So, what I more or less mean by that thread title, is that it's probably a bit silly to draw too many conclusions after one round, but that round is possibly a better indication of a team's strength, than both the preseason and the offseason, where the fates of various teams were pronounced as something close to facts, on the basis of a few trades and draft picks. Alternately, the title could also mean, that I'd love to claim that a few teams were already in trouble, but wish as I might, I'm not really silly enough to do that.
One team that I'd absolutely love to start writing off is Geelong, but obviously we can't do that, even though they collapsed in a heap to let in the last eight goals against Collingwood. So; I'll just have make do with barracking against them, despite the fact that entails letting out a few mild cheers for Carlton. And one thing that hardens me against Geelong is the fact that Jack Bowes is making their debut for them. To me, Bowes seems to be the special award that Geelong got from the AFL for, 'most creative accounting in season 2022'. I mean, somehow the star-studded team that finished first, had much more salary cap space than the team that finished twelfth. And then of course, the AFL more or less said, 'if paying that salary is a bit of an inconvenience for you, don't worry, you can pay it over four seasons instead of two'. Grrrr!
Next up, the champions of the offseason, Brisbane, take on the 2021 premiers, Melbourne. Brisbane's insipid three goal to thirteen second half collapse against Port, means that there's every chance they'll be in a little bit of early season trouble at 0/2.
The first Saturday game is between two of the more impressive teams of round one; Collingwood and Port. Although, I don't quite think that Collingwood are quite as impressive as many media talking heads are making out; in that, they tend to give the impression that Collingwood play with a relentless attacking flair, that other teams are too timid to employ themselves and too slow to match. However, the stats don't quite back that up. In the last home and away season, they scored 1839 points. Which was the ninth best: over 200 points less than us, and behind such teams as Carlton and Gold Coast.
Also, since the two teams have been at loggerheads in the past about Port wearing their traditional black and white, I tend to think that these clashes could be livened up by allowing the winner to chose the colours for the next clash. That is, winner gets to play in black and white, while the loser has to play in something humiliating. Like some of the more aberrant, special edition Hawthorn jerseys. Perhaps the golden sailor suit, or the abomination that could be described as a bold combination of bubblegum and turd.
The Saturday afternoon game is Adelaide hosting Richmond. Looks like new captain, Jordan Dawson, couldn't inspire Adelaide enough to hold on against an injury ravaged GWS. Time for a change?
The next game is St Kilda and Western Bulldogs. It seems that most of St Kilda's talls are injured, while the Bulldogs have too many. So in the interest of fairness, perhaps the Bulldogs lend out a couple of theirs? Superficially, it would seem a bit too altruistic, but I'm not so sure?
The other Saturday night game is Fremantle hosting North. If North win this, we'll probably get the first, "Clarko the Messiah" headlines; so, go Fremantle.
In the early Sunday game we host Hawthorn. After watching Hawthorn last week, I think our major danger might be overconfidence.
On the strength of their big win against the hapless Hawthorn, Essendon are clear favourites against Gold Coast. I'm not sure that I'd be backing Essendon. Against Gold Coast last week, we laid 84 tackles. Against Hawthorn, Essendon made 37. I suspect players like Miller and Anderson will thrive with the extra time and space.
The conclusion of the round is West Coast hosting GWS. Apparently in round one, West Coast were just as inept as they were last season, especially in regards to ball movement, while the injury depleted GWS seemed thoroughly spent after overcoming Adelaide in 38 degree heat. So, it's anyone's guess which negative will be more pertinent.
And finally, if results go to plan, then we should finish the round on top of the table. So here's hoping.
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Originally Posted by Mark26
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