2022 AFL season: Grand final rematch and a return to Sydney headlines opening round

Nearly six months after the Melbourne Demons smashed a 57-year premiership hoodoo behind Western Australia’s hard borders, the quest of the 17 other teams to prevent them from repeating as premiers finally gets underway this weekend.

For the first time since 2009, we’ll have a grand final rematch in the opening round, with the Dees’ premiership party to reach its pinnacle when they unfurl their flag in front of an expected capacity crowd against the Western Bulldogs this Thursday night.

It will also give the club’s most loyal and faithful fans the chance to farewell modern-day warrior Nathan Jones, who announced his retirement shortly after the club qualified for the grand final and after receiving the news that his wife was expectant with twins.

This means that the traditional season opening match between Carlton and Richmond will not be as such, marking it the first time since 2014 that the two teams have not had the honour of kicking off the new season.

Craig McRae’s first match as Collingwood coach sees the Pies make the short trek to Marvel Stadium to take on St Kilda, while the first of the special fixtures sees Essendon take on the Geelong Cats in the Country Game on Saturday.

After both Sydney clubs were forced to evacuate last June due to a COVID-19 outbreak in New South Wales, AFL football returns to the Harbour City with a bang, with Accor Stadium the surprise venue for the first Sydney Derby to be held in Round 1 since 2014.

Interest and intrigue will centre Lance Franklin’s early-season bid to crack the 1,000-goal milestone, with the Swans given two early games in Sydney for him in which to do it (he is just five goals in arrears).

After South Australians go to the polls on Saturday, they’ll want to have dual television screens running at the same time, with one to find out who will form their next government for four years, and the other on the Brisbane Lions vs Port Adelaide match at the Gabba.

Sam Mitchell’s reign as Hawthorn coach begins with a clash against reigning wooden spooners North Melbourne, who will be expected to unveil top draft pick Jason Horne-Francis in front of a bumper crowd at the MCG.

For the fourth year in a row, the Adelaide Crows have the honour of opening the season at the Adelaide Oval, while for the second year running, round one ends in the west with the West Coast Eagles taking on the Gold Coast Suns at Optus Stadium.

Here is your preview of Round 1.

Melbourne vs Western Bulldogs
What better way to kick off the season than to have Melbourne unfurl its premiership flag in front of what’s expected to be a capacity crowd at the MCG on a Wednesday night?

After the club celebrated its drought-breaking premiership with over 30,000 fans in attendance at the MCG in December last year, here lies another opportunity for their supporters to continue the premiership party against the team they beat, the Western Bulldogs.

It is the first time since 2009 that a Grand Final rematch is held in round one, the first time since 2007 that the Dees feature in the opening game of a new season, when they lost to St Kilda by 31 points, and the first time a season is opened on a Wednesday night since 2000.

While it was only a pre-season game, the Dees did lose their official pre-season hit-out against a Carlton side many are tipping to improve under their new coach, Michael Voss (more on this in the Carlton vs Richmond preview, below).

Otherwise, many experts are predicting a Demon Dynasty in the same way as what the Brisbane Lions (2001-03), the Geelong Cats (2007, 09 and 11), Hawthorn (2013-15) and Richmond (2017, 19-20) did earlier this century.

They do enter the new season sans club veterans Nathan Jones and Neville Jetta, both of whom retired last season after they were unable to force their way into the side for their successful premiership campaign last September.

Jones will be part of the flag unfurling ceremony, as will the club’s only other 300-gamer, David Neitz, who led the club to its previous Grand Final appearance in 2000 where they were soundly beaten by Essendon by ten goals.

While the Western Bulldogs will be rendered as spectators in the Dees’ ever-continuing premiership party, they can play their part when the real games begin by avenging last September’s 74-point defeat and giving themselves every chance of continuing to do well in 2022.

But they will have to make do without Josh Bruce, who will miss the majority of the season after tearing his ACL against Essendon towards the end of the regular season; his absence proved to be a major factor in their Grand Final loss.

As long as the Dees bring the right attitude to the MCG after the flag unfurling formalities have wound up, the side should begin their premiership defence with a win.

Prediction: Melbourne by 24 points.

The Demons are in the unfamiliar position of being defending premiers. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Carlton vs Richmond
Traditionally the season-opening match, Thursday night’s clash between Carlton and Richmond has been bumped to being the second match of the new season, but as always, there stands to be plenty of interest and intrigue around this fixture.

Despite boasting a better record than his two predecessors in Mick Malthouse and Brendon Bolton after 50 matches, David Teague was shown the door at the end of another dismal season, replaced by Brisbane Lions triple premiership captain Michael Voss.

Voss’ return to the AFL coaching fraternity comes over eight-and-a-half years after he was sacked as the Lions’ coach, where he could not emulate the same successes he enjoyed as the club’s captain in the coaches’ box, only taking them to the finals once, in 2009.

In the interim, he acted as an assistant coach under Ken Hinkley at Port Adelaide, where he oversaw the midfield with his influence indirectly leading to Ollie Wines taking out last year’s Brownlow Medal, and this has him primed for a second shot at AFL coaching.

While it was only a pre-season match, Voss would’ve been happy with how his charges performed against Melbourne as they led last year’s premiers for the majority of proceedings before winning by only less than a kick.

Now they will face a Richmond side which will be eager to climb back up the ladder after injuries to key players, not least Dustin Martin, saw the club’s flag dynasty come to an end for now, finishing 12th on the ladder and missing September for the first time since 2016.

Martin’s season came to an end in round 18 when he suffered a kidney injury, which left him hospitalized on the Gold Coast (where the Tigers had beaten the Lions on a Friday night) for a prolonged period, and saw the Tigers tumble out of finals contention.

Dylan Grimes and Toby Nankervis have taken the reins as the club’s co-captains, after Trent Cotchin stepped down at the end of last season amid speculation that retirement could be on the horizon.

The Tigers are coming off a strong win against Hawthorn in its official pre-season hit-out, and despite their poor finish to last season coupled with the potential of a Carlton revival this year, Damien Hardwick’s men should take the chocolates here.

Prediction: Richmond by 18 points.

St Kilda vs Collingwood
A new era dawns for Collingwood when they make the short trip west to Marvel Stadium to face St Kilda in their first outing under new coach Craig McRae.

The Brisbane Lions three-time premiership player, who won the latter two of those flags against the side he now coaches, enters the hot seat after predecessor Nathan Buckley was shown the door at the midway point of last season.

He is the seventh player who played in the 2001 Grand Final to become a senior coach, and is one of four active coaches (the others being Damien Hardwick, Chris Scott and Michael Voss) in the coaching caper.

The other three from that Grand Final to have also become an AFL senior coach were Brad Scott, James Hird and Justin Leppitsch, who is now on the Pies’ new-look coaching panel which also includes ex-Carlton coach Brendon Bolton.

Their placing of 17th last season was their lowest ever, only made possible due to an expansion of the competition in 2011 and 2012. Therefore, McRae knows he will have his work cut out in trying to return the club to playing finals as soon as he can.

They will be without defender Brayden Maynard for two weeks, after he was suspended by the judiciary for rough conduct on GWS’ Daniel Lloyd in their pre-season hitout at Giants Stadium, which the Pies lost by 41 points.

Meantime, not much is expected of St Kilda this season after they crashed and burned last season following a surprise finals berth in 2020, where they lost a semi-final match to the eventual premiers Richmond on the Gold Coast.

The Saints have already suffered a massive blow with defender Nick Coffield to miss the season after rupturing his ACL during the pre-season, while Dan Hannebery continues to be plagued by the injury bug since arriving from Sydney at the end of the 2018 season.

They were impressive eleven-point winners over Essendon in their pre-season hit-out, before which they paid tribute to club supporter and cricketing legend Shane Warne, who had passed away the previous night.

It stands to be an emotional night for the club as it’s expected they will again pay tribute to the 52-year-old prior to Friday night’s clash against the Pies, and they’ll want to make his family proud with a win.

Prediction: St Kilda by eight points.

Geelong Cats vs Essendon
Just four matches into proceedings and we’ll already have our first themed match of the new season when the Geelong Cats and Essendon face off in the Country Game at the MCG on Saturday afternoon.

Both sides enter the new season with a point to prove, the Cats in particular copping an 83-point humiliation at the hands of a side they’d tortured for the best part of the preceding 15 years (186, anyone?) in the preliminary final.

There is interest around second-year forward Jeremy Cameron, whose first season at Kardinia Park was blighted by a hamstring injury which delayed his club debut until Round 6; still, he proved his worth to the club booting 39 goals in 15 matches.

(Photo by Will Russell/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

The ex-Giant has made clear his intentions for this season, as the Cats attempt to keep their flag window open while the likes of Joel Selwood (who will enter his 11th season as captain), Tom Hawkins and Patrick Dangerfield are still playing.

Meanwhile, the Bombers under first-year coach Ben Rutten defied pre-season expectations to finish eighth on the ladder and despite having beaten the Western Bulldogs only three weeks earlier, lost to them in a knock-out final at UTAS Stadium in Launceston.

It prolonged the club’s finals winning drought, 17-and-a-half years having now passed since the club most recently sung the team song following a finals win, which was against Melbourne in the 2004 elimination final.

It remains unclear when exciting forward Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti will return to the club, having taken some personal leave earlier this year while also battling a calf injury which he is recovering from.

The club acquired Jake Kelly via free agency last year, and he will be a welcome addition to a squad which will be eager to continue improving in season 2022.

A first-up clash against the Cats will be a tough ask for the Bombers, and on that note I think the men from Kardinia Park will get up here.

Prediction: Geelong Cats by 20 points.

GWS Giants vs Sydney Swans
AFL football returns to the Harbour City with a bang, with Accor Stadium the surprise venue for the latest instalment of the Sydney Derby, which is being held in round one for the first time since 2014.

There will be many subplots to Sydney Derby XXIII, including the anticipation surrounding Lance “Buddy” Franklin and whenever he reaches the magical 1,000 goal milestone, which would be the first by any player since 1996.

Such is the excitement surrounding the impending milestone, the AFL have fixtured the Swans to play their first two games in Sydney, so if he fails to achieve it this Saturday, he’ll get his best chance to do it against the Geelong Cats at the SCG on a Friday night in round two.

Another is that this match will mark a decade since the GWS Giants contested their first premiership match, against the Swans at the Olympic Stadium, with history telling us that the men in charcoal and orange lost to the eventual premiers by 63 points.

Both teams return to Sydney after a COVID-19 outbreak forced them to evacuate to Victoria, but would battle manfully for the remainder of the season, eventually meeting in a knock-out finals match in Tasmania with the Giants winning by only a solitary point.

That match saw Toby Greene cop a six-match ban (doubled from the initial three) for intentionally abusing umpire Matt Stevic, meaning Saturday night’s Derby will be the second match he misses of that sentence.

Though the pre-season match against Collingwood did not count towards his suspension, the Giants proved they could perform without him in the side, defeating the Pies by 41 points with Tim Taranto a standout.

The Swans, meanwhile, shook off a serious challenge from last year’s wooden spooners North Melbourne, also winning its official pre-season hit-out to give their supporters high hopes of another successful season.

With this match being played at Accor Stadium, the potential is there for a massive crowd given the subplots mentioned above, as well as the fact that the only NRL match in town that day is just under 30km away at Shark Park in Cronulla.

It should be a close match and I have the Swans sneaking home just.

Prediction: Sydney Swans by six points.

Brisbane Lions vs Port Adelaide
After South Australians go to the polls to decide who governs the state for the next four years, they’ll head home with two screens set up – one with the election coverage and the other to see Port Adelaide begin its season on the road for the ninth time in twelve seasons.

The Power, humiliated in last year’s preliminary final against the Western Bulldogs, have copped the short straw in drawing premiership contenders the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba, where the home side have lost only three times since the start of the 2020 season.

It was at this venue that Ken Hinkley’s men copped severe criticism from the media after kicking only five goals in an embarrassing 49-point defeat in round seven last season, and for the third straight year their only shot at the flag favourites comes at their Gabba fortress.

Further, while they beat the Adelaide Crows in their official pre-season hit-out, they also suffered a disappointing loss to the Gold Coast Suns in an unofficial hit-out at Metricon Stadium the previous weekend.

The Lions will also have a point to prove in 2022, after their season also came to an end at the hands of the Dogs following a one-point semi-final heartbreaker at home, continuing the club’s poor recent finals record under Chris Fagan.

Last year marked the third straight year that the Lions finished in the top four, but for the second time in three seasons they would crash out of September in straight sets, losing on both occasions to the eventual set of Grand Finalists.

They will have forward Cam Rayner back after an ACL injury he suffered during the pre-season last year saw his 2021 season wiped out in one hit, while Eric Hipwood is not due back until May after suffering his own ACL injury against St Kilda in Round 17.

(Photo by Jono Searle/AFL Photos/via Getty Images)

After an indifferent season last year as well as rumours of wanting a trade back to Fremantle, Lachie Neale will also be raring to go and his individual showdown against his Brownlow Medal successor, Ollie Wines, will be a major highlight this Saturday night.

The Lions will want to avoid a repeat of last year’s first-round meltdown when they were embarrassed and exposed by a Sydney Swans side that had finished 16th the previous season, though they would ultimately rebound to finish fourth before exiting September in straight sets.

While it is an early season clash of flag contenders, I just cannot see Chris Fagan’s side being challenged by the Power here.

Prediction: Brisbane Lions by 32 points.

Hawthorn vs North Melbourne
A new era will dawn at Hawthorn with Sam Mitchell taking over from the legendary Alastair Clarkson as the club’s newest coach, twelve months earlier than expected.

The 2008 premiership captain becomes the latest in a string of men to later coach their clubs, others including John Worsfold (West Coast Eagles), Michael Voss (Brisbane Lions) and James Hird (Essendon).

While Worsfold achieved success by leading the Eagles to a flag in 2006, Voss and Hird fell victim to the “favourite son curse” at their clubs, departing before the end of the 2013 and 2015 seasons respectively.

Thus, Mitchell will want to ensure that the same success he enjoyed as Hawks captain, also translates as such to the coaches’ box, and he will have his work cut out restoring the club’s powerhouse status under his predecessor.

The club was on the verge of its lowest ever finish until late-season wins against eventual finalists the Brisbane Lions and Western Bulldogs, as well as a draw against eventual premiers Melbourne, gave their fans some hope for the new season.

Despite the strong finish to last season, however, the experts have forecast a tough season for the men from Waverley, some even going as far to predict that the club could win its first wooden spoon since 1965.

Sam Mitchell (Photo by Cameron Grimes/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Mitchell’s first outing as coach will be against North Melbourne, who are coming off its first wooden spoon in nearly half a century but for whom the future is bright after some decent performances in the second half of last year.

There is excitement surrounding top draft pick Jason Horne-Francis, who is expected to be given his debut by second-year coach David Noble.

The Roos were outclassed by the Sydney Swans in their pre-season match at Giants Stadium in Sydney, but did show some positive signs throughout to suggest they won’t be the easybeats they were treated as in 2021.

They will have no reason to believe they cannot beat the Hawks this Sunday, given they did stage an epic comeback to down the brown and golds in Launceston in round nine last season, which was Noble’s first win as coach.

But can they repeat the dose this Sunday? I think they can.

Prediction: North Melbourne by 14 points.

For the fourth straight year, and eighth time in twelve seasons, the Adelaide Crows have the privilege and honour of playing their season-opening match in front of their fans, and will do so with what appears on paper to be a winnable match against Fremantle.

The Crows’ fall from grace culminated in a wooden spoon in Matthew Nicks’ first season as coach, but there was some slight improvement in 2021, winning seven matches with a percentage of 82 and finishing 15th on the ladder.

Among the highlights included an upset win over the previous year’s runners-up, the Geelong Cats, at home, as well as coming from 36 points down to defeat St Kilda in Cairns, with Riley Thilthorpe kicking the match winning goal at the death.

Despite their recent on-field struggles, the Crows have proved they can still pack out the Oval, and even with a restricted capacity of 65 percent (meaning a maximum crowd of about 35,000), a bumper crowd is expected for the visit of Fremantle on Sunday afternoon.

In their second year under Justin Longmuir, the Dockers improved to ten wins and 11th place on the ladder, this coming despite the fact that club veterans David Mundy and Nat Fyfe are entering the twilight of their careers.

There is also excitement around Caleb Serong, who kicked a spectacular goal in the second Western Derby last year, while Adam Cerra is one notable departure, having been traded to Carlton during the off-season.

The Dockers enjoyed a victory over the West Coast Eagles in their official pre-season hitout, which was played behind closed doors at Optus Stadium, and would have every reason to feel confident that they can knock over the Crows at the Oval this Sunday.

However, despite pre-season predictions of another tough season for the men from West Lakes, the Crows should spring a surprise here.

Prediction: Adelaide Crows by 12 points.

West Coast Eagles vs Gold Coast Suns
For the second consecutive year, round one ends in the west, with the West Coast Eagles facing the Gold Coast Suns at Optus Stadium.

Many have tipped the Eagles, premiers only four years ago, to miss the eight altogether for a second consecutive season after injuries and poor form saw them miss out on September action for the first time since 2014.

Forward Jack Darling has returned to the club after receiving his COVID-19 vaccination, but will miss the first month of the new season due to a foot injury which only came to light last week.

One notable arrival to the club is that of Sam Petrevski-Seton, who was traded to the club from Carlton during the off-season, thus following in the footsteps of Josh Kennedy, who was part of the famous Chris Judd deal orchestrated at the end of 2007.

This will be Kennedy’s 15th season at the Eagles, and given he turns 34 after the conclusion of the regular season, it’s likely that he may hang up the boots as the Eagles look to the future.

Meantime, the time for excuses are over at the Suns, whose coach Stuart Dew knows that the team needs to deliver on a regular basis if they are to play finals for the first time.

While there is excitement around third-year midfielder Matt Rowell, sadly the season of Ben King has ended before it’s started, after he suffered an ACL injury during pre-season training, meaning he will spend twelve months on the sidelines.

But in a much-needed boost to the club, the key forward has re-committed, meaning we may not get to see the best of the team until next year, and it’s in times like these when their depth will be tested.

Despite King’s season-ending injury, the Suns enjoyed a strong pre-season, defeating Port Adelaide and the Geelong Cats in consecutive matches, but whether this can translate to success in the regular season remains to be seen.

Optus Stadium has proven to be a graveyard for the men from the holiday strip, who in five previous visits (including twice last year) to the AFL’s newest stadium have come up empty-handed, and have only ever won behind WA’s borders just once, in 2016.

Despite the Eagles’ injury woes, I think they’ll get up in this one.

Prediction: West Coast Eagles by eight points.