Round 1 was an intriguing round of footy.
It threw up some surprising results, some close matches and some one-sided contests, but unfortunately, it’s impossible for every game of a round to be tight on the scoreboard.
It was interesting to see the new recruits in action for the different teams. There were plenty of pros and cons for each team. Find out what they were!
Pros
The Blues performed admirably despite losing the game as it looked like the game could be a blow-out in the first quarter.
Most of the Blues new players played well, Nic Newman was particularly impressive with his use of the ball exemplary and Sam Walsh was solid on debut.
Patrick Cripps and Marc Murphy were outstanding for the Blues, but that’s no surprise as they are quality players.
Cons
The Blues didn’t hit the scoreboard enough, particularly in the first quarter. The Blues trailed five goals to nil in the first quarter despite having quite a few inside-50s.
Alex Fasolo would be disappointed with his performance, finishing with just five possessions. You aren’t going to win many games of footy scoring just nine goals.
Pros
The Tigers won the game by a fairly comfortable margin of 33 points, despite not playing their best footy.
They only conceded nine goals for the game, despite Alex Rance’s injury in the third quarter, who is universally renowned as being the Tigers best defender.
The Tigers would be pleased with Tom Lynch’s debut for the club as he finished the game with three goals.
The Tigers managed to kick 14 goals despite Jack Riewoldt only kicking one major for the match.
Ruckman Toby Nankervis and forward Jack Higgins managed to kick three goals each, which shows that the Tigers are had an even spread of goal-kickers.
Cons
The Tigers let the Blues back into the game in the second and third quarters. It wasn’t a four-quarter performance from the Tigers.
(Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)
The injury to Alex Rance is the obvious negative to come out of the game for Richmond, with the Tigers’ leader suffering a season-ending knee injury.
Pros
Despite losing the game, the Magpies only conceded ten goals. Adam Treloar won plenty of the ball collecting an impressive 34 possessions – the most of anyone from either team.
Cons
The Magpies didn’t appear to have the same hunger to win the game of footy as the Cats and it appeared as if the Cats wanted the win more than the Magpies.
Mistakes at key moments cost the Magpies as they missed what appeared to be a certain goal due to over possessing the footy at an important part of the game.
Late in the game, Jeremy Howe’s turnover in the back half was indicative of the Magpies frailties in the game last Friday night. You aren’t going to win many games of footy scoring only nine goals.
Pros
The Cats won the game, although they only kicked ten goals for its entirety.
It appeared as if the Cats wanted to win the game more than the Magpies did as the Geelong boys out-worked Collingwood.
Cons
The Cats won the game narrowly, even though they appeared to be hungrier than the Magpies.
Despite the fact that the Cats made fewer mistakes than the Magpies the margin was just seven points.
Pros
The Demons were in the contest on the scoreboard until late in the game, even though they didn’t play their best footy.
The Demons lost the game by less than five goals, despite the fact that they had 11 less shots at goal than the Power.
Cons
A big reason why the Power won the game was due to the fact that they curtailed the influence of Max Gawn and Tom McDonald.
(Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)
The Demons scored just five goals after quarter time. The Demons had just four players who accumulated more than 20 possessions.
Pros
It appeared as if the Demons would generate enough scoreboard pressure to mean that they would put the result beyond doubt from a momentum point of view in the first quarter.
The performance of the new Power recruits was particularly impressive. Everyone played their role for the team.
Cons
The Power kicked just 12 goals from 27 shots at goal. In the first quarter the Power were fortunate that they weren’t blown away completely on the scoreboard and it appeared as if the Power’s inaccurate goal-kicking could cost them.
Pros
The Crows had 11 players with 20 possessions or more, which meant that they should have won the game, because they controlled the game to some extent from a statistical perspective.
Cons
The Crows inaccuracy cost them kicking just seven goals from a total of 20 shots on goal.
The Crows looked disjointed and their forward line appeared to be dysfunctional.
The Crows suffered two injuries to key players with Tom Doedee and Richard Douglas going down.
Pros
The Hawks won the game fairly comfortably, even though the Crows had far more disposals than them.
Hawthorn had four multiple goal kickers. The Hawks conceded just seven goals.
Cons
The Crows controlled the game from a possession point of view.
Pros
The Bulldogs were outstanding. They were the team of the round from a performance point of view.
The Bulldogs managed to curtail the influence of Lance Franklin, keeping the star forward to just one goal. The Doggies restricted the Swans to a solitary goal in the first half.
Cons
The Bulldogs let the Swans back into the contest in the second half.
Pros
The Swans kicked eight goals in the second half, working their way back into the game, despite the fact that Franklin only managed one goal.
Cons
The Swans were completely outplayed for most of the game.
Pros
The Lions won the game comfortably, despite the game appearing to be over on the scoreboard at quarter time.
Lincoln McCarthy and Charlie Cameron were impressive with seven goals between them.
The Lions kicked 15 goals, even though they only kicked one goal in the first quarter.
Chris Fagan out-coached Adam Simpson.
(AAP Image/Julian Smith)
Cons
The Lions’ inaccuracy cost them in the first quarter as it meant the Lions should have lost the game based on the quarter-time score, trailing the Eagles by almost five goals at the opening-term break.
Pros
Dom Sheed was outstanding in a losing side, finishing the game with 38 possessions and a goal.
Depite only having just one more shot at goal than the Lions in the first quarter, the Eagles went into the opening term break with a 27-point lead.
Cons
The Eagles’ game plan wasn’t evident. West Coast were completely annihilated after quarter time in almost every facet of the game.
Pros
They won a game that they were expected to win. The Saints were challenged on numerous occasions by the Suns, but withstood the pressure to claim a narrow one-point victory.
It was great to see Jack Steven playing again and doing what he normally does, which is make a solid contribution for the team. Josh Bruce was impressive, finishing with three goals.
Cons
The Saints nearly lost the game.
Pros
The Suns led on the scoreboard at quarter time and nearly won the game.
The new co-Captain, Jarrod Witts and David Swallow, both made solid contributions, leading from the front. The Suns had seven players with 20 possessions or more.
Cons
The Suns narrowly lost a game that they could have won.
Pros
The Giants controlled the game from start to finish on the scoreboard.
The GWS midfielders managed to hit the scoreboard with Stephen Coniglio and Tim Taranto kicking five goals between them, which means that they are less predictable as far as their forward structure is concerned.
The Giants won the game comfortably, despite only having five players with 20 possessions or more, which shows that they had an even contribution.
Cons
The Bombers only had one scoring shot less than the Giants at quarter time and could have been ahead had they kicked straight.
The Dons had the same number of players with 20 possessions or more than the Giants: five.
Pros
The Bombers could have been ahead at quarter time if they kicked accurately. Kyle Langford kicked two goals and never stopped trying.
Cons
Essendon were comprehensively beaten in a game that they would have given themselves a chance of winning.
The Dons fumbled the ball throughout the match and their skills were atrocious. They have plenty of work to do as far their basic skills are concerned.
Their morale should be extremely low as it was a deplorable performance, especially given that it was Round 1 and they should have been motivated to put in a good display.
Pros
The Dockers were ruthless and played an attacking brand of football.
(Photo by Will Russell/AFL Photos/Getty Images)
Freo had five multiple goal scorers. Cameron McCarthy and Michael Walters kicked a total of eight goals between them. The Dockers kicked 21 goals for the match.
Cons
The Dockers had 20 shots to six at half time and led by 39 points, but the margin would have been more had they kicked straighter.
Pros
Youngster Bailey Scott played his first game of league footy and never stopped trying.
Jamie Macmillan finished the game with 37 possessions and ruckman Todd Goldstein never stopped trying.
Cons
The Kangaroos were annihilated in every facet of the game from start to finish.
North have to improve if they are going to be competitive in season 2019.
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For all the pomp and circumstance that surrounds the now-traditional Anzac Day clash at the MCG, there has been one thing conspicuously lacking over…
Old mate summing it up better than anyone possibly could!
