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Twelve quick takes from AFL Round 1

Expert
26th March, 2017
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Andrew McGrath is a deserving Rising Star winner. (AAP Image/Julian Smith)
Expert
26th March, 2017
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A massive Round 1 of the 2017 AFL season has been run and won. No time to waste, let’s get into some quick takes.

The Bombers may not need time to gel
I didn’t tip Essendon to win on Saturday night, but I did tip them to play finals this year, and after their performance I’m feeling a little bit vindicated.

The Bombers just have everything a good team needs – a nice mix of types in the forward line, a backline with at least one elite tall, a midfield with quality depth, and an excellent coach bringing it all together.

On top of that, they’ve got a hunger and desire and positive feeling among the team that has been born out of what they’ve been through over the last four years.

The most common question over them so far has been how quickly this team can gel together given how many of the parts of it are unfamiliar with each other – but if Saturday night’s result is anything to go by, they might already be there.

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Thin midfield? What thin midfield?
It’s been a hard task during the off-season to try and work out which teams from last year’s top eight might miss finals, and the Crows were a common choice due to their supposedly thin midfield.

But with Brad Crouch and Scott Thompson out, and Taylor Walker too up forward, they still had more than enough talent to take flag favourites GWS to the cleaners.

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They finished -6 in the clearances, but +17 in the inside 50s, +19 in the contested possessions, and with +11 tackles despite also having +67 disposals.

Rory Atkins, Richard Douglas and Matt Crouch reminded us they are all quality players in their own right, even if we don’t often see their names up on a marquee.

On top of that, the moves of Rory Laird and Charlie Cameron into the middle of the ground worked a treat – expect to see more of that in weeks to come.

Rory Atkins Adelaide Crows 2016 AFL

GWS are still an average team away from home
The Giants have been widely tipped to take home this year’s premiership – I said earlier in the year that I don’t think they will do it.

I mentioned a few reasons then, but one that didn’t make the cut and probably should have is their poor record away from NSW.

Their 56-point smacking from Adelaide on Sunday was the perfect example of this. The Giants were favoured to win, but they looked uncompetitive.

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They have only beat one top-eight side while playing interstate in the club’s history – a depleted and struggling North Melbourne in Round 23 last year.

Many saw the Giants as coming of age in last year’s finals series, but both of their finals were played in Sydney.

If they’re going to win the flag, they need against the best of 17 other teams at the MCG on the big day – they haven’t proven they can do that just yet.

Dustin Martin is going to get paid
There were no shortage of superlatives written about Dustin Martin’s performance on Thursday night so I won’t be overly verbose with them here.

Short version is he’s a gun – 33 disposals, four goals and four goal assists is a set of numbers rarely achieved.

Out of contract at the end of this year and a restricted free agent, the Tigers are already offering him $800,000 a year.

That’s not going to be enough, not with the salary cap set to skyrocket. If he isn’t earning a million a year in 2018 and beyond I’ll be very surprised.

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Dustin Martin of the Richmond Tigers

This could be Pendlebury’s Brownlow year
If you took a survey of 100 people on the street and asked if Scott Pendlebury would be a worthy Brownlow Medallist, 100 people would say yes.

Judging by his performance against the reigning premiers on Friday night – 35 touches, ten clearances, and two last-quarter goals – 2017 could be his year.

Sure, Dustin Martin would like to win that medal as well. Nat Fyfe would be hungry for it, and Patrick Dangerfield could go back to back.

But maybe this is the year Pendles gets his due.

Saint Nick’s knee is a modern day miracle
When Nick Riewoldt went down with what looked like a serious knee injury on Saturday, it ilicited a feeling of universal dread in the AFL community not felt since Bob Murphy did the same last year.

Good news: it’s not an ACL. In fact he doesn’t have any structural damage to his knee, and isn’t expected to miss more than 2-4 weeks.

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That’s a nice turn that is honestly refreshing when you consider how common and innocuous ACL injuries can be.

It’s a shame that he’ll miss games at all, but make no mistake, this is at the very least a decent-sized miracle for Saint Nick.

Nick Riewoldt injury St Kilda Saints AFL 2017

Drew and the Roos did it with class
Please, excuse a sentimental North fan a few brief words on what it was like to see a legend of the club in Drew Petrie line up for the opposition.

My point of view is that if a player has fought and bled for your club then they’ve earned your support, and that extends beyond when they’re on the list.

Drew did that, he did that more than 300 times for North Melbourne. So it was great to see Roos fans, for the most part, getting around him and supporting him.

It’s a testament to his character that he actually broke his hand in the second minute of the game, but played it out all the same.

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His major in the last term was only the second time I’ve ever applauded an opposition goal – thought the fact that the game was already dead didn’t hurt.

Compared to the ugliness of seeing Travis Cloke heavily booed on Friday night, it made me proud to see that plenty of respect and genuine admiration still exists between Drew, the club, and the fans.

Drew Petrie West Coast Eagles AFL 2017 tall

Turn the Power back on? Yes we Ken
Few results this week could’ve been more surprising than Port Adelaide not just beating Sydney at the SCG, but beating the comfortably.

I didn’t give the Power much of a chance in this match – any, really – but they kept in the match well in the first half, then ran away with the win in the second.

Is it the start of a resurgence, the kind that can save Ken Hinkley’s career? Very possibly. This was the best game they’ve played in two years, and by a considerable margin.

That said, it’s only Round 1, so caution is warranted. And the same goes for writing off Sydney. They’ve got enough credits in the bank for us to give them the benefit of the doubt.

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Melbourne are ready to make their mark
Many questions were asked about Melbourne ahead of Saturday, and most were about whether or not they could mentally overcome their poor history against St Kilda and at Etihad.

They did more the overcome their demons, they left them for dead – although they had something of a slowish start, it was just all them from the second quarter onwards.

The young guns are stepping up in no uncertain manner. Jordan Lewis is an awesome recruit. Mitch Hannan on debut was very impressive. Michael Hibberd and Dom Tyson are itching to come back in.

I’m already regretting my decision not to but them in my top eight this year.

Max Gawn Bernie Vince Alex Neal-Bullen Melbourne Demons AFL 2015

Will Hoskin-Elliott, Collingwood’s recruit of the year
Much has been made of Collingwood’s questionable decisions to recruit the likes of Daniel Wells, Chris Mayne and Lynden Dunn this off season.

Will Hoskin-Elliott has been flying under the radar but he – and the Pies – deserve some kind words for a clever piece of recruiting.

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I have been a fan of his ever since he finished the 2014 season in ripping form. Sadly, due largely to injury, he didn’t go on with it.

Keep a close eye on him this year. He was good on the big stage on Friday night, and he has the skill set to be genuine star of the competition.

(Plus, everyone knows that blokes with Elliott in their name are just the best kind of people.)

Queensland Clash XIII: A confusing classic
Thinking ahead to my talking points as the weekend progressed, I was already planning to slam the Suns at half-time in their match against the Lions.

Well, time makes fools of us all, especially me, and usually very quickly. They improved in the latter half and almost won the thing.

Brisbane are getting the new-coach bounce, that much is clear. Hopefully for their sake it lasts longer than two quarters.

As for the Suns, they have the talent, but who knows if they’ve got the process sorted just yet. I’m not at all convinced they have.

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Probably the only thing to say with certainty is that we’re going to need to see more from both of these teams before we can make any definitive calls on where they’re at.

chris-fagan-brisbane-lions-afl-2016

Harry Taylor forward? Let’s not
The Cats had a strong result on Sunday night against the Dockers, although we’ll need to see a few more matches from both before we work out which team that says more about.

Instead let’s talk about Harry Taylor – he has played as a key defender throughout his career with the occasional foray forward as a swingman.

On Sunday night though he played much of the game as a forward as had been foreshadowed during the pre-season, but was held scoreless and didn’t exactly get rave reviews from his performance.

It’s true that the Cats could use another tall to support Tom Hawkins up forward, but against teams with taller forward lines than Fremantle (which is most teams), Taylor will be needed back much more than he was on Sunday night.

The Cats have North Melbourne and Melbourne in the next two weeks, and can probably afford to continue the experiment that far, but if Taylor doesn’t make some magic up forward by then they’ll want to have him in the backline against Hawthorn in Round 4.

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