Round 2 and we are into it now....

With round 1 out of the way and a few sides making a statement we can start to build some form lines around the contenders, it’ll be a few more weeks before we can spot the pretenders and the no hopers will soon have their hands in the air with Essendon. Weeks ones 9 winners take on week ones 9 losers....could we have 9 teams 2-0 and 9 teams 0-2?



April Fools – Collingwood v Richmond



And now, for something completely different Richmond play in an early round mock-buster ( didn’t they do that last week? ) against the highly disappointing ( or were they? ) Magpies who must have missed the memo about the game going to the SCG and not ANZ. Maybe they were at ANZ Saturday night? Robbo ran with a guess as to how many Collingwood players had positive results to drug tests, pretty poor form from the drunk. Although, when the Collingwood players were told they were to be given drug tests many of them said “Sounds great! What have you got?”.

The Tigers again relied on a couple of midfield guns, one old and one new, Martin and Lambert, the latter looking like he’s beginning to settle after coming in last year as a mature age rookie, Rance held the back half together (again) and Vickery started the season well, 3 goals and marking real footys instead of imaginary ones, big improvement. But let’s be fair, they were hardly convincing with a 9 point win over the Carlton side who nobody really expects much from. One of the sides who we’ll work out over the next few weeks as pretenders or contenders.

The media can beat things up ( now way?!?! ) and one thing that many talked up was the Collingwood juggernaut heading into 2016, some had the ‘Pies in their top 4, many in the top 8, it won’t be anything close to either of them if they keep dishing up that rubbish from last week. It won’t be any easier with the loss of 30+ touches per week in the midfield from Swanny, let’s hope it isn’t the last we see of the human canvas, I can’t think of too many people who don’t like or rate the guy and it would be a loss to the game if we don’t see him again. Speaking of not seeing someone, has anyone spotted Travis Cloke this week?

How do you pick this one? The ‘Pies are every chance against the feeble Tigers, the Tigers could rip the ‘Pies a part of they throw up another shocker. Richmond have a defensive set up, the ‘Pies have a MIA forward line, Richmond by 16 points but really, who knows?



Adelaide v Port Adelaide

Grudge match in round 2 and Adelaide divides this week as mates disown each other, partners get the cold shoulder and a wink and a nudge from either party is a waste of time as the battle lines are drawn. For those who don’t know, Google “Port Road – Alberton” that literally is the battle line. Between the Crows home at West Lakes and Ports base at Alberton that might only be 3km’s a part there’s a shift from apricot slice and a Twinnings to a pie and pint. Pie and pint, thanks. Adelaide looked good then stopped against the Roos while Port didn’t get going until late and then gave the Saints a bake after ¾ time. 7 goals to 1 in the last stanza.

Adelaide have one of the competitions most potent attacking line ups, Betts as one of the game’s premier small forwards, Walker as the big man and captain, Lynch the link from back to front and I think one of the most improved and imposing big men in the game now, Jenkins. Jenkins is slowly building a pretty good CV of performances and he’s becoming more consistent by the week, 5 goals against the Roos but, can they get it in there often enough with system and purpose and can they keep the other side from scoring? I think yes to the first bit and no to the second. The defence leaks, Talia leads it but has little support in the air other than Lever who will be very good, van Berlo, Brown, Cheney and Laird need to hold strong week in and week out for Adelaide to be in front at the end of the day. I think Hartigan will come in this week, didn’t expect it to be for Van Berlo, I thought he’d be dropped, but Adelaide have gone tall in the back with Hartigan, Talia, Cheney and Lever. That leaves Brown and Laird to look after Wingard and Gray. Might stifle Adelaide’s run with Laird tied up, but will perhaps free up Lever to be the third man up at contests.

Port struggled early with the Saints pressure as the ball was turned over in Port’s forward half or midfield and the Saints got 3 easy goals from turnovers in the first quarter and 7 in that style throughout the match. Led by two shades of Gray, Robbie with 26 touches, 5 tackles, 4 goals and Sam, 37 touches the Port forward line got going to hit the scoreboard for 20 goals. Ebert with 3, Dixon with 3, Wingard with 3, all the blokes who get paid to kick goals did so. With S Gray stepping up in the middle Port can now have R.Gray and Wingard inside the F50 looking to feed off the crumbs of Dixon, Westhoff and Schulz who has the licence to leave the area seeking more ball, looks promising. White set to miss most of the year with a torn pec, that must hurt, Melbourne recruit Jimmy Toumpas gets his first run in Port Adelaide colours. Might also be without Hartlett who I suspect the club won’t risk with a tight hamstring, Aaron Young the likely replacement.

Interesting dual here, Jacbos owns Lobbe in their encounters but only has Jenkins as support and Adelaide don’t look as menacing with Jenkins out of the forward line, Port will throw Trengove, Westhoff and perhaps Dixon at Jacobs this week to try and run the big ginger into the ground. Port’s run through the middle will be quicker than Adelaide’s, it’s a matter of getting enough contested ball to stop the Adelaide forwards getting some supply. Fair dinkum 50/50 this one. Port’s midfield to be the difference, Port by 15 points.




Essendon v Melbourne


The Bombers took their first pants down beating of the year up on the Gold Coast and it’s hard to see them getting anything but a hiding from the sides hopeful of finals action or better while the Demons remain undefeated in 2016 after taking 4 points from the Giants at the G. Neither side looked like they wanted to win and one of them managed to do it.

What can you possibly say to lift the spirits of your Essendon supporting mates? Nothing really and I’m not going to look hard for the words to soothe them either. Zaharakis and Merrett tried their best, Stokes chipped in with a few goals as you could expect from an experienced player. Beyond that, they were poo. Out gunned in every department by a side that in all reality will sit mid ladder this year, the biggest difference in tackles, they had 40 less touches and 30 less tackles, they couldn’t get near the Suns and the intent without the ball would have had Woosha livid.

Melbourne can thank the Giants for poor kicking in front of goal, 8 more scoring shots for GWS and the Dees win by 2 points. Jack Viney continues to grow into a genuine midfielder, the wraps on him as a kid are coming to the fore and 32 touches, 6 tackles, 4 clearances, 4 I50’s all make for a B.O.G performance. Hogan gives them a target, bagging 3, Watts is getting more and more consistent and Gawn will make every ruckman in the competition earn his post match Gatorade and ice bath.

Won’t be picking the Bombers often, if at all, Melbourne to keep ’16 undefeated by 22 points.




Brisbane v North Melbourne -


Rough start for the Lions going west the see the Eagles, as expected they copped a belting and watched the Eagles strut their stuff while the Kangaroos finished all over the top of Adelaide with 10 goals to 5 after half time, the big men shining late and not getting any smaller as the game went on.

One thing the Lions did do and it’s not something they often do, was break the 100 point barrier, all well and good until your opponent breaks the 160 point barrier, but some signs of improvement from the Lions as they welcomed Bell and Bastinac into the midfield mix to help out Rich and Robinson. Christensen showed he needs limited opportunity to score, 19 touches, 6 marks and 3.2 a good return for him and his side while young Schache, taken high in the draft for good reason started his career with a couple of majors. It wasn’t all doom and gloom out west, despite the scoreboard. Bad news that young gun Justin Clarke has pulled the pin and retired after suffering in going issues from several concussions.

The Kangas looked like they had control for most of the match but it wasn’t until the third quarter that they took control, down a point at ¾ time it didn’t look that way, 7 goals to 4 in the third and they had Harvey lighting up the crowd, Cunnington and Ziebell beating Adelaide up in close and Goldstein was taking charge of anything in the air. Waite worked his way into it and Tarrant built a wall across half back to stop any forward thrusts from Adelaide. A side looking for another top 4 finish this year started like a top 4 team should, winning against a quality opponent.

While Stef Martin has a real crack for the Lions and they now have some targets forward it’s hard to see them stopping Goldstein giving their big forwards enough supply to kick a winning score against the under manned Lions back half. Kangaroos by 30+.





St Kilda v Western Bulldogs

Hold on to your seats if you’re heading to this one..., it’ll be end to end stuff with both these sides keen to open the game up and run, run, run. The St’s had Ports measure for a half, much to do with their pressure and willingness to create space while the Bulldogs used Fremantle as witches hats at training. There’s an idea, purple witches hats. ( TM ). Two young sides with coaches willing to attack should make for some entertaining viewing here.

The Sts pressured Port and as a result grabbed some easy majors out the back as Port pressed up and got burnt. The Saints used Lonie and Weller as their “stay home” forwards ( which is now on the wings ) and when the ball became the St’s in their back half these two shot towards goal and kicked 5 between them in the first half. A couple of bits of loose checking and the St’s had 7 turnover goals in the first half. They however ran out of legs, as did their big man Hickey who was dominant in the air and on the ground, 56 hitouts and 20 touches and he towelled up Lobbe. He gave the St’s midfield a good look at it and if he hadn’t run out of steam a boil over was on the cards.

Last years surprise packet could be this years yard stick, the Dogs have taken the modern game and run with it, literally. They demolished the Dockers, 16 shots to 6 at half time, 28 to 13 at the end of the day and kept the Dockers to just 31 I50’s, that’s an excellent effort fro mthe forwards and mids to not let a team in. Johannisen got a mention here last week as one to watch (thankyou) B.O.G with 35 touches, 9 marks, 3I50’s and 3R50’s. He’s that versatile half back who runs and creates and the likes of Stringer, the Bont and when he can find it Tom Boyd will love the supply he gives them with a handy leg in Suckling helping out. Little Libba made a solid return, he’ll want to erase 2015 from his and his team mates memories on a personal level pretty quick, good way to go about it.

It’ll be a good spectacle this one and while I was impressed by the Saints I think the Dogs are set for a big season and I think they’ll make it 2-0 to start the season by 24 points with their midfield running too deep for the Saints to handle.




Fremantle v Gold Coast


The old Dockers dished up a shocker and Rosco wasn’t lyin’ when he said they were Sunday strollin’, terrible first up effort from a team many still fancy ( one of my sliders down the ladder, to be honest ) and they would have had very little in the “good” column come Monday’s review. The Suns welcomed back Gaz and while Rocket isn’t happy singling him out as the difference between a Suns win/loss, we all know better.

Lyon would have had three seats to himself on the airbus back to Perth, can’t imagine anyone would have wanted to sit next to him for 6 hours and wrap up Sunday’s events. Probably got the exit row to himself. Smashed in all areas, with and without the ball his side were made to look decidedly slow and out of their depth against the relentless attack of the Doggies. Ross told us he’d be looking at more goals from his side this year, from where? Walters will chip in with a couple now and then, Mayne isn’t really at home close to goal, Ballantyne runs well out in front ( ie, front runner ) and key big man Pavlich has it up against him with the game is now played, ie – quick transition. Johnson, Sandilands and Pearce all valuable inclusions for the Dockers. Interesting times ahead for Fremantle. Not writing them off, but I won’t be investing in them to hold the cup up...

While the Son of God’s return was impressive, it wasn’t as impressive as his namesakes on the same weekend was many years ago, Gaz only came back from a sore shoulder! Aaron Hall put his name out there, 36 touches and 2 goals pipped GAj as B.O.G, big man Lynch bagged 4, Nicholls did ok against Luenberger and McKernan ( really, who wouldn’t? ) and Rosa made a strong debut for the Suns with 32 grabs of the pill. Impossible to gauge the Suns form from after the Bombers visited, makes this one tough to pick. Matt Rosa out with a calf does some damage to the Suns midfield.

Wouldn’t expect the Dockers to dish up two stinkers, wouldn’t expect the Suns win over Essendon to be rated as “form”, you’re brave if you pick sides to go west and beat either WA team, the Dockers might prove otherwise as the year goes on though. Not just yet though, Fremantle by 32 points.




GWS v Geelong


Did everything in their powers to get the Demons home last week, did the Giants, they say winning is a habit and so is losing with GWS showing they can still pinch defeat from the jaws of victory while Monday at the G was “Dangerfield, Dangerfield, Dangerfield and Hawthorn”. Can you believe the hype around the man? To be fair, GAj went North for cash, Buddy went North for cash and a contract that ties in with his Superannuation, Dangerfield is the third big name to move in recent times and this one wasn’t for money. It was the go home factor, the biggest name to leave a club because his Mrs said so in the modern era.


I’ve got a bit of time for the Giants, I think they’re coming along nicely and Cameron looks to be a clever operator. Ward, Shiel and Scully lead the midfield, handy types, Shaw and Davis control the back half, handy types, Lobb ( like this kid, might be better than ok I reakons ), Palmer, Johnson ( 23 touches and 2 goals ) and Smith control the front half, handy types and big Mummy does his bit and some in the middle. They might rue dropping this one after having 8 more scoring shot, could be important for them come the end of the year.

Start engraving the cup now would you? Didn’t the Cats make everyone stand up and take notice. We all saw the move of Dangerfield being a huge bonus for Geelong ( and a massive loss for Adelaide ) and suspected the likes of Selwood, Henderson and Smith wouldn’t hurt. It didn’t, but it was pretty much a one man show. Despite his kicking letting him down late, can’t blame the bloke, everyone would be tired by then, Paddy dished up scintillating numbers but don’t underestimate the roles played by Guthrie, Caddy, Duncan and Lang. Sure, Selwood will be better with Paddy on board but so too will these blokes who we all know can play the game and will walk taller with Pat the Cat next to them. ( Vomit in your mouth, Adelaide fans? )

The Giants will be behind Stevie Johnson and I reakon he’s every chance to do something stupid and get himself a game or two on the sidelines. Has form. Not sure this one will be all one sided, the press will be Cats Meow Cats but they did get the Hawks with no spine and faltered in the third quarter, the Giants really should have won away from home but good sides find ways to win, not ways to lose. Cats class should be the difference though, by 12 points in a good one.




Hawthorn v WCE

The Hawks ignored the signs posted last weekend and ran straight into a Dangerfield, they got burnt, they fought for a bit during the third but got over run in the end while the team that were runners up to them last year started in fine fettle at home, pumping the Lions with FF Kennedy bagging a lazy 8 to start his Coleman defence.

The Hawks have been hit hard by injury to start the year, Roughy is missing, Hodge has broken an arm and will miss a few weeks, Hill has had surgery on his wrist, Spangher is a month away with a calf, Shiels is still under a cloud....they’ve got some challenges in the next few weeks and most of them are in key posts. The Shoe manufacturer needs to stand up at CHF and give Gunston and Breust some support, Gibson will be forced to play as the tall in defence, he prefers to be the loose/third man up role and much will fall into the lap of Frawley to hold Kennedy when he’s close to goal. Ceglar will probably come in to help McEvoy and perhaps give the Hawks another tall inside F50. Are cracks showing in Fourthorn?

The old Weagles couldn’t have started any better, 26 goals, Kennedy with 8, Priddis with 40 odd touches, Naitanui dominating in the air, Redden making a solid debut for his new club, the only thing missing last Sunday was unfurling a premiership flag. Looks like they’ll be just as hard to beat out West as any time in their history with the way they play Domain, might be just as hard to beat away from home if they keep breaking the 20 goal mark too.

I’m tipping the Eagles in this one, I think the Hawks have got some struggles in the back half and losing Hodge to marshall the troops won’t help them against the high scoring Eagles. West Coast by 28 points and the Hawks to be 0-2.




Carlton v Sydney


The Blues showed a little last week, first game of the year helps, playing Richmond doesn’t hurt and Brendan Bolton showed he’s already made a difference to the Blues line up, can the players sustain it week in, week out for 6 months? Unlikely. Sydney, just kept being Sydney, they smashed the Pies in the first half and if not for some wayward kicking ( 18.25 ) could have inflicted more pain upon the Pies. Wasted opportunity for us all, Sydney.

Every piece of Carlton marketing material will soon be based around young Cripps and with good reason. Good looking young rooster, plays the game as it should be played, is the modern day midfielder at 190cm (6’2”) and knows where the goals are. A star of the competition in the making. A coupel of ex-Crows Matt Wright and Sam Kerridge ( told you last week he was a loss for Adelaide! ) played solid games first up, Wright sneaking out the back for 3 goals. I fear for them this week though.

Not only does Sydney boast a genuine line up of experienced stars they manage to keep unearthing them through their system. Lloyd and Papley ( tell me you know their first names ) have nearly 50 touches and 3 goals between them, Buddy comes back in with a lazy 4, Mitchell bags his 3 and 4 Swans have 30 or more touches, 3 of them over 35, one with 40 ( Parker ). Heeney just keeps getting better and Tippett looks more comfortable as the lead ruckman after finishing last year in great nick in that role.

Too big, too strong, too much midfield power for the Swans in this one. Easily, by 40+.