Round 2 represented more than just a loss for a number of teams. Melbourne were appalling, as were Essendon against a very weak St Kilda team, and Richmond and Sydney will fly under the radar – but they were as equally horrible.
Let’s go through each team, and see where they’ve gone wrong, and whether they can come back from it.
Essendon
The bombers were shocking in Round 1, getting beaten by 72 points against the Giants, and they followed that up in Round 2, with an even more insipid performance against St Kilda, a team that was expected to be bottom four, and only beat the Gold Coast by a point in Round 1.
The worrying thing for the bombers, is that Round 1 was a lack of effort. The giants had 63 more disposals, and 37 more uncontested possessions, while they laid five less tackles than the Giants did.
Round 2 wasn’t a lack of effort. Yes, the Kyle Langford brain fade was ridiculously bad, but the effort was there. They had more possession throughout the game, beat the saints around the ball, and had more inside 50s, however the system let them down.
They simply had nobody to go to, when they went forward, and they seemingly didn’t address that for the entire game. When the ball went into the saint’s forward line, it was a completely different story. The St Kilda forward line made space for each other, and Hurley was the lone hand down back, allowing them to kick a winning score, with less inside 50s than the bombers.
They have a season defining game this Friday against Melbourne, who are both 0-2, but the bombers problems do seem more problematic than the Demons. With Brisbane and North Melbourne to follow that, there’s a big chance they’ll be 1- 4 or 0-5, and John Worsfold’s job will come into question, if it isn’t already.
Bombers head coach John Worsfold. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/AFL Media/Getty Images)
Melbourne
Speaking of that Friday night clash, it’s as big for Melbourne as it is for Essendon. I thought they put in the worst display of any team in Round 1, losing the disposal count by 93, and losing the uncontested possession count by 93, which is simply a lack of effort.
They needed to respond, if not with a win, but a much better showing in Round 2 – and they didn’t. They went down the highway to Geelong, and were humiliated by 80 points. They yet again lost the uncontested possession count by 45. Admittedly, they played a very good outfit in Geelong, who could go on to contend for the premiership this year.
There is a positive note for the demons though. Even though they got destroyed in most stats, the one stat they went well in was the inside fifty count, where they had 24 more than Geelong did. They’re playing poorly, but they are still getting enough chances to kick big scores. The loss of Jesse Hogan has impacted the forward line more than their hierarchy thought, as youngster Sam Weidman isn’t ready, and they seem to have nobody capable of filling that void.
In totality, I’m backing Melbourne in to win their next couple against Essendon and Sydney to get their season back on track. Their problems are more system based, and as coaches will tell you, they are easily fixable with the right attitude. Tom McDonald, Sam Weidman, Max Gawn and the likes of Christian Petracca and Bailey Fritsch do need to lift though.
Max Gawn of the Demons looks dejected after defeat during the round one AFL match between the Melbourne Demons and the Port Adelaide Power at Melbourne Cricket Ground on March 23, 2019 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)
Sydney:
I thought they were the biggest losers of the week the swans, and the alarm bells should be ringing for Coach John Longmire.
They just seem incapable of moving the ball from defence to attack in any way, shape or form. They had 52 inside 50s on Friday night, and returned eight goals, with Lance Franklin having to kick two miraculous goals, for them to have any chance of winning. They only had five different goal kickers, which has been an alarming stat since Franklin made the move to Sydney.
Their other main issue, is the fact that they are just too slow. A midfield of Josh Kennedy, Luke Parker, Ryan Clarke, Harry Cunningham and Isaac Heeney, are simply going to get run off their feet, against most sides in the competition. The only player in their forward line who applies any pressure is Tom Papley, because again, they are relatively slow.
Isaac Heeney and Callum Mills have both been average, to put it nicely. Mills gets some leeway because he is returning from a long term injury, but you would have expected more than the 16-disposal game he dished up last week. Heeney was supposed to go into the midfield and become a star of the completion this year, and he’s done basically the opposite of that in his first two games.
Sydney have got Carlton at Marvel Stadium this week, in what is a huge game for them, followed by Melbourne and Richmond. I can only see them winning one of those, and their season will basically be over after that. John Longmire wouldn’t be sleeping very well at the moment.
Isaac Heeney of the Swans (second from left) marks during the Round 1 AFL match between the Western Bulldogs and the Sydney Swans at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Saturday, March 23, 2019. (AAP Image/Julian Smith)
Richmond
I don’t think they’ll be spoken about much this week, but the tigers were disgraceful on Thursday night. They were humbled by a very good Collingwood team by 44 points, and there is cause for concern, for Damien Hardwick’s men.
The Tigers weren’t good in Round 1, all but winning by 33 points against a poor Carlton team. They lost the uncontested possession stat by 51, and it was just their class that got them over the line against the Blues.
They got the reality check they might have needed on Thursday night though. They lost the uncontested possession stat by a whopping 153 disposals, which is an alarming stat for the first two games of a season, and maybe more disappointingly, they laid 26 less tackles. You should be the ones tackling more if you don’t have the ball in the first place.
The defence I thought stood up really well, in the absence of superstar Alex Rance. Jordan de Goey got off the leash, but realistically he got on the end of some very easy goals. Scarlett, Silvagni and Rance wouldn’t have stopped the Collingwood forward line the way that ball was getting delivered to them. They passed the first Test without Rance, funnily enough after a 44-point loss.
I’m not sure what to make of this tigers team in 2019. Obviously the loss of Rance, Caddy, Houli and now the Coleman Medallist in Jack Riewoldt hurts them a lot, but the good teams can fight through that.
They’ve got the Giants away, Port Adelaide away, and then Sydney at Marvel Stadium in their next three. We’ll be able to come to a better conclusion on them after that. I’m not writing off a champion side in Round 2, but it does look ominous.
Fat Toad
Roar Rookie
Both Hardwick and Buckley are good coaches and have been good coaches pretty much from their starts, both have were made better because their clubs invested in them when the simple thing would have been to cut them. Good on both clubs for that. I never really understood why a coach would not get better in the job over time rather than learn more skills. Buckley took over a team that was very close to its use by date because Malthouse had run it hard to get a premiership although a younger Malthouse might have said its time to rebuild and jettisoned some players sooner if not lunging for the flag. Buckley took over and Collingwood then had three seasons of injury problems but played well in patches. Both Clubs had an organisational review that identified deficiencies, and both clubs addressed the deficiencies and got to the GF in the next year. I loved Hardwick's over all game strategy and thought his approach to be Malthouse like in creating a fortress like structure and getting the best out of his playing group. Although Collingwood lost three times to the Tigers last year, I never felt that they were as disastrous as many said, and I felt that each time Buckley refined his strategy and was twice run down because of in game injuries rather than strategy. So at least for me the result in the PF was not as a surprise as it was for many that only look at the final score. This year the challenge for Hardwick is that he has a squad built for last years rules: how does he realign his side to bring over whelming force against an opponent's weakness? I am still ruminating on this. Two players that you might build around are now out with important injuries also while I think Martin is great, his game style puts miles on the clock quickly. He may need relief more frequently than two years ago. As strategic coaches, the ones I love to watch are Clarkson and Buckley.
Fat Toad
Roar Rookie
I agree that the Cats have upped their pressure, but they have been a good pressure team over the last 10 years! However, they bring their pressure in a completely different way to the Tigers did last year.
Cat
Roar Guru
Not Caracella alone, just using him as an example. The other coaches brought in would have brought IP with them too. Hardwick has never been considered a good or even adequate tactical coach.
William Cornwill
Roar Guru
So Their success has nothing to do with Hardwick, and it's all Caracella? Doesn't sound right to me. they didn't win finals, but they were pretty unlucky in two out of three years not to make the top four, and that was when Hardwick had no help at all.
Eddie from Elwood
Roar Rookie
So by that I assume the Cats are boring too?
Cat
Roar Guru
Riiiiight ... because Hardwick is such a tactical genius that he accomplished absolutely nothing until the club brought in assistants who brought other clubs IP with them. Like the ruck setup Richmond used all last year ... Geelong did it two years earlier. It came from Blake Caracalla was at Geelong and is now at Richmond.
William Cornwill
Roar Guru
I'm not saying that it's original, but the tigers clearly did it better than basically every other team in AFL history. Their pressure ranking numbers all throughout the 2017 and 2018 seasons, were some of the best we've ever seen. You make a good point about the way they play with the new rules. I do think that this has impacted them more than a lot of other teams, but the tigers fans should have faith in Hardwick and the coaching team to readjust.
Cat
Roar Guru
The question is, can Richmond’s manic pressure of trapping sides in their defensive 50 actually be achieved with the rules changes? I am of the opinion it cannot be. If Richmond presses down that far it’s just too easy to just kick over the press with the kick in changes. Richmond knows this and that’s why they aren’t pressing so hard.
Cat
Roar Guru
Nah. Geelong did pressure long before Richmond started it. They just fell away with changes in personnel. There is nothing original about Richmond’s forward pressure. Ross Lyon’s Saints applied immense pressure in 2009, though not quite enough until Collingwood made forward pressure into an art form in 2010 and it’s evolved and mutated since.
William Cornwill
Roar Guru
I agree that the tigers style of play has a shelf life, much like Port Adelaide in 2014 with there run and gun style, and then the dogs in 2016, with a very similar game plan than the tigers had.
William Cornwill
Roar Guru
Geelong have copied a very big part of the tigers game plan in the first two rounds. They, themselves have been all about pressure, pressure, pressure this year. The new rules, in my opinion have actually reduced the quality of the game, and the level of scoring, but that debate is for another time.
William Cornwill
Roar Guru
I still think it's largely intent driven Peter. There's an argument to be made, that if the tigers bring that manic pressure that we saw for the last two years, other teams simply don't have have the time or space to kick side ways, and if they do, it brings about mistakes. I also disagree with the statement that Collingwood are better coached. Damien Hardwick, in my opinion, is the equal second best coach in the competition. He took over a team that was supposedly as bad as Fitzroy, and subsequently took them to a premiership. Nathan Buckley took over a grand finalist, took them to the bottom six, and then took a large period of time to have them back playing finals. I'm not saying Buckley is a bad coach, in fact I think he's very good, but the ideology of him being a better coach than Hardwick is very flawed. I agree on the Brandon Ellis call. He's had chance after chance, and he's simply not doing enough to warrant selection. Players like Rioli, Butler, Broad, Castagna and Weller should also be on notice.
Cat
Roar Guru
Pressure, pressure, pressure is boring and that is all the Tigers 'game plan' was.
Eddie from Elwood
Roar Rookie
The problem with that is it was an exciting style of game. No offense to the Pies they were great, but I could have gone to an A-league game to see that kind of football, however they won and kudos to them. I suppose I'm biased being a Richmond supporter, but watching that run and gun footy was great!
Cat
Roar Guru
Th rule changes were specifically designed to combat Richmond's style of play.
JOHN ALLAN
Guest
Swans 10 year "Buddy Plan" is tracking as successfully as Phil Gould's 5 year plan at Penrith.
Wanchor
Guest
Personally I think Richmond will revert back to the pack, their style of footy has a shelf life and I think its expired. I can't quite workout Melbourne and Essendon. They are both in the bottom 5 for total number of possessions with Essendon being both bottom 5 for contested and uncontested footy, and Melbourne ranked 2 for contested and last for uncontested. Does that mean that Essendon just don't get enough of the footy, and Melbourne players are getting sucked into the contest too often?
Peter the Scribe
Roar Guru
He set such a high standard in 2017 we kind of expect it now but yes he did remind me Thursday night of the clearly injury riddled version of Dusty we saw on Preliminary night. No explosive power.
Peter Warrington
Guest
sub Cats for Pies
Peter Warrington
Guest
genius. uncharitably, we were rooting for the Pies (if thee Dees and Bombers implode, 9th could be ours!), but wishing, of course not really, head clashes on all the good cat players (at one point they way they targeted Selwood it was as if they read our minds).