Port Adelaide vs Hawthorn
The round started on Friday night with a hard fought game between Port Adelaide and Hawthorn over in Adelaide. Port Adelaide surprised many by bringing it to Hawthorn only trailing by 6 points going into the final QTR.
As expected, the hawks lifted and took a convincing win by 32 points.
What we learnt from this game
Port are not completely hopeless when they select the right squad at home
Mitchell is a pivotal part of the Hawthorn line-up
If he wants to, Roughead can show a huge amount of heart and increase his work-rate
Western Bulldogs vs Sydney Swans
There were four matchs on the Saturday. The first was Western Bulldogs vs Sydney Swans over in Canberra. Bulldogs went in favourites but the majority of tipsters had put the Swans above the doggies.
The Swans got over the line by 8 points in the end but were wasteful in front of goal kicking 10 goals 13 to the doggies 10 goals 5.
What we learnt from this game
The Doggies can challenge for top 8 with a full strength team
The Swans will be hard to beat when Jack, Malceski and Bradshaw slot back in later in the year
Poor kicking infront of goal can cost you the game
Geelong Cats vs North Melbourne Kangaroos
The second game of Saturday was played down in Geelong where the Cats were riding a 23 game winning streak and looking to beat North Melbourne to break an AFL/VFL Record.
As expected, The Kangaroos never troubled the Cats and they were pushed aside with Cats winning by 66.
What we learnt from this game
The Pies will need to bring their A game on Friday
The Kangaroos have a long way to go
The Cats have amazing depth in their squad
Richmond Tigers vs Fremantle Dockers
The third game of Saturday was Richmond Tigers vs Fremantle Dockers in Melbourne. Fremantle have a terrible travelling record but have been playing well lately. Richmond have lost every first QTR this season and their start was awful. Amazingly, Fremantle kicked 2 goals 8 behinds in the first QTR to allow Richmond into the game who kicked 3 goals 2 to be EVEN at QTR time. A great match eventuated and the scores were close up until the final 5 minutes of the 3rd QTR. From there, Richmond lifted and got a few ‘good’ calls that helped them to push away from Fremantle. In the end, regardless of the umpires, Richmond would have won. Amazingly Richmond kicked 23 goals 10 to Fremantles 14 goals 15
What we learnt from this game
No matter how much form you do on a game, when a team kicks 2 goals 8 in the first QTR, you cannot control it
Richmond are a top 8 contender
Be careful of tipping Fremantle away from home
Gold Coast Suns vs Brisbane Lions
The final game of the Saturday night was the QClash between the Gold Coast Suns and Brisbane Lions.
The Suns looked amazing all night and jumped to a 19 point head start at QTR time. By half-time they had improved this to 27. By 3 QTR time Brisbane had reduced this to 18 points and you felt a blockbuster finish was on the cards.
Amazingly, in the final 5 minutes, Brisbane hit the front and you felt they could run away with it, but the Suns lifted and ended up winning by 8 points.
What we learnt from this game
The Suns will win at least 5 games this Season
The Suns will win a premiership in the next four years
Brisbane have a long way to go
Essendon Bombers vs West Coast Eagles
The first game of Sunday was the best of the weekend in our eyes. We tipped up Eagles as a genuine chance to beat the Dons in this game and even tipped them. While we lost the tip, we are happy with the result.
The Eagles lead at QTR time by 15 and half time by 12. Unfortunately the Eagles let themselves down infront of goal kicking 3 goals 8 behinds from set shots. They also let themselves down in the 3rd QTR letting the Dons score 6 unanswered goals.
The Dons lifted in the 3rd and the Eagles were bombing the ball inside 50 to 3 on 1’s. The Eagles lifted and got within 10 points on the siren when the Dons kicked a goal after the siren.
What we learnt from this game
The Eagles are top 6 contenders
The Bombers showed a huge amount of belief in themselves and never gave up
Jobe Watson is a beast
Melbourne Demons vs Adelaide Crows
The final game of Sunday was Melbourne Demons vs Adelaide Crows. Unfortunately, the Adelaide squad didn’t make it to the MCG, as reflected in the 96 point SMASHING at the hands of the Demons.
The Demons completely changed their squad that was taken to West Coast and smashed the week before. The Demons were graceful and hungry while the Adelaide squad were quite pathetic and need to look deep into their souls for their match this week against Gold Coast who have a genuine chance!
What we learnt from this game
Be careful tipping Adelaide away from home
The Demons are finals contenders in 2011
Dropping Baite, Petterd and two others for the West Coast clash was a horrible coaching decision
St Kilda Saints vs Carlton Blues
An unusual timed clash, St Kilda Saints battle Carlton Blues on Monday night football.
We all expected St Kilda to bomb out this week against Carlton due to their loss in Adelaide last week and Melbourne thumping Adelaide yesterday.
What we witnessed was poor kicking from Carlton which resulted in 11 goals 18 behinds kicked against St Kildas 12 goals 9 resulting in a 3 point win to Carlton who lead 15 minutes into the 3rd QTR by as much as 27 points.
What we learnt from this game
Carlton can’t contend for a Grand Final kicking like this
Saints showed the heart we wanted to see last week and were unlucky to not win
Goddard is injured or his head is in Western Sydney already
Riewoldt needs a run in the VFL to get his confidence back and a new ball dropping motion
