AFL finals Week 1: Pros and cons

The Tigers roared against the Hawks, the Demons obliterated the Cats, the Giants destroyed the Swans, and the Magpies had their wings clipped by the Eagles.

Tigers

Pros
Every player in the team played their role. Dustin Martin kicked a superb goal, a freakish kick from the boundary line, which was reminiscent of a goal from the pocket from Jason Akermanis (although Dusty’s was better).

Skipper Trent Cotchin led from the front having a big influence on the game, while Dion Prestia impressed with a solid performance. Dylan Grimes picked up all ten coaches’ votes, with just 12 possessions, demonstrating that you can’t judge a player solely on statistics. The attack on the footy was evident for Richmond as they were ferocious in the right manner at the ball and not the man – and their skills were exemplary.

Cons
Difficult to find any negatives, but the first and last quarters. There is always something to work on and Damien Hardwick will want to rectify his side’s start and finishes.

Hawks

Pros
The Hawks managed to win two of the four quarters, despite not playing their best footy. Tom Mitchell showed why he will probably win this year’s Brownlow Medal, with 38 disposals. The 31-point loss should have been a blowout, but Hawthorn fought the game out in the final term.

Cons
The team are still heavily reliant on Tom Mitchell, had 19 scoring shots to the Tigers’ 30 and it was a bad day for Alistair Clarkson in the coaches’ box.

Demons

Pros
Their attack on the footy was reminiscent of the Tigers’ ruthless display the night before, showing the Dees are now a contender.

Cons
Melbourne were once again inaccurate.

Cats

Pros
They only lost the first and the last quarters, although they didn’t play well.

Cons
Geelong were outplayed in every facet of the game and the future looks gloomy if that performance is anything to go by.

Swans

Pros
Nothing.

Cons
Kicking four goals from just ten shots means Sydney should have lost by more than the eventual margin of 49.

The Swans appeared to be one dimensional in their forward set up, as they relied heavily on Lance Franklin, who didn’t kick any goals.

Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

Giants

Pros
Leon Cameron outcoached John Longmire, and it was tough to find a bad player in the Giants’ line up.

Greater Western Sydney had 29 shots on goal in possibly their best performance for the season.

Cons
They should have won the game by more and Josh Kelly got injured.

Eagles

Pros
They won the game without their best player, Andrew Gaff, as Elliot Yeo and Jack Redden led from the front, while Josh Kennedy and Jack Darling kicked a couple of important goals each.

Cons
The season-ending hamstring injury suffered by Brad Sheppard.

Magpies

Pros
The return from injury of Tyson Goldsack, while Taylor Adams was outstanding.

Cons
The Pies fell away in the fourth quarter, and Will Hoskin-Elliott hit the post twice in the third quarter.

Basically, they should have won the game.