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Four questions for an AFL Saturday, Round 1

Cyril Rioli was one of Hawthorn's best. (AAP Image/Julian Smith)
Expert
24th March, 2017
5

Saturday of Round 1 takes us all along the east coast, with two intriguing matchups in Melbourne, a local derby in Queensland, and the Swans hosting the Power in Sydney.

Below I’ve got four questions we’ll – hopefully – find out the answers to in today’s games. Have a read and let me know in the comments what you’re tipping will happen.

Can Carlisle hold Hogan quiet?
Arguably the biggest deficiency in St Kilda’s newly-drafted young talent over the past few year has been the lack of tall defenders.

They’ve picked up a great forward line, and plenty of midfield grunt, though they could do with a little more class.

Jake Carlisle however was traded in to fill a major hole – a tall backman who can take the competition’s best key forwards.

He’ll get a great chance to prove his ability on debut today, when he goes head to head with Jesse Hogan.

Last year in Round 7 Hogan kicked a personal best seven goals on the Saints – though St Kilda still won comfortably.

If Carlisle can keep Hogan on a tight leash, it’ll go a long way to securing a vital win for the Saints.

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Can JPK keep up with the greats?
In two games so far in this AFL season we’ve already seen two truly elite performances, from Dustin Martin and Scott Pendlebury.

Martin had 33 touches, four goals and four goal assists against Carlton. Pendlebury put up 35 touches, ten clearances and two last-quarter goals in a losing effort against the Bulldogs.

Josh P Kennedy’s epic effort in a losing side on grand final day has elevated him in the eyes of many to the status of a top ten player in the competition.

Against a Port Adelaide side that the Swans are expected to defeat comfortably, can he put in a superstar performance like Martin and Pendelbury before him this week, and remind us all of why he belongs among that crowd?

Josh Kennedy vies for the ball

Will some new Suns – and a new Lion – prove the doubters wrong?
Michael Barlow. Jarrod Witts. Pearce Hanley. Jarryd Lyons. Jake Barrett. All five were let go by their former clubs without much fanfare last year. All five are debuting in tomorrow night’s Queensland Clash.

These are all blokes whose previous clubs weren’t super keen to retain them – Barlow and Barrett were delisted, Witts wasn’t getting games, Hanley wasn’t moved on with any tears from the Lions, and Lyons was lowballed by the Crows.

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That leaves all of them with a point to prove, and this first game at their new clubs will be their chance to make the old sides think twice about whether they made the right call.

That’s especially true of Hanley, who gets the chance to tear some of his old mates a new one on the Saturday night stage.

Is Cyril headed to the midfield?
Trusting the teamsheet to be an accurate reflection of where a player will play is a fool’s move in modern times. Taylor Hunt was named at centre-half-back for the Tigers on Thursday night.

Still, I couldn’t help but notice with some interest that Cyril Rioli has been named to start in the midfield for Hawthorn on Saturday night.

That’s not really something he has done as much in recent years as he might have in the past, the logic being that spending the majority of his time forward put less of a strain on his hamstrings.

However with the Hawks having a wealth of small and medium forward line talent (Luke Breust, Paul Puopolo, James Sicily, and Ryan Burton not even getting a game), experimenting with Cyril in the middle could be a wise move to replace some of the creativity lost by the departure of Sam Mitchell.

Probably I’m just reading too much into the teamsheet, but it’ll be something to keep an eye on.

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