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2018 AFL season: Round 2 preview

Roar Guru
28th March, 2018
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(Photo by Mark Brake/Getty Images)
Roar Guru
28th March, 2018
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After a huge Round 1, attention turns to Round 2, which will be highlighted by the grand final rematch, the second Good Friday match and the annual Easter Monday showdown between the Geelong Cats and Hawthorn.

The Crows will be out for revenge after Richmond exposed them on grand final day last year, but will have the advantage of more than 50,000 fans cheering them on at the Oval this Thursday night.

A poor record at the MCG will be just about the only obstacle the GWS Giants need to overcome when they make their return to the cauldron for the first time since last year’s preliminary final loss to the Tigers, when they play Collingwood on Saturday night.

And another bumper crowd is expected when the Geelong Cats and Hawthorn, led by ball magnets Gary Ablett Jr and Tom Mitchell, collide at the MCG on Easter Monday.

The grand final rematch kicks off my preview to Round 2.

Adelaide Crows versus Richmond

The Easter round kicks off on Thursday night with the Adelaide Crows to welcome Richmond to the Oval in their first home game of the season, which also doubles as the grand final rematch.

The Tigers ended their 37-year premiership drought by thrashing the Crows by 48 points in last year’s showpiece match, in front of over 100,000 fans at the MCG – the majority of whom were long-suffering Tigers fans who hadn’t seen their side salute since 1980.

But this Thursday night, the reigning premiers will have to contend with playing in a cauldron of over 50,000 unforgiving pro-Adelaide supporters, who no doubt will be baying for yellow-and-black blood.

The Crows had been the best side of the 2017 season by a mile, but saved their worst for last, kicking their lowest score for the season in the match that mattered most, 8.12 (60).

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Already their season has got off to a disappointing start when it lost to Essendon by 12 points at Etihad Stadium last Friday night, despite leading by 20 points at three-quarter-time.

Captain Taylor Walker appears set to return after missing the match against the Bombers due to a foot injury, while his Richmond counterpart Trent Cotchin should be clear to line up for his 200th AFL game despite being hospitalised with migraine on Sunday night.

The Tigers’ premiership defence got off to a rather shaky start when they were found napping against a determined Carlton side which kicked the first five goals in their clash at the MCG last Thursday night.

However, Damien Hardwick’s side would lift in the final quarter to win by 26 points and get their season off to a good start.

But while they will be buoyed by the fact they have beaten the Crows at the Oval once before (in 2014), the damning stat that stands out most is the fact that they lost the corresponding match last year by 76 points.

It will now remain to be seen whether the Tigers can build on their first-round win, or whether the Crows will exact some revenge in their first home game for the season.

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Prediction: Adelaide Crows by 12 points.

North Melbourne versus St Kilda
After its success last year, Good Friday football returns in 2018 with North Melbourne hosting St Kilda at Etihad Stadium.

Last year, the Roos hosted reigning premiers, the Western Bulldogs, falling agonisingly short by three points after Lindsay Thomas’ set shot at goal in the dying seconds fell short.

This year, Brad Scott’s men will oppose the Saints, who are coming off a 25-point win over the Brisbane Lions in their season opener at Etihad Stadium, where they will be for the second consecutive week.

It was an encouraging performance from Alan Richardson’s men as they continue to adapt to life after two of their greatest players, Nick Riewoldt and Leigh Montagna, both retired at the end of last season.

The Roos, on the other hand, went down to the Gold Coast Suns in Cairns last week, their score of 5.9 (39) being the lowest of any side in Round 1 as they struggled to adapt to the wet conditions in far north Queensland.

The last time the Roos and Saints met, was in Round 22 last year, where Riewoldt played his final home game at Etihad and was given the best farewell possible as the Saints won by 49 points.

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A crowd of just 29,126 were on hand to farewell their hero, who had led the club through its most successful period in which they reached three grand finals for two losses and one draw (in 2010).

However, there expects to be 10,000 more to that figure as the AFL looks to make this fixture a regular one, and its 4:20pm bouncedown will mean that the Seven Network will break out of its Good Friday Appeal marathon to televise the match live into Melbourne.

Again, the Saints should prove too strong and a win would see them start a season 2-0 for the first time since 2014, ironically the most recent year they took out the wooden spoon.

Prediction: St Kilda by 25 points.

Tim Membrey

(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Carlton versus Gold Coast Suns
The first match on Saturday afternoon sees Carlton host the Gold Coast Suns at Etihad Stadium in their first home game for the season.

Tipped by many to suffer another long, painful year after losing All-Australian halfback Sam Docherty to a season-ending knee injury before Christmas last year, the Blues put up a spirited performance against reigning premiers Richmond, kicking the first five goals before capitulating to lose by 26 points.

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Charlie Curnow and Matthew Wright both kicked five majors each.

For a side which has endured so much over the past couple of years, that performance alone could be enough to suggest that while another long season looms ahead, that there will be plenty of good times for the club.

This Saturday they face a Gold Coast Suns side fresh off a 16-point win over North Melbourne in a match played in atrocious conditions in Cairns.

They only allowed the Roos to score 5.9 (39), thus making it the lowest ever score conceded by the club in their eight-year existence.

Despite predictions of another long season at the foot of the ladder, the Suns appear to be tracking well under new coach Stuart Dew, winning both of its pre-season matches as well as their Round 1 clash against the Roos, despite failing to kick a goal in either the first or third quarters.

A win over the Blues at Etihad Stadium would see them start a season 2-0 for the second time in three seasons ahead of a pair of matches against both Fremantle and the West Coast Eagles, both in Perth, in the fortnight ahead.

It is the second match in a string of nine which they will play away from the Gold Coast, and the two month-long absence from home, made possible due to the Commonwealth Games, will continue to test their mental strength.

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On the fast track of Docklands, which will contrast from the muddy conditions they were met with in Cairns, the Suns should prevail.

Prediction: Gold Coast Suns by 22 points.

Collingwood versus GWS Giants
If there’s one side that is destined for a huge season 2018, it’s the GWS Giants.

While they reached their second consecutive preliminary final last year, losing to the eventual premiers Richmond, they got there with several key players out injured, including the now-retired Shane Mumford and Jeremy Cameron.

While the retirements of Mumford and Shane Johnson have devoid the Giants of the experience that fast-tracked their rise up the ladder, the likes of Rory Lobb and Toby Greene have stepped up, as they will need to going forward.

Greene and Cameron both kicked ten goals between them as the Giants started their season with a bang, thrashing the Western Bulldogs by 82 points in Canberra.

That sees them sit on top of the ladder with a percentage of 260.8 ahead of their first trip to the MCG since last year’s preliminary final, where they lost to Richmond in front of the largest crowd it has ever played in front of – 94,258.

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Ryan Griffen GWS Giants AFL

(AAP Image/Julian Smith)

Despite a poor record at the G, Leon Cameron’s men will start red hot favourites to defeat Collingwood this Saturday night.

The Pies started their season with a dismal loss to Hawthorn in which they failed to apply any pressure on Hawks ball magnet Tom Mitchell, who stormed into the record books with an V/AFL record 54 disposals.

This has already got fans questioning whether the decision to reappoint coach Nathan Buckley for two more seasons was the right one, given the club has regressed in each of the six completed seasons he has coached.

The Pies also copped a ten-goal thrashing from the Giants in a pre-season clash in Canberra at the start of this month, and now appear set to end this month with a heavy defeat to the AFL’s newest side.

Prediction: GWS Giants by 40 points.

Brisbane Lions versus Melbourne
After four years without a game in Brisbane, Melbourne makes the trip north for Saturday night’s engagement with the Brisbane Lions.

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And they do so risking an 0-2 start to a season for the first time since 2014, after dropping their season opener against the Geelong Cats by just three points, after Max Gawn missed an easy set shot in the dying seconds.

Coach Simon Goodwin would no doubt have been frustrated, especially after a series of close and costly losses cost his side a coveted finals berth in 2017; in retrospect, that loss against the Cats could come back to haunt them if they are again denied a berth in September this year.

Not helping his cause is the fact that key players Jack Viney and Tom McDonald will remain on the sidelines for up to two months due to injuries they both suffered during the off-season (or in Viney’s case, a foot injury which saw him miss the final two matches of last season).

From the side that faced the Cats, only Gawn and Nathan Jones remain from their most recent trip to the Gabba, which ended in a 28-point loss in round 5, 2013 – it was their smallest defeat under Mark Neeld that season before he was dismissed seven weeks later.

There, they will face a Brisbane Lions side which, while competitive, wasted several chances in their 25-point loss to St Kilda at Etihad Stadium.

Charlie Cameron, Luke Hodge and number one draft pick Cameron Rayner all made solid debuts for the club, with Hodge’s leadership from half back set to prove crucial to their chances of climbing up the ladder in 2018.

The two-time Norm Smith Medallist was recruited to the club to provide some experience and leadership to a still-very young side, in nearly the same way Steve Johnson was recruited by GWS to not only fast-track their rise up the ladder, but also mentor their forwards.

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In their favour will be the unfamiliar surroundings their opponents, the Dees, will be met with this Saturday night – and the fact they haven’t won there since 2011, nor beaten the Lions at the venue since 2010.

That should give Chris Fagan’s men the edge as they seek their first win for the season in front of their home fans.

Prediction: Brisbane Lions by six points.

Charlie Cameron

(Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

Fremantle versus Essendon
After the West Coast Eagles failed to christen the new Perth Stadium with a win, this Saturday night it’s Fremantle’s turn to play at the new ground when they host Essendon this Saturday night.

Already their women’s team have played at the ground, when it defeated Collingwood by 13 points in front of nearly 42,000 people – a record for a women’s professional football match in Australia – in February.

This Saturday night, their male counterparts will be hoping to do the same against a powerhouse Victorian club in Essendon.

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Predictions of another painful season rung true when the Dockers copped a 50-point thrashing by Port Adelaide at the Oval, and it appears that not even the home ground advantage will aid them against the Bombers, who by contrast are coming off an impressive 12-point win over the Adelaide Crows.

The new-look Bombers ran last year’s beaten grand finalists off Etihad Stadium with their hard-running speed, but will need to adjust somewhat significantly when they play at the new Optus Stadium, which is ten metres shorter than the old Subiaco Oval but eight metres wider.

Jake Stringer

(Photo by Adam Trafford/AFL Media/Getty Images)

While they did beat Fremantle by 15 points at Etihad Stadium in Round 23 last year, their last win against them in the west came by four points in early 2013, while their last win in the west came later that same year by seven points over the West Coast Eagles.

But despite their recent dismal record in the west, I still think the Bombers can take the points here.

Prediction: Essendon by 14 points.

Western Bulldogs versus West Coast Eagles
The second of two matches pitting two winless teams against each other sees both the Western Bulldogs and West Coast Eagles attempt to bounce back from disappointing first round efforts.

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Not only did the Bulldogs, premiers just 18 months ago, cop the biggest loss of any club in Round 1 when it lost to the GWS Giants by 82 points in Canberra, they also lost midfielder Tom Liberatore for the rest of the season after he suffered a knee injury in the first quarter.

Easton Wood, in his first match as full-time skipper following last season’s retirement of Bob Murphy, failed to fire up forward, while several other players endured performances they would rather forget.

Now the Bulldogs feel the pain endured this time last year by the Giants, who were the biggest losers of Round 1 when it was thrashed by the Adelaide Crows by 56 points.

Their character is set to be tested when they face the West Coast Eagles, who are coming off a 29-point loss to the other club based from the Harbour City, the Sydney Swans.

It was a disappointing way for Adam Simpson’s men to christen the new Perth Stadium, having been given the privilege of doing so against one of their greatest rivals from the noughties.

While the Eagles were missing full-forward Josh Kennedy, whose recovery from ankle surgery is taking longer than what he wished for, ruckman Nic Naitanui emerged from his first AFL match in 19 months unscathed, after a knee injury suffered in late 2016 wiped him out for the 2017 season.

They stuck with the Swans for three quarters, at one stage kicking four goals in a row to peg the margin back to just five points at three-quarter-time, before finally running out of legs in the last to lose by 29 points.

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While their recent record in Melbourne is poor, they’ll be buoyed that one of their only two wins in the Victorian capital came against the Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium, the venue for Sunday’s clash, in Round 15 last year.

Despite again being without Kennedy, the Eagles should prove too strong and leave the Bulldogs licking their wounds for the second consecutive week.

Prediction: West Coast Eagles by 30 points.

Sydney Swans versus Port Adelaide
A rare Sunday twilight match at the SCG sees the Sydney Swans and Port Adelaide go head to head under the lights, in what shapes as another genuine blockbuster.

Both teams are coming off wins over Western Australian opposition – the Swans by 29 points over the West Coast Eagles in Perth and the Power 50-point victors over Fremantle at home.

In the first AFL men’s premiership match at the new Perth Stadium, it was WA native Lance “Buddy” Franklin who provided the highlights reel, kicking eight majors as the Swans won their fifth Round 1 clash in the past seven years.

It was the better start to the season coach John Longmire had hoped for, after his troops famously started last season with six losses from as many starts, eventually rallying to finish sixth and reach the semi-finals.

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In fact, this Sunday, they face the side which started that annus horribilis in Port Adelaide, whose reputation as ‘flat-track bullies’ was only further highlighted in their 50-point thrashing of a poor Fremantle side.

Recruits Tom Rockliff, Jack Watts and Steven Motlop shined on their club debuts, while Riley Bonner, in his third AFL season but playing just his fifth senior game, was named the year’s first AFL Rising Star nominee.

The Power’s upset 28-point win over the Swans in the corresponding match last year was their first at the SCG since 2006, and a return to the ground could provide the incentive for them to continue their impressive start to the season.

But an all-star Swans outfit, for whom Dan Hannebery remains a chance to return this Sunday after missing the clash against the Eagles due to injury, should take the chocolates home here.

Prediction: Sydney Swans by 18 points.

Lance Franklin

(Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

Geelong Cats versus Hawthorn
Round 2 concludes with the traditional Easter Monday clash between the Geelong Cats and Hawthorn, which also promises to be a beauty with both clubs coming off impressive first-round victories.

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The Cats withstood a furious final-quarter comeback from an inaccurate Melbourne to win by three points, with Gary Ablett Jr impressing in his first match back at the Cats after his seven year stint at the Gold Coast Suns with 39 disposals.

His haul came the day after Tom Mitchell took his record for the most possessions ever in a VFL/AFL match, touching the ball 54 times in his side’s win over Collingwood, also at the MCG.

It is fair to say that both players would have received the three Brownlow votes for their respective efforts in Round 1, and it will be just as interesting to see which player earns more possessions on Easter Monday.

There will be more incentive for the Hawks to win, given they have lost their past three clashes against the Cats, all of those losses coming with Patrick Dangerfield in the Geelong side.

The 2016 Brownlow Medalllist missed his side’s win over the Dees due to injury, but should be fit to take his place in the side and continue his domination of the Hawks, which stretches back to a 41-disposal performance for his former club Adelaide back in 2014.

Another bumper crowd is expected for this blockbuster, at the end of which there will be just one undefeated team (barring a draw). I have the Cats taking the points here.

Prediction: Geelong Cats by 10 points.

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