2017 AFL Round 2 Review Part One



Round Two of the 2017 AFL season has been completed and while some teams sustained their success from the opening rounds, there were others who had once again struggled and underperformed, and there were games in which the result perhaps did not reflect too much on the result.

Port Adelaide is surprisingly on top of the AFL ladder on percentage but the likes of Richmond and Essendon were able to register consecutive victories. Hawthorn, Sydney and St Kilda are not getting the results but it is too early to doubt their abilities and the likes of Collingwood, Fremantle and Gold Coast demonstrated little signs of a promising future.

Here is a team-by-team summary of each club, how they performed, and which players stood out or failed to impress.

Adelaide

The Crows were impressive in their demolition of GWS in Round 1 and they backed their form up with a victory against Hawthorn on Saturday. Despite trailing by 24 points at quarter time, Adelaide won the remaining three quarters to emerge as victors.

Sam Jacobs dominated in the ruck for the Crows, winning 43 hit-outs, while David Mackay and Eddie Betts scored three goals each. This win was more remarkable considering that key forward Josh Jenkins came off early with an injury to the ribs.

Brisbane

New Lions coach Chris Fagan has created a team with great fluidity but individual errors still remain. Brisbane uses the ball much better than it did under Michael Voss and Justin Leppitsch but this young Lions team must stop making amateurish mistakes.

Captain Dayne Beams collected 33 disposals and kicked two goals while ruckman Stefan Martin got 23 touches and win 42 hit-outs. Eric Hipwood kicked 2.2 but with calmer nerves and better kicking technique, it should have been 4.0.

Carlton

The Blues put in a good fight against Melbourne and they were leading at three-quarter time but the Demons kicked six goals to two in the final quarter to emerge victorious.

After gathering 35 touches in Round 1, Marc Murphy collected the footy 31 times and kicked a goal. Matthew Wright contributed with three goals in a team that is still lacking a quality target in the forward 50.

Collingwood

Two defeats as many games and the pressure is mounting on under fire coach Nathan Buckley. His players failed to take their chances but this is his team now with little remnants of Mick Malthouse’s side.

Will Hoskin-Elliott was a positive spark for the Magpies and he kicked three goals in the final quarter against Richmond to give his team some hope. Alex Fasolo was a serial offender with his kicking as he finished the game with no goals and three behinds.

Essendon

The Bombers look like a galvanised group since regaining players from their bans after the ASADA drugs scandal. Although Brisbane made its share of errors, particularly in the final quarter, Essendon was more than capable of taking its chances.

Zach Merrett is already demonstrating his ability to dominate the midfield and he got 32 touches on the weekend and kicked a goal.

Joe Daniher kicked accurately for goal scoring three times but Orazio Fantasia was the real standout in the forward line. “Razzle Dazzle” kicked five goals straight and already has nine goals for the season.

Fremantle

Once again the Dockers were outclassed and it is hard to see how Ross Lyon can adapt to the way the game is played now. Lyon’s teams are known for being ultra-defensive but the new rules for 2017 have so far benefitted the forwards more than the defenders.

Nat Fyfe touched the ball 30 times while Lachie Neale got 34 touches but the rest of the team was woeful. New key forward Cam McCarthy only had 10 disposals and failed to kick a goal while veteran ruckman Aaron Sandilands had 36 hit-outs but only took one mark and had just two kicks.

Geelong

The game against North Melbourne was another struggle for the Cats but their stars improved as the match progressed and a young Kangaroos side ran out of energy.

Patrick Dangerfield had 37 disposals and kicked a goal while Tom Hawkins and Daniel Menzel kicked four goals each. George Horlin-Smith was the unlikely hero, kicking two goals including the decisive one to win the game for Chris Scott’s team.

Gold Coast

If losing to Brisbane was bad, being humiliated by Greater Western Sydney was worse. Creating a second team in Queensland is looking more disastrous as the seasons go by and this team is regressing. With a volatile chairman like Tony Cochrane and an old school disciplinarian like Rodney Eade as coach, how can this list thrive and cope with expectations?

Gary Ablett Jr was subpar with just 16 touches, key forward Tom Lynch failed to kick a goal, and Touk Miller and Kade Kolodjashnij were the only players to have collected over 25 disposals.

Greater Western Sydney

Bouncing back in emphatic fashion after that shock loss to Adelaide by destroying Gold Coast, the Giants why they are the better of the two expansion clubs. Coach Leon Cameron has a wealth of talent at his disposal but his team execute his gameplan with skill, speed and precision.


Key forward Jeremy Cameron kicked 6.1 while the nippy Toby Greene collected 22 possessions and kicked 5.2. Callan Ward had 32 touches and Josh Kelly had 27 disposals and kicked three goals. 

Click here to read Part Two of the Round 2 review.

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