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AFL Round 5 review

Roar Guru
23rd April, 2014
1

Another round completed in the Australian Football League, with the footballers taking us on a wild rollercoaster ride.

This weekend’s results included a stunning victory against an in form opponent (Collingwood versus North Melbourne), a fantastic away victory (West Coast versus Port Adelaide), a horrible yet great to watch upset (Essendon versus St. Kilda) and the possible return of a curse (Geelong v Hawthorn).

I’ll review the big topics I discussed in the preview I did and look at my tipping results. Enjoy.

How good were North Melbourne?
Not as good as they should have been. A disappointing loss to say the least, with their terrific wins in previous weeks accounting for nothing as their poor first half made sure that no measurable comeback could get them over the line.

If Collingwood can play like they did in the first half on Anzac Day, then watch out Essendon.

The Roos really need to come out firing in their tough match-up against the Dockers who have a point to prove.

Did Richmond and Carlton rebound?
Yes, both did. Carlton came out and played pretty damn well to run out winners in a high-scoring, free-running contest against a disappointing Bulldogs outfit. Their win was a lot more convincing than the Tigers inconsistent showing at the Gabba against the likely wooden spooners.

Richmond nearly went to 1-4 after a shocking third quarter which saw Jonathan Brown lead his team to the lead, before the Tigers awoke and made sure they won in the end. Carlton have some problems though, with Chris Judd playing five minutes before injuring another body part in what is surely his last season.

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The Blues have West Coast at home in an early make or break game.

Did the Cats reapply the Kennett Curse?
Yes. Another terrific performance saw the Cats soar to the top of the ladder, as Alastair Clarkson and his team couldn’t find a match for the quality of Tom Hawkins. Kyle Cheney and Josh Gibson weren’t large or strong enough to combat the power of the Cats.

They don’t have much to worry about though. We all know that they are still a happy team at Hawthorn. The Cats are even gladder though, as they built up from their slightly sloppy early season form to sit atop the AFL.

While Cats fans will love talk of the Kennett Curse returning, a telling stat is that while the Hawks have only won two of the fifteen matches they have played against the Cats since 2008, these have been a grand final and a preliminary final.

Tips
6/9. My incorrect tips were Swans-Dockers, Bombers-Saints and Cats-Hawks.

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