Results:
| Richmond | 13.6 (84) | vs | Carlton | 14.20 (104) |
| Geelong | 6.12 (48) | vs | St. Kilda | 6.11 (47) |
| Collingwood | 24.11 (155) | vs | Port Adelaide | 12.8 (80) |
| Adelaide | 16.9 (105) | vs | Hawthorn | 12.13 (85) |
| Brisbane | 14.8 (92) | vs | Fremantle | 13.16 (94) |
| Essendon | 16.17 (113) | vs | Western Bulldogs | 8.10 (58) |
| Melbourne | 11.18 (84) | vs | Sydney | 11.18 (84) |
| West Coast | 13.14 (92) | vs | North Melbourne | 13.10 (88) |
| Gold Coast Suns: | Bye |
Well the only team not to make a mistake was the Gold Coast, unless they actually showed up to play a week early. Heath Scotland’s 200th game had the best result a player could ask for; Carlton played well against Richmond, however their goal kicking accuracy has fallen, last year they were the most accurate team in the comp; the first quarter was a shocking display of kicking. Richmond had a few bright spots, their accuracy was excellent and last years Coleman Medallist Jack Riewoldt started 2011 with 6 goals for this years goal tally. The new substitute rule went into effect, Jarred Waite looked like he might have had a concussion so he was subbed out in the second quarter. This threw Carlton’s game and allowed Richmond to regain the lead but they sorted themselves out in the final quarter. Richmond also used their sub, on Nathan Foley who was suffering from a gastric virus, in the third quarter. Richmond did okay but had no real superstars. Carlton had many players give standout performances, Waite’s first half was excellent, Gibbs, Curnow Judd were also brilliant. For Richmond Riewoldt and Nahas shone.
The best game to watch this week was Geelong against St Kilda on Friday night. Geelong struggled against St Kilda early on. Skipper Cameron Ling was out with his hamstring still injured and Geelong had big difficulties kicking their first goal. Despite this and St Kilda dominating the first half of the game the game was low scoring and the difference was minimal early on. St Kilda finally improved their accuracy and pulled away by nearly 20 points. Selwood and Ray had a nasty collision in the first quarter and Selwood was subbed off. The Cats fought back in the third quarter and got within distance. The final quarter was hotly contested and Geelong’s sub Milburn kicked the winning goal with only 19 seconds left. Corey Enright played his 200th game and he played well, Bartel and Duncan for Geelong also played well. Dal Santo, Hayes and Montagna played well for St Kilda.
Port Adelaide played well and kept in the game but Collingwood dominated in the midfield early on and a series of back to back goals including one by Dane Swan on the siren at quarter time showed Collingwood were just too . Port’s Hitchcock was subbed in for Schultz with nine minutes left in the second after he went down with a knee injury. Collingwood are still in great form and it looks like a premiership hangover is not in the cards this year but we are only at round one so lets not get ahead of ourselves. Port fought back hard to get the margin back down from 58 points and kept Collingwood off the scoreboard for the first half of the third quarter but tired and allowed Collingwood to stretch the margin again and they were unable to get within range again. Port’s Cassisi and played well but were out shone by Collingwood’s Cloke, Dawes and .
Adelaide looked for a start to their 20th year (21st season) to be a repeat of their first, and an improvement on the travesty of last years start. Hawthorn having looked at their game plan over the break and tinkered with it looked to start their campaign with a win. Of interest was the match up between Phil Davis and Lance “Buddy” Franklin at Half Back/Forward and Nathan van Berlo’s performance as Adelaide’s sixth appointed captain. Hawthorn killed it in the first half and it looked like they were going home the winners. Smith was subbed on in the first 10 minutes when shortly after slotting Adelaide’s first goal Porplyzia left with a shoulder injury. A second half comeback was due to the Crows kicking more as well as Reilly, Vince, Sloane and Otten leading the charge. Davis worked hard on Franklin and came out evens partly due to Buddy’s inaccuracy (2.6). Hawthorn’s Mitchell, Burgoyne and Young were just outclassed.
I feel that Richmond and St Kilda are rely too much on the one player which in Richmond’s case is an improvement as the player in question seems more polite to his team members. Adelaide have improved but their ball handling is still not quite right. Port tried but just weren’t good enough but we may see more of what they’ve got against a lesser opponent. Hawthorn look like they will be dangerous this year. St Kilda and Geelong are still star teams but may struggle against Collingwood later in the year. Collingwood are still as good as ever but took a little to get back into it.
Reports and injuries:
This week Alex Rance was reported for rough conduct against Jarred Waite he received a 3 game suspension. Matthew Scarlett was reported for striking against Riewoldt he receives a 1 game suspension.* Players Farren Ray, Aaron Davey, Jarrad Waite, Luke McGuane, Mitch Morton, Jordan Lewis, Joel McDonald and Matt Rosa were given a match day report or involved in an incident and cleared by the Match Review Panel.
Jarred Waite received a concussion and is expected to be back in this week. Joel Selwood received a concussion and is expected to be out for 1 week (test). Jay Schultz injured his MCL (knee) and is expected to be out for 6-8 weeks. Jason Porplyzia injured his shoulder and is expected to be out for the near future. Rory Sloane broke his thumb and injured his jaw, and is expected to be out for 6 weeks. David Mackay injured his should and is expected to be out for 8-12 weeks. Jonathon Brown fractured his face and is expected to be out for 8 weeks. Luke Power injured his back and is expected to be out for 1 week (test). Brent Staker injured his ACL (knee) and is expected to be out for the rest of season. Chris Masten injured his knee and is expected to be out for 6 weeks. Mark LeCras injured his groin and is expected to be out for 7-10 weeks.
Round Two opens Friday night as St Kilda play Richmond at the MCG. Next week will be the first AFL game of the Gold Coast Suns, they play Carlton at the Gabba. The bye will be held by the Adelaide Crows.
*All reports based on early guilty pleas being entered
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