Opinion
There was a player who kicked his 1000th goal in AFL footy and a coaching genius who came to the fore as well as plenty of entertaining games. The key forwards were back kicking goals. This is what your club can take away from Round 2.
Adelaide Crows
The Crows had the four top disposal getters against the Magpies, with Ben Keays finishing with 37 disposals, Brodie Smith with 30 disposals and one goal, Matt Crouch and Jordan Dawson with 28 disposals and Dawson kicking a goal.
Brisbane Lions
The Lions were resilient as the game looked over at quarter time as they trailed by 22 points. In the second quarter the Lions led by five points. Lachie Neale’s performance in particular was inspirational as he finished the game with 41 disposals and two goals.
Carlton Blues
What is great to see is that Ashley Hansen flourished in his role as coach; Michael Voss has back up and the whole club seem to be going in the same direction. It was great to see Sam Walsh back from injury earlier than expected and performing well, but unlike season 2021 they didn’t rely on him; Patrick Cripps was back to his best, George Hewett was exceptional and so was Matthew Kennedy. Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay combined for nine goals.
Collingwood Magpies
Every player played their role for the Magpies. They played the game with freedom and without fear of making a mistake. The entire Magpies team played selfless footy; there wasn’t a bad player. The Magpies were better defensively in Round 2 compared with Round 1.
Essendon Bombers
The Bombers were leading by 22 points at quarter time. Peter Wright’s first quarter was inspirational as he took plenty of marks and hit the scoreboard with two goals.
Fremantle Dockers
Andrew Brayshaw led from the front equalling his career-high disposal record with 39 disposals. He was a shining light.
Geelong Cats
Brad Close kicked a career high four goals in his 32nd game of AFL; he was a shining light from the Cats. The Cats had 27 scoring shots to the Swans’ 22.
Gold Coast Suns
The Suns never gave up; their attack on the footy was relentless. They only lost the game because they failed to take their opportunities, as they had just three less scoring shots than the Demons. The Suns had 60 inside 50s, compared with the Demons’ 55!
Ben Brown of the Demons. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
GWS Giants
The Giants spread the goals around; Stephen Coniglio, Harry Himmelberg, Josh Kelly and Tim Taranto all kicked two each.
Hawthorn
It was a coaching masterclass by Sam Mitchell. He sent a message out to the players by dropping Liam Shiels and the players responded. There’s the perfect mix of senior players and others who have youthful exuberance. The system worked well both from an attacking and defensive perspective. Hawthorn kicked 13 goals straight from set shots! Mitch Lewis kicked five goals straight; could he become the best key forward in the game? Time will tell.
Melbourne Demons
The Demons were tested by the Suns and responded. Melbourne kicked nine goals and one behind in the first half to go into half-time with a 14-point lead. Christian Petracca got a career-high 40 disposals and should claim the three Brownlow votes for the second week in a row. Luke Jackson is a star; he amassed 21 disposals, kicked two goals and had 16 hitouts and was outstanding when the game was in the balance.
North Melbourne Kangaroos
The Kangaroos played against an Eagles team that had 14 enforced changes from their Round 1 team. There’s no disputing that the Kangaroos had everything to lose as a win was seen as a forgone conclusion.
They may have won narrowly, but they showed character against a spirited Eagles team. Nick Larkey kicked four goals in the first half and six for the match. He is a freakish talent. It shows that the national draft number is just a number as he was drafted with pick number 73 in the 2016 draft.
Despite that, the No.1 draft pick from the 2021 draft, Jason Horne-Francis played well, amassing 20 disposals.
Port Adelaide Power
Sam Powell-Pepper kicked three goals in the third quarter; he tried to get the Power back into the game. The top four ball winners were Travis Boak with 39 disposals, Karl Amon with 38 disposals, Ollie Wines with 36 disposals and Zak Butters, who finished with 29 disposals.
Richmond Tigers
The Tigers played well despite being without some key players. They proved that they have plenty of depth; they were without Jack Riewoldt, Dylan Grimes, Dustin Martin and Dion Prestia. Noah Balta kicked four goals playing forward. Their two ruckmen, Toby Nankervis and Ivan Soldo, kicked one goal and two goals respectively.
St Kilda Saints
Max King had just two disposals and no goals at half-time. He bounced back in the third quarter as he kicked three successive goals. Jack Higgins bounced back from a disappointing display in Round 1 with four goals and Max King also finished with four goals.
The Saints showed character to stay competitive in the first half, despite their goal kicking not being up to standard. In the second half their game plan was executed well as they kicked more accurately and lifted their defensive pressure, as they tackled well and had a good defensive system. They restricted the Dockers to three goals in the second half.
Sydney Swans
The Swans were professional from start to finish; they didn’t get caught up in the hype of Buddy kicking his 1000th goal. Despite that, they savoured the moment and celebrated it.
Isaac Heeney was outstanding, kicking five goals, while Buddy kicked four goals and Will Hayward kicked three for the Bloods. The Swans seem to have found a couple of good players, as Errol Gulden and Chad Warner appear to have a bright future based on their performance in Round 2.
West Coast Eagles
The Eagles had six players playing their first game for the club and three of those were also playing their first AFL game. The Eagles only had two fewer inside 50s than the Kangaroos, which showed they weren’t far away from winning the game.
Willie Rioli kicked kicked four of their first six goals. Jeremy McGovern ensured that the Eagles were competitive for the second week in a row.
Western Bulldogs
The Bulldogs never gave up even though they were six goals behind at one stage. They had ten different goal kickers to the Blues’ seven. The Bulldogs had 25 scoring shots to the Blues 22. It’s only Round 2 and they could easily have fallen in a heap and been obliterated, but they stuck at it.
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Now that was a quick change of mind!
