The opening round of the 2014 AFL season saw the emergence of some great young talent, while plenty of the old guard maintained their own high standards. But who were the best 22 of the round?
Backline
Nick Haynes (Greater Western Sydney) – Stuck to Sam Reid strongly all game. In the absence of the likes of Kurt Tippett and Adam Goodes, Reid had increased delivery but neglibile output due to Haynes’s effort, managing only a single goal. Haynes also managed 21 disposals to Reid’s 10.
Luke McPharlin (Fremantle) – Gave Travis Cloke a bath and kept him scoreless with only seven touches for the game, leaving Collingwood’s attack looking impotent.
Eric McKenzie (West Coast Eagles) – Taught young Jesse Stringer a lesson, gathering 22 touches and 11 marks while keeping Stringer under 10 possessions and with only a behind in the score column.
Half-back line
Grant Birchall (Hawthorn) – Played tall against the 194cm Marco Paparone, but kept him quiet and still added his trademark rebound. Was one of his team’s best, with 31 touches (at 77.5per cent efficiency) and eight marks.
Cale Hooker (Essendon) – Destroyed a very disappointing Drew Petrie when his side needed him. Bought into the Essendon’s uncontested marking plan with aplomb with 26 touches and 16 grabs.
James Gwilt (St Kilda) – Shut down Jack Fitzpatrick (before he was subbed off with a concussion) and then broke the shackles. Finished with 18 touches, 11 marks and a beautiful long range goal.
Midfield
Brendan Goddard (Essendon) – Looking close to his very best. Had a ripper of a game against North with 26 touches and six tackles, as well as having a good time rotating as a marking forward, finishing with 3.2.
Gary Ablett (Gold Coast Suns) – Lock him in, Eddie. Had Matt White running with him most of the night; White put up a brave effort, but GAJ still led the Suns home with 41 touches, four marks and two goals.
Scott Selwood (West Coast Eagles) – A brilliant two-way game, effective offensively (29 touches, six marks, one goal) while keeping Tom Liberatore reasonably quiet on the defensive end.
Half-forward line
Paul Chapman (Essendon) – A part-time alcoholic texted me during the North/Essendon match, saying Chapman will only play 15 games for the year. Watching this performance made me think if that’s the case, the investment would have been well worth it.
22 touches, seven marks, four goals and that edge only a player like Chapman can bring.
Nick Riewoldt (St Kilda) – In a close match without a lot of spark, a champion like Riewoldt standing up can make all the difference – it certainly did on Saturday. Was helped by Tom McDonald’s injury but ran every defender on him ragged. Finished with 23 touches and 12 marks, along with his three majors.
Luke Breust (Hawthorn) – Always tears Brisbane apart and this game was no exception. Has had a few knocks on his kicking in the past but was a dead-eye dick this weekend as he finished with 22 touches and 5.0
Forward line
Lindsay Thomas (North Melbourne) – Showed a heap of heart in a bad loss for the Roos. Kicked nearly half his teams goals (four) and was the only real weapon for North on the night.
Justin Westhoff (Port Adelaide) – Kept Port well and truly alive in the second when he booted four for the quarter. Switched between forward and back in the second half to good effect and ended with 20 touches, eight marks and 5.0.
Mark LeCras (West Coast Eagles) – It was painful to see LeCras with niggles and form struggles last season, so it was heartening to see him burst out the gates in 2014. 27 possessions, 10 marks and 5.1 (albeit three of those in what could only be called ‘junk time’ in the last).
Followers
Aaron Sandilands (Fremantle) – ‘Lurch’ returned in style to the glee of all Supercoach managers in Australia. 19 touches, seven marks and 39 hit-outs looks good for a ruckman on paper, but it’s also the way he goes about getting them. His hit-outs to advantage in the mid-game as he exerted his dominance were sublime.
Joel Selwood (vc) (Geelong) – Led from the front and easily took Rory Sloane in a head-to-head battle. Sounded the battle cry in the final quarter that got the Cats home.
Jobe Watson (c) (Essendon) – The fat full-forward continued to edge closer to the one and only in consistency and impact, racking up 38 touches, nine marks and two goals resting up forward. No North player could quell his influence in the slightest.
Bench
David Swallow (Gold Coast) – Could have easily been in the starting 18 but gets a spot on the bench due to his versatility. He started well down back for the Suns, but became absolutely vital when shifted forward of centre as a link-up man in the second half. The best game I’ve seen him play. Finished with 27 touches, nine marks, five clearances and a wayward 1.4.
Oliver Wines (Port Adelaide) – No second-year blues for Wines as he was crucial in their win against Carlton. 28 disposals, nine tackles, six marks and a cheeky 2.2 up forward.
Dion Prestia (GCS) – Quietly becoming a brilliant foil to Ablett. Must be loving his footy at the moment. 32 touches, seven marks, four tackles, a goal and crucial toughness which Richmond (unsuccessfully) came at the Suns.
Sub (taken from chosen subs)
Leigh Adams (North Melbourne) – Not the most efficient game but hardly lacking in effort. Racked up 17 touches and 10 marks in a quarter-and-a-bit trying to spur his side into action.
Crowley of the week: Heath Hocking (15 disposals) on Daniel Wells (11 disposals, no score).
Campbell Brown of the week: Andrew Walker for deciding it’d be good for team spirit to chuck Angus Monfries into the fence.
Fun fact of the week: North’s loss to Essendon made it their fifth consecutive loss in Round 1 of a season (2010-2014).
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