One round down, 22 to go, and if there’s one team that could make a huge statement in season 2018, it’s the GWS Giants.
Richmond’s season-opening 26-point win over Carlton may have been impressive, but it was the Giants who recorded the largest win of any side in the opening round, thrashing the Western Bulldogs by 82 points in Canberra.
Leon Cameron’s men, beaten preliminary finalists for each of the past two years, kicked the first four goals before the Bulldogs, the 2016 premiers, pegged back three majors of their own to reduce the margin to five points at quarter-time.
But it was during that opening quarter in which Tom Liberatore went down with the dreaded ACL injury, which is expected to sideline him for the rest of the season and see him undergo a right knee reconstruction.
He had also suffered the same injury to his left knee, which saw him miss the entire 2015 season. Out of contract at the end of this season, it will remain to be seen whether the Bulldogs offer him a new contract going forward.
After the quarter-time break, the Giants went on a rampage, kicking 16 of the final 20 goals of the match to finish Round 1 on top of the ladder and with a percentage of 260.8 per cent.
This time last year, they finished Round 1 in last place on the ladder after copping a 56-point hiding from, what would turn out to be, a very good Adelaide Crows side at the Oval.
But, as was expected of them, they would rocket up the ladder, finishing fourth before losing to eventual premiers Richmond in the preliminary final, doing so despite boasting a horror injury toll.
Again, there are high expectations for the AFL’s newest club, and despite a poor record at the MCG they will almost certainly start favourites to defeat Collingwood at the home of football this Saturday night.
The Pies are coming off a disappointing loss to Hawthorn in their season opener, and this has already got fans questioning whether the decision to reappoint coach Nathan Buckley was the right one.
Nathan Buckley seems to have his president’s confidence. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)
It was their Round 23 win over Melbourne last year which probably saved him, because had the Pies lost that match, chances are he would not have survived the review of the football operations the club undertook at the end of last season.
But the pressure might intensify if the Pies drop their clash against the Giants this Saturday night, the club having been thrashed by the same side by ten goals in a pre-season match at the start of this month.
For the Giants, it will be their first trip to the MCG since last year’s preliminary final, which, as mentioned above, it lost to Richmond in front of the largest ever crowd it has ever played in front of – 94,258.
Despite their recent successes, the Giants don’t regularly draw large crowds outside of their home state, with a crowd of roughly a third, even a quarter, of that figure expected for their clash against the Pies on Saturday night.
As for the Tigers, well, they remain the team to beat after they downed Carlton in the traditional season-opening match at the MCG, but it didn’t come without a major scare as they were found napping by the determined Blues, who shot out of the blocks with the first five goals of the match.
The Blues are facing yet another painful season after losing 2016 best-and-fairest, and All-Australian defender, Sam Docherty, to a knee injury he suffered 40 days before Christmas last year, but held their own against the reigning premiers before capitulating in the final quarter to lose by 26 points.
The Tigers’ win now sets up a fascinating grand final rematch against the Adelaide Crows at the Oval this Thursday night.
The Crows’ path to redemption got off to a disappointing start as it lost to Essendon by 12 points at Etihad Stadium on Friday night despite leading by 20 points at three-quarter-time.
For the second consecutive year, captain Taylor Walker missed the season-opening match, this time with a foot injury, while Brad Crouch and Tom Lynch were also missing for last year’s beaten grand finalists.
But coach Don Pyke refused to look for excuses after that defeat, which came against a rejuvenated Essendon side who were unleashing their newest recruits in Jake Stringer, Adam Saad and Devon Smith for the first time.
(Photo by Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images)
The red-and-black army had endured some painful times in recent years, none more so than the supplements scandal which threatened to bring the club to its knees.
But there is no doubt that there are exciting times ahead for the club as it seeks to end an 18-year premiership drought dating back to 2000.
While they should start favourites to defeat Fremantle at the new Perth Stadium next Saturday night, they’ll be wary of a side eager to christen the new stadium with a win, something the West Coast Eagles failed to do when it lost to the Sydney Swans in the final match of Round 1.
There was a lot of hype surrounding the Eagles’ move into the new stadium, which has now taken over from the soon-to-be-demolished Subiaco Oval as the premier footballing stadium in Perth.
But the Swans, led by a native Western Australian in Lance “Buddy” Franklin, gatecrashed the Eagles’ party with the reigning Coleman Medallist contributing eight goals in his side’s 29-point victory.
They had led by 26 points at half-time, but the Eagles, for whom Nic Naitanui was making his first appearance since Round 22, 2016, fought back to trail by just five points at three-quarter-time.
However, the Swans steadied to record its tenth win over the Eagles in their past twelve meetings dating back to Round 4, 2008, to get their season off and running after they had started last year with six losses from as many matches.
As mentioned above, this Saturday night it’s Fremantle’s turn to play at the new ground when it faces Essendon in a match that is also expected to draw a bumper crowd.
They’ll want to put in a better showing in front of their home fans after being thrashed by a rejuvenated Port Adelaide side by 50 points at the Oval, continuing the club’s recent dismal record in the City of Churches.
As impressive as Port’s win was, it only highlighted their reputation as “flat track bullies”, given they won twelve out of a possible twelve matches against non-finalists last year, and their opposition had finished 14th with eight wins.
(Photo by Mark Brake/Getty Images)
They’ll get a far more sterner test of exactly where they are at when they play the Sydney Swans at the SCG next Sunday night – it will be their first meeting since the Power won by 28 points in Round 1 last year.
The number one draft pick, Cameron Rayner, as well as former Hawthorn champion Luke Hodge and former Adelaide Crows forward Charlie Cameron, all had solid debuts for the Brisbane Lions as they went down to St Kilda by 25 points at Etihad Stadium.
The Lions certainly had their chances, but poor ball use was cited by coach Chris Fagan as the reason for their defeat, leaving him with plenty to think about ahead of their home clash against Melbourne this Saturday night.
A poor second quarter from the Dees was what cost them in their three-point loss to the Geelong Cats at the MCG on Sunday afternoon, with ruckman Max Gawn pushing a set shot from right in front to the left.
Had the Cats’ Patrick Dangerfield been able to play, chances are the margin would have been a whole lot bigger.
But it was Gary Ablett Jr, back in the hoops for the first time since 2010, who brought the Geelong faithful to their feet with 39 disposals and a spectacular first-quarter goal as he began his second life as a Cat, having spent seven rather fruitless years at the Gold Coast Suns.
The Cats’ win, coupled with Hawthorn’s over Collingwood in which Tom Mitchell racked up a record 54 possessions, sets up a fascinating clash between the great rivals on Easter Monday next week.
Ablett’s old club, now with a new coach in Stuart Dew, got their season off to a solid start with a 16-point win over North Melbourne in a match played in atrocious conditions in Cairns.
A notable peculiarity of this match was that all the goals were kicked to the northern end of the ground, making this the first time since 1977 that all the goals were kicked exclusively to one end of the ground.
Having also won their two pre-season matches, predictions of a long season for the men from the holiday strip should subside for at least another week, given they will start favourites to defeat Carlton at Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon before they spend a fortnight in Perth for clashes against Fremantle and the West Coast Eagles.
So, after Round 1, the GWS Giants hold top spot on the ladder with an insane percentage of 260.8 per cent, followed by Port Adelaide, Hawthorn and the Gold Coast Suns.
(Photo by Adam Trafford/AFL Media/Getty Images)
The Sydney Swans are in fifth following their win over the West Coast Eagles on the road, followed by St Kilda, reigning premiers Richmond and Essendon.
Meanwhile, the Western Bulldogs prop up the ladder with a percentage of just 38.3 per cent, and they will be keen to redeem themselves when they face the West Coast Eagles at home next Sunday.
If the finals were to start this week, this would be the line-up of matches:
Qualifying finals
GWS Giants versus Gold Coast Suns, Spotless Stadium
Port Adelaide versus Hawthorn, Adelaide Oval
Elimination finals
Sydney Swans versus Essendon, SCG
St Kilda versus Richmond, MCG
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