. Crows’ had heat early with 4.9 in the 1st… accuracy might’ve saved them from GWS heat in the last when they managed to chase down Adelaide’s lead to record a 16pt win. Crows’ McAdam brought MRP heat with crude bump on GWS’ Wehr, who didn’t know wehr he was. GWS’ brave win with no bench.
Brad Scott returned to the coaching furnace at the MCG on Sunday. No sweat, a 59pt win over the young Hawks. Aided by a varied Bombers forward line (Perkins 3), as did Parish’s 37stats. Hawks coach Mitchell reshaped his team removing much experience in the summer… Bombers didn’t care as the MCG was theirs to enjoy for the start of the BS era.
Ross the Boss returned to Saints coaching after time away. AFL sent his old Freo team to kick off 2023! 67:52 was the final scoreline under the roof. Go figure! Saints forward arc worked well and roojuvenated Saint Mason Wood led them to a 15pt win with 2, as did Owens and Gresham. Cox and Clark good for Freo. Gutsy win due to big Saints injury list.
Round 2 – Aren’t the recycled coaches doing well: haven’t missed a trick!
The Navy and Whites went head to head as Carlton took on Geelong at the MCG. The Cats were coming off a loss. Whilst it was a competitive match, the Blues looked in control in the 2nd half thru Saad and Cripps, despite Jeremy Cameron kicking 6. The Blues forward 50 was productive with Curnow 5 and Owies 3. Cats have lost some of the aura that made 2022.
That a power outage nearly gave Melbourne the impetus to win at the Gabbatoir, actually shows how far Brisbane were in front when the lights went out. A 38pt ¾ time lead to Brisbane ultimately got whittled down to an 11pt win after 40 minutes to fix electricals. Daniher 4.2 was ably assisted by Bailey, Cameron and Zorko with 2 each. Ben Brown 4.
Port Adelaide strode onto the MCG to meet the Pies in a week of political diplomacy between the two clubs over SA jumpers. That’s where the niceties ended as Port was rerouted back to the changeroom at the end of a 71pt shellacking. The How Much Daicos brothers showed Port’s young guns the way, ably assisted by Steelo and Crispy. Unplugged!
Richmond went the other way to SA and proceeded to rain on the Crows hometown parade at the Adelaide Oval. What was going swimmingly for the Tigers soon got tense as the Crows reduced a 45pt Tiger lead to 1pt by early in the last. And that was that really. The Tigers banged on the last 5 goals to restore their mission to a 32pt win…so much for momentum!
And speaking of momentum, not many would’ve predicted the Bulldogs to have none and St. Kilda to have it in spades. What amounted to a false alarm, the Dogs reduced a 4 goal 1 /4 time Saints lead to 5pts at the half. Only to cough up a 6 goal to 1 3rd qtr. Saints alive and Ross’ renaissance continues with 51pt Doggie demolition. Saints Owens, Phillipou 3 each.
Clarko’s Roos traversed the continent to tackle Freo in Perth on the Saturday, with most expecting the Dockers to win well. North started well to lead by 10pts at 1 /4 time and by 8pts at the half. Returning veteran Goldy battled against twin towers Darcy and Jackson and a Roos win looked likely until Freo kicked the last 3 goals. Larkey 4, O’Meara 2. Roos by 1pt.
Sydney took on Hawthorn at the SCG and won by 81pts. Granted 4.13 isn’t a great final scoreline, but the Swans kicked 17.16 and so had way more scoring shots! Standing in for the suspended Buddy, Logan McDonald kicked 5 and Joel Amartey 4 to showcase Sydney’s depth. Hawks coach Mitchell knew these results would happen but two weeks in a row..?
Essendon’s solid start to the year got another test in the form of the Suns from the Gold Coast Sky under the Marvel roof! A reasonably even contest saw the Suns leading well into the 3rd, before an inaccurate Dons blasted 5.6 to 1.2 to record a 28pt win. Ex- Giant/Blue Setterfield did well with 28 for the Dons as did Kyle Langford with 5 as a Mr Fixit forward. Don Good!
GWS travelled far west to take on the Eagles at Optus. The Giants started well before an 8 goal Eagles 2nd qtr saw the home team take a 31pt lead at the half. 3 to Cripps and 3 to Waterman and the Eagles made a statement in the 2nd. The Eagles gained confidence and went on to record 1st win in 2023 by 19pts. Greene 4, Waterman 4. Inaccuracy costly x2!!
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