Round 1 losers already under the blowtorch

Round 1 is great. We get player debuts, new coaches, fresh game styles and unexpected victories. And last weekend certainly had all of those.

Has there been a better collective of Round 1 debuts than Nic Martin, Josh Rachele, Jack Hayes, Nick Daicos and Jason Horne-Francis? Michael Voss, Craig McCrae and Sam Mitchell all coached wins. And there was vibrant play and momentum swings across the competition.

The point being, the opening weekend is usually about the positive stories.

But every action has an equal and opposite reaction, and for nine winners, there were also nine losers. And Round 2 becomes grimly fascinating to assess from the perspective of those facing a 0-2 start. A reckoning can arrive real quick.

Two of the losing Round 1 teams play each other, so at least two clubs are facing a 0-2 start, but it is likely to be more unless we see some form reversals.

Most intrigue surrounds Richmond and Greater Western Sydney given the Tigers were a popular pick to rise into the top four this year and GWS have been a finals mainstay over several seasons.

Richmond were okay against Carlton for long periods, but got absolutely pulverised in contested possessions and clearances the longer the game went on. This is an area the Giants have been traditionally strong at and were good again when playing Sydney.

(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Therefore, it’s advantage Giants, given their much-deeper midfield, and all of a sudden the bubble has well and truly burst on the dynasty at Tigerland, with knives being sharpened. But if GWS can’t get it done, then they will carry their own question marks given a 0-2 start from a couple of very winnable games.

Not much is expected at North Melbourne and West Coast this year, and based on what we saw last Sunday when both teams played, not much will be delivered.

The Eagles are in disarray via injuries to an ageing list, combined with COVID implications and forced into selecting players that have only been in the place for about 15 minutes. The Kangaroos finished last for a reason in 2021, and aren’t going to be much higher this season based on their performance against Hawthorn in the opener.

West Coast probably has a bit more at stake, if they have any designs on making something out of this year, while North aren’t going to get to many sniffs of victory and this will be one.

Essendon were arguably the poorest performance of all last week, and now have to square off against Brisbane at Marvel Stadium on Saturday evening. The Lions weren’t much better in a very low-standard of game against Port, it has to be said, so there is ripe opportunity for the Bombers to bounce back.

Any team can be forgiven a flat one, and Round 1 does throw up some anomalies from time to time. We’d want to see a response from the Dons though.

St Kilda impressed no-one in their loss to Collingwood, even though they were a team some might have expected to jump up the ladder. They are missing a handful of creative types, and looked pretty meat and potatoes on Friday night.

Now, it’s a trip to Perth against a Fremantle outfit that is on a high after securing a nail-biting win on the road – no easy assignment. If the Saints can’t grind out a win, that’s a 0-2 start against teams that finished 11th and 17th last year. That’s ugly stuff.

Adelaide went down to the Dockers after that masterful Heath Chapman defensive effort, and now meet a resurgent Collingwood at the MCG. While finals may not be on most people’s radar for the Crows, and this is another year about more than just wins and losses, they’ll be wanting validation via wins during a tricky opening draw.

Port were one level above awful against Brisbane at the Gabba, who were no good themselves. It was a game of poor skill and wasted opportunities, and the Power got banged up during it too.

Aliir Aliir is out for a month or more from that game. Xavier Duursma, Trent McKenzie and Robbie Gray may well miss multiple weeks too, or at least won’t be at full fitness if they do play. Charlie Dixon, Orazio Fantasia, Kane Farrell and Tom Clurey aren’t that close to a return either.

Lucky, the Power only have Hawthorn this week, but the Hawks will at least be hitting the game with confidence. Ken Hinkley’s men won’t want to slip on that banana skin.

Ken Hinkley. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

The Western Bulldogs meet a flying Carlton in what is now arguably the match of the round on Thursday night.

While the Dogs played 15-20 minutes of brilliant football when kicking eight goals in a row, for the other 80 per cent of the match they were quite inept and couldn’t hold a candle to Melbourne.

There’s no shame in that necessarily, given we are expecting the Demons to be a powerhouse this season and ongoing. But given Luke Beveridge’s unnecessary and frankly bewildering rant against Tom Morris post-game, and the ridiculous selection intrigue surrounding Lachie Hunter, it’s hard not to think all isn’t well at the Bulldogs.

With Marcus Bontempelli under an injury cloud, and the powerful display of the Carlton midfield, the Dogs are not going to have it all their own way on Thursday night. And with Sydney to come in Round 3, they are a massive watch this week with a horror start to the season beckoning.

There is always a torch of flaming heat in AFL football, and it needs to settle somewhere. Oftentimes, it can lead to a mid-season coach sacking as the pressure builds on an under-performing team.

Richmond, Essendon and the Bulldogs have all eyes on them.