Well one round down, 21 more to go…

I thought I would take some warming up to get into Aussie Rules again but the hype surrounding the first match of the season did the trick, pity about the blow out result.

From one game you could take these results of all sixteen teams with a grain of salt .

But there is evidence of cracks in a few teams structures that showed us glimpses of their future failures and victories.

Adelaide vs St Kilda

I like the way Neil Craig thinks. He doesnt believe in rebuilding from scratch and the former A.I.S coach might just be right.

Adelaide on the surface might appear to have an ageing list with no youngsters but he continually bloods these unknown players without much fuss.Their win last week against Collingwood impressed me considering everybody rates Collingwood as a final 8 team and the magpies pre season looked solid.

Forward Jason Porplyzia looks like the focal point up forward the Crows have been wishing for all these years. Andrew McLeod, Nathan van Berlo and Scott Stevens were all senior players that contributed very well to their teams tight win, with support from the youngsters like debutant Jared Petrenko and Chris Knights.

St Kilda meanwhile might be living up to their promise of been a great team of players rather than a team full of great players…but it is only after one game into the season. Their captain Nick Riewoldt had little influence and they came away with a tough fought win over Sydney, which must please coach Ross Lyon. They often have suffered from relying too much on their skipper to dominate a match rather than get a well rounded effort.

The Saints though looked shaky in the final term coinciding the last four goals. Luke Ball and Brendon Goddard stepped up to the plate to be big contributors on the night with solid support from Farren Ray.

The game is being played in Adelaide and the Crows to me feel like a more consistent outfit. I just think St Kilda’s habit of fading in patches of a game could lose them the match in this encounter.

Adelaide by 20 points.

Geelong vs Richmond

Geelong are a well oiled machine that must be still filthy from last year’s Grand Final. And they look like they are the type of team to carry that feeling all the way to the finals to spur them to win that last day in September.

The Cats collectively look like a team on a mission. Last year could of been the start of a cat dynasty similar to Brisbane’s dominance in the early 2000s. But I think it is just the start of another great rivalry between the Hawks and the Cats which mirrors that of West Coast vs Sydney games.

Richmond on the other hand were a disappointment, or maybe our expectations were a little too high. After all Carlton have been building their list for some time and had the luxury of getting some top draft picks as well as the money to buy the best midfielder (Chris Judd) in the last decade. Richmond have little money and resources, and their young players too young, their older players getting too old.

I think they will be much improved as the season goes on but they need to play together for longer than a full pre season.

Geelong by 49 points

Collingwood vs Melbourne

Collingwood had a solid pre season form and any form is good form but we can’t get carried away with pre season hype. They narrowly lost last week to a team that is supposedly rebuilding their list but the season after all is literally one round old.

I do like the workhorse ethos that a lot of players in the team have. Scott Pendlebury , Dane Swan , Shane O’Bree and Tarkyn Lockyer were all very good contributors without being flashy but that alone can’t propel a team to victory.

Where the Magpies fall short is around their forward line. It will be interesting to see if Paul Medhurst as a small forward can continue on from the brilliant season he had last year.

Melbourne this year just need to aim to be competitive. They have quite a few young players that played last week like Neville Jetta and Kyle Cheney who stood out. But their young bodies and lack of experience won’t see them be consistent over an entire year.

I thought they could of beat North Melbourne at one stage but then the Kangas stepped it up a gear. And that is what the better teams do. They can turn it on when it counts to win a game. The Demons unfortunately are not close to being there yet.

Collingwood by 40 points

Carlton vs Brisbane Lions

The Blues should be in finals this year, I mean they have to be. Logically how many top draft picks, player trades, cash injections can you have and not be good by now. They had a convincing win over Richmond which can’t be read into too much but they way they finished showed they are ready to take the next step.

Chris Judd looks fit which is like a Ferrari with a new motor, unstoppable. And the young but experienced players like Marc Murphy, Jarrad Waite, Bryce Gibbs and Richard Hadley all fired for the Blues.

Brisbane were tipped to beat West Coast but for half the game they struggled. They then had a brilliant 3rd quarter blitz of nine-goals to get themselves over the line. When the two tall towers in Daniel Bradshaw (three goals) and Jonathan Brown (three goals) fire the Lions really look good. When they get further contributions from players like young small forward Rhan Hooper (four goals), they look unstoppable.

Good to see Daniel Rich have the chance to shine and he took full advantage of his opportunities with a impressive display.

This should be an interesting game because it will be a real test for both coaches who are relatively fresh and the two teams who play very similar attacking styles.

Carlton by 14 points

Sydney Swans vs Hawthorn

Sydney Swans have an ageing list and no one that excites me too much. And that can be said the same for their style of football. I don’t think Barry Hall will have a good enough season because he is past it and I can’t see anyone stepping up to the plate for them. Brett Kirk worked hard but the swan’s contributors were few and far between.

Hope fully for the sake of the game Paul Roos is able to build the team into a winning combination because a cellar dwelling Sydney Swans will not be good for AFL in New South Wales where they struggle to get airtime and any media coverage at all.

The addition of another NSW team would also make it hard for coach Roos to generate more support in a Rugby League town.

Hawthorn had a hard game in their rematch of last year’s Grand Final, with the Cats walking away with a victory. Franklin (five goals) and Roughead (four), fired up front but the Hawks left their run a little too late with Geelong hanging on for the 4 points.

The Hawks should have too much talent for the Swan’s to curb their attack.

Hawthorn by 42 points

Essendon vs Fremantle

Both these two teams might have a long year ahead of them. One team (Essendon) is definitely rebuilding with a young list and the injury ravaged season they had last year. The other team (Dockers) are also rebuilding after years of bad trades, poor drafting, poor player turnover and under achieving.

Paul Duffield and Brett Peake were impressive for Fremantle last week and it was good to see youngsters Stephen Hill and Nic Suban being exposed to the hustle and bustle of AFL football. They Dockers for too long have developed a game where scoring errors and missed opportunities have come to define their playing style. That together with a list of under achieving players, makes for a terrible recipe for success.

Essendon could win this game that is up for grabs, but Fremantle should not lose two games in a row for the sake of their season.

Fremantle by 8 points

Western Bulldogs vs North Melbourne

North Melbourne won against Melbourne last week but they never do enough to convince me that they are contenders. A lot of players need to step up this year like Leigh Harding, Hamish McIntosh and Daniel Wells. And last week they showed they could. It’s only round 1 down but their game was very scrappy which they need to iron out against the Bulldogs.

I like the Western Bulldogs, they play a fast flowing game and have the running capacity in the midfield to do that. Lindsay Gilbee , Daniel Giansiracusa, Matthew Boyd accumulated possessions with a touch of leather poisoning and they get good purchase with their big men.

Western Bulldogs have the class and skills to get them over the line in this clash.

Western Bulldogs by 24 points

West Coast Eagles vs Port Adelaide

This match could be interesting because both teams looked decent last week. Port Adelaide have a great record at Subiaco and a list of players with plenty of run in their legs.

Danyle Pearce was impressive last week for the Power with Steve Salopek and Nathan Krakouer offering solid support. I think Mark Williams has recruited fairly well over the last couple of years and has some exciting youngsters that will feature prominently for Port this year. Evidence of this is the Eagles recruiting one of Chocco’s assistants to help with their rebuilding.

For the Eagles, John Worsfold can look at the positives that they came close to a great win last week against Brisbane. they had good contributions from Mark LeCras (6 goals) and a fast midfield. But they also blew it in the third quarter with the Lions putting on nine goals to two.

If West Coast can play a solid 4 quarters they should win.

West Coast by 14 points

Your Round Two Tips

So what your tips for the second week of AFL in 2009? Please post them below in the comments section along with any other observations about round two.