Roar Guru
The preseason is officially over and Round 1 is just a fortnight away. Who looked mighty in the JLT Community Series – and who didn’t?
Comfortably beat a probably-good team in the Dons, and a probably-not-so-good team in the Kangaroos. Either way, their victories were clinical and fearsome. The premiers aren’t resting on their laurels this season. Be wary of them. Very wary.
Standard Sydney fortnight, to be honest. Their win over Brisbane was business as usual and didn’t tell us much, but their win over GWS came of the back of a closely-fought topsy-turvy game. Most peg them for finals, and I can’t disagree.
The loss to West Coast would’ve stung, but holy hell that fightback against the Crows was brilliant. A bag of six goals from Jack Watts was an added bonus, as was their incredible accuracy in Saturday’s match. Tracking well for a big year.
Everything that Carlton fans could’ve wanted happened. Their attacking flair was evident, and they got two wins. Booting over 100 points was the cherry on top.
This squad ain’t the cause for pessimism that some believe. Solid win over Collingwood, before looking a combination of poor and brilliant against the Swans. They’ll be happy with their preseason performances, despite the loss to their arch-rivals.
Their second half against the Saints was almost a very Melbourne thing to do, but their win over North was a great start to the year. Most have them pegged for finals, and despite the their close(ish) call against the Saints, I have no new qualms. Just a few age-old Melbourne-esque doubts.
Great last minute performance against my Dockers, but would’ve been disappointed with their capitulation against Port – especially deep in enemy territory. Darcy Fogarty looks the goods.
A tale of two JLT games. Dreadful in their first against the premiers, they were pretty good against the Cats. A fair to middling effort, ultimately.
Freo would’ve been disappointed with their effort in their game in SA, but they were excellent in dominating their arch-rival yesterday. A ladder resurgence? We can’t get ahead of ourselves, but their ball movement and attacking flair was on point.
Dangerfield’s injury likely the biggest story out of Geelong’s preseason. Match wise, it’s difficult to put too much stock in their first loss, but their second would’ve made the diehards bitter.
Like many other teams, they had one good win, and one loss. They showcased skill in their resurgence in the Hawks game, but they’d be worried by their flat performance after a great first quarter against the Pies. Ultimately, an average preseason.
Always a divisive team, Collingwood impressed with their win over the Dogs, but they fulfilled the doubts of pessimists with their flat performance in JLT 1. It remains to be seen which is the reflection of the real Collingwood.
Their second-half fightback against Melbourne was admirable, but their loss against Carlton was beyond poor. They showed a little, but not enough. Disappointing fortnight.
Optimists will appreciate the two wins, pessimists will note they came against a Geelong side missing their Holy Trinity and Brisbane. Either way, they might not be as bad at this footballing caper as we think.
They were utterly dreadful in JLT2, sure, but won a thriller in JLT1. Most have them pegged for a slide down the ladder, and based on this evidence that’ll probably eventuate.
Two losses, which will sting, but it wasn’t their opponents which were their biggest foes. Third quarters were.
Any doubts about North Melbourne’s immediate potential were probably amplified. A little anonymous in both their games, but they fulfilled the rebuilding stereotype in playing the youth. Good on ’em.
Two losses, and the Lions never particularly looked like winning either. I’d have wanted to see more from a team heading into a potential year of resurgence.