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