St Kilda v Collingwood

In what is set to be the match of the week the St Kilda football club will look to put the Andrew Lovett saga behind them and take on a young team raring to go in Collingwood.

St Kilda have named a near full strength team with ex Roo Jesse Smith the only injury concern for the Saints though tall man Michael Gardiner is set to miss the match, most likely being rested. Token Irish recruit in Tommy Walsh is set to play his first game at AFL level after being picked up in the pre season draft from GAA club Kerry. Other

Tommy Walsh continues the long standing tradition of being a pasty white Irish recruit

youngsters to keep an eye on for fantasy football purposes are Will Johnson, Alistair Smith, Steven Gaertner and Paul Cahill who has shown true potential playing for Sandringham in the VFL. Expect David Armitage to have an above average game, he always seems to do well in the pre season competition.

Luke Ball lines up for his first game as a Pie and by coincidence it is against his former club so expect to him putting in 100% for his new club. Darren Jolly is also set to play after being traded from the Swans to plug a hole in the ruck and should be rotated off the bench for maximum effect. Late draft pick Simon Buckley is the only new rookie set to play as the Pies try and get the senior squad as fit as possible as they will be looking for a grand final berth in the 2010 season.

This should be a cracker of a game with two top ranked teams duking it out but the younger Collingwood outfit should run over the top of the Saints in the later stages of the game and should bring home the chocolates.

Collingwood by 20 points

Sydney v Carlton

For the first time in memory Sydney will attempt to win a NAB Cup game and will have a tough job in store if they want to knock over the Blues.

The Swans have done a lot of poaching in the off season and are set to unveil a lineup featuring several familiar faces. Mark Seaby is set to play his first game as a Swan after making the trip over the Nullabor and should settle nicely into the squad. Former Hawks Josh Kennedy and Ben McGlynn will be looking to impress coach Paul Roos and need to step up a notch this season to earn their keep.

Ex cat and new million dollar man Shane Mumford is missing from the lineup as is big man Daniel Bradshaw who will miss the NAB cup with a knee injury and will no doubt be sitting at home under a crochet knitted blanket, drinking soup and complaining about teenagers. Prodigal son Tadhg Kenelly returns after a bout in the GAA and will need to rack up plenty of pre season game time to get back up to peak fitness. Number 6 draft pick Gary Rohan will also make his debut for the club and is one to keep an eye on from all accounts.

The Blues have a couple of injury concerns in Marc Murphy and Jarred Waite both of whom will miss this match but will be back early in the season. Eddie Betts, Ryan Houlihan and Andrew Walker are also notable absences serving a club based suspension for having a bit too much fun with on a boat in the off season. Former Demon Brock McLean will relish his first game for the Blues as he is now playing for a team that doesn’t tank week in, week out (anymore). Ex Lion Lachie Henderson is also set to debut for the club after being squeezed out of the Lions team to make room for Brendon Fevola’s ego. While on the topic of Fevola, it will be interesting to see how the Blues go with their “revolving forward line” since they now have no notable goal kickers in the squad.

This should be a compelling game for the first two quarters but expect the Blues to have the legs in the second half and should outplay the Swans by moving the ball on quickly and putting the pressure on when it matters.

Carlton by 18 points

Geelong v North Melbourne

Reigning premiers Geelong come up against North Melbourne in what should be a one sided affair with Geelong looking to put the Matthew Stokes drama behind them.

Geelong have a few injured players that will be missed in this clash, namely Steve Johnson, Matthew Egan and Brad Ottens with Mitchell Brown and Josh Hunt also injured. Geelong are using this clash to play a lot of younger rookies who haven’t got a lot of game time as it was almost impossible to break into the senior team.

Tom Allwright should have an Allwright game

Dawson Simpson, Mitch Duncan, Allen Christiensen, James Podsiadly, Steve Motlop, Taylor Hunt, Jeremy Laidler and Tom Allwright will all have a chance to impress coach Bomber Thompson.

Geelong fans will be hoping forward Tom Hawkins comes good as the ‘Tommahawk’ as he was known has failed to produce anything that would excite anyone other than old ladies with a crush on him.

The Kangeroos are also nursing some injuries with Drew Petrie, Daniel Wells, Nathan Grima, Alan Obst and number 6 draft pick Ben Cunnington all set to miss the pre season. North are following a similar pattern to Geelong and playing plenty of youngsters though these kids have a decent chance of making the starting 22 come round 1.

Todd Goldstein, Sam Wright, Ben Ross, Cruize Garlett, Marcus White and Ben Speight are the lucky youngsters named to play.

Geelong should walk all over the Roos here and more than likely will. Expect the Roos to have several players in a tagging role and the Cats to play the free running game that they play so well at home.

Geelong by 36 points

Fremantle v Melbourne

The ‘who cares’ game of the round is incidentally the last game of the round and the winner will go on to get belted by Geelong next week.

Fremantle are taking the opportunity to show off everyone they have captured and bought to the club in the off season including re-recycled Adam McPhee. Number 4 draft pick Anthony Morabito can expect to be scrutinised heavily for the way he kicks, marks, blinks and pronounces words, such is the expectations of Fremantle supporters that should he play well they will gain an unfamiliar feeling of pride.

Michael Barlow, Dylan Robertson and Alex Silvagniare all set to make their respective debuts for the Dockers. While other rookies Matt de Boer and Clancee Pearce will also battle for a senior spot.

Melbourne have very few injury worries with Jack Watts and Austin Wonaemirri the only two concerns and the Dees are taking this opportunity to play some of the several thousand draft picks they have recruited of late.

Number 1 draft pick Tom Scully should play well and fans may shift their hopes and dreams from Jack Watts who has yet to show he was worthy of the #1 spot the previous year. If all else fails Jack Trengrove will adopt this moniker as the #2 draft pick (second comes right after first). Melbourne seem to recruit on the basis of name recognition, see if any of these last names sound familiar in the slightest Matthew Warnock, James Frawley, Cale Morton, Neville Jetta and Daniel Bell. Other youngsters having a run around include Jake Spencer, Jamie Bennel, Rohan Bail, James Strauss, Jack Fitzpatrick and Addam (not a typho just ‘hip’ parents) Maric.

To be honest I expect a low scoring game with a lot of mistakes and turnovers a lot of young players tends to produce such games. I’m going to tip Fremantle simply on the basis they play better at home and Melbourne are playing a few too many youngsters for my liking to pose a serious threat.

Fremantle by 18 points

Your NAB Round 1 Tips & Observations

So what are your tips & observations for the 2nd week of the opening round of the 2010 NAB Cup? Do you agree with Depps? if yes or no please post your tips and observations about the opening round of the NAB competition in the comments section.

We will include the total correct tips of the Kick2Kick writers & readers for the NAB cup, so include yours and lets see just who knows what they are talking about. Currently Depps has tipped 3 out of 4 winners in the NAB Cup.

• Princess of the Cats: 4
• Depps: 3
• the_tony: 3
• Mike: 3
• Jermayn: 3