Geelong won as they won the Pre Season NAB Grand Final by defeating Collingwood easily and the other 14 clubs finished their final preparations as the real season starts in just over a week. At the moment Kick2Kick is reviewing every AFL club so make sure you read what your clubs chances are this year.

Josh Hunt did his ACL and will be missing for up to 18 months which will be a big blow for Geelong.

Geelong defeated Collingwood by 76 points

Collingwood were tipped to be the big movers this year with their early season impressive form. However while it was only one game, Collingwood hierarchy will be a little worried about their showing on Friday night. Geelong were more hungry, had a better attack up forward and looked sharper all over.

Hawkins, Lonergan & Gamble looked ok up forward on the weekend but surely Gamble and Hawkins will be up for some more goal kicking practice in the next two weeks as they blew several goal opportunities between them.

I do not want anyone to think I have a vendetta against Collingwood’s new captain but Maxwell several times looked like a goose with his pointless antics and poor play and captaincy. As a captain for one of the biggest AFL clubs you simply must know the rules, be accountable for your actions and behave like a professional. Maxwell shape up or move on!

Geelong and Collingwood meet again in round 3, so it will be interesting to see if much changes.

Hawthorn defeated West Coast by 38 points

Buddy, Hodge and a host of other premiership players for Hawthorn got their first run and while it was only the Eagles they showed they will again be looking to defend their 2008 premiership. The performance of Butler, Rosa & Masten will please the Eagles.

Port Adelaide defeated St Kilda by 54 points

ST Kilda again showed that they will frustrate their supporters with different form, good news is that Riewoldt got his first game for the season and will be better with the run. Port were impressive especially with their mult-pronged forward line of Motlop, Gray, Ebert & Westhoff.

North Melbourne defeated Essendon by 16 points

Knights will be happy with Essendons ability to continue to fight but his leaky defense is a worry. Lloyd and Lucas kicked 4 between them which is an improvement. Kangaroos had a nice spread of goal kickers with Harding, Wells, Lower, Thomas, Harvey & Hale all kicking multiple goals as they look to cover Thompson and Grant.

Adelaide defeated Sydney by 28 points

Sydney had a near full strength side (minus O’Loughlin & Barry) yet still struggled against a youthful but exciting Adelaide line up with Bernie Vince, Taylor Walker, Jared Petrenko, Andy Otten and David Mackay all showing plenty.

Cousins & Johnstone show off their beards as facial hair is now back in.

Richmond defeated Brisbane by 15 points

At the start of the season I had question marks against three clubs in Richmond, Brisbane and North and their patchy good/ bad form so far has not answered any questions.

Western Bulldogs defeated Melbourne by 38 points

This game showed why Demons coach has not given some of his young pups a game as they were brutally beaten up by the Dogs looking to perform outside the proper season. Higgins showed plenty as he becomes a favourite among many Dogs and non Dogs supporters. Again their future KPP failed to perform.

Fremantle defeated Carlton by 43 points

Fremantle has showed enough in the last two weeks that they could be a smoky for this season. Carlton would be a bit worried as they were flogged while having a near full strengthed side. Again Tarrant was showed up playing in defense.

This Weeks Talking Points

This is a chance to get your opinion accross and tell us what you think about anything that has happened on or off the field this week. I will outline 6 points I think are worthy to discuss and you can reply with your opinion or add your own talking points in the comments below.

1. Will Geelong be the first team in nearly 10 years to win the NAB & 2009 Grand Final double? I think they can be. I still have some questions over their forward line.
2. Can Geelong cover Hunts loss? It will be a big loss but players like Kelly, Tenance, Hogan & D Johnson will gladly fill the missing spot.
3. What do you think of Brisbane’s, Richmond & North Melbourne’s form in the pre season? Which will make the top 8? Both teams have showed enough to think they can be top 8 sides but they also showed that they could struggle with indifferent form. Richmond & North are almost ensured for a spot but Brisbane will need to improve a lot.
4. Are Collingwood & Carlton over rated after a poor display on the weekend? I do not think they are as good as what we were lead to be believed. It also showed the difference between Geelong (and maybe Hawthorn) to the rest of the competition.
5. Are we seeing a revival of tall wingmen in Richardson, Buddy, Staker & Pavlich etc? I hope so. Seeing these KPP players run, mark, bounce, kick goals is exciting and I myself have three of them in my dream team.
6. What do you think of Mike Sheahan’s 2009 top 50? (Read the full list) Hear are some querries I personally have: I think Foley is unlucky not to be mentioned. Brown in the top 10? Joel Selwood at 27 is interesting. Deledio at 41 is a joke along with Goodwin at 40. Birchall at 49? Who is he?? and lastly Dale Morris at 23?

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