In this weekly piece we will cover the stocks of players, teams and anyone associated with footy from Round 2 – no matter how trivial they are!
Richmond ninth on the ladder
As a Richmond supporter seeing the Tigers ninth makes me shudder, the way you would shudder after eating a gherkin on a cheeseburger when you hate gherkins.
I can take one week of this ninth stuff, but only 1! By round 3 I don’t care if we dip down, as long as we aren’t ninth *shudders*.
Etihad Stadium roof
How long is it going to take for the AFL to close the roof at Etihad?
If I happen to be sitting in a desert and the sun sets in the West, logic tells me that I will face away from the sun to save my eyes.
Better yet if I had an umbrella I could use it as a roof and fix the eyes burning issue by placing it above my head with a slight lean towards the west.
Enough of the poor analogies, the piercing sun is ruining games of footy – not only at the ground but via the TV as well.
The retractable roof takes eight minutes to open or close – make it happen ‘Sarge’.
AFL crowds
Where are the people Andrew? Variable pricing structures are affecting crowds in a big way. Thursday nights Richmond-Carlton clash missed the projected mark by 8,000 people.
Clashes between Essendon-Hawthorn and Sydney-Collingwood drew the lowest crowds by these teams at their respective venues ever.
Things need to either revert to the way they were or change quickly, as Ben Pobjie has covered so well on this site in recent times.
GWS’ (lack of) forward structure
Can Leon Cameron find a system for his forwards to operate in? seven marks with this class inside-50 is poor.
Jonathon Patton hasn’t yet learnt the forward craft needed at the elite level to expose weaker defences and where does T-Bo (Tom Boyd) fit in?
The number one draft pick surely has to be knocking on the door for his debut. How does he fit into a forward line that already has Patton, Jeremy Cameron, Jonathan Giles and Shane Mumford rotating through it?
Sydney Swans
If someone approached me and said I bet Sydney will be 0-2 after Round 2, I would have bet a date with my other half. What are the answers?
Franklin isn’t to blame yet, it’s premature but their stocks need re-assessing.
Jack Riewoldt’s weight loss
Did the Richmond footy club have a biggest loser contest during pre-season? If they did I’m confidant Riewoldt would have succeeded in this challenge.
Shedding kilograms has been the answer many sides are imposing to minimise rotations, but this shouldn’t be at the expense of your best power forward.
Jack I’m heading to McDonald’s, want anything?
Injuries
Nathan Brown, Corey Enright, Patty Ryder, Luke Hodge, Sam Mitchell, Shannon Hurn are all crucial to their side’s chances of success.
Yes it’s only Round 2, however in a competition where dropping one game could be the difference between finishing in or out of the finals, losing big name players this early is sad for the competition.
Adelaide Crows’ fitness
The Crows were run over against Port Adelaide. They looked like Mick Molloy in a marathon against Steve Moneghetti.
They pounded 50 kilometres a week into their list during pre-season to produce success in the final quarter. Are the injuries a result of this?
Port Adelaide kicked 11 of the last 14 goals due to the Crows’ fadeout – the Power they aren’t that much fitter, are they?
Shaun McKernan
The Crows hit the front then got blown out by 55 points. The forward half isn’t working, injuries can do that (just look at the Demons). It’s time for the Crows to give Josh Jenkins a run.
Richmond choking against Carlton
The Round 2 game was a replay of Round 1 last season. In the finals last year, the Tigers squandered a 26-point lead. The Tigers almost lost a 37-point lead this time around. My heart can’t take much more of this.
Beau Maister
Maister had nine disposals and kicked one behind in the Saints’ victory over the Giants. Unlike the other blonde in the St Kilda forward line, Maister looks anything but damaging.
Jarrad Waite and Jordan Lewis’ acting (in)ability
These guys’ efforts were as poor as any of Kylie Minogue’s acting on Neighbours all those years ago.
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