1. The new Victorian challenger While all indications already suggest non-Victorian clubs such as reigning triple premiers Brisbane and perennial challengers Port Adelaide will again be the teams to beat in 2004, it is fast becoming clear the Victorian charge will be led not by traditional powerhouses Collingwood and Essendon but by St Kilda. While it would be foolish to write off the Bombers and the Pies after just two rounds, their form so far this season already looks well below that of the Saints, who not only look ready to reclaim their place in the top eight this season but launch a serious challenge at the non-Victorian powerhouses for premiership glory. The Pies may have got their season underway this week with a nine point win over the Bulldogs but it was hardly an impressive performance while the Bombers-Saints clash had a “changing of the guard” feel about it. The Saints had lost 31 of their past 36 against Essendon but easily tamed a ferocious Bombers’ outfit and a hostile crowd to remain unbeaten while the Bombers remain winless.
2. Same old Richmond This column was full of praise for the Tigers last week after their devastating first round performance against Collingwood but yet again the Tigers have showed that no other club in the league is capable of building up the hopes of its long-suffering fans and then crushing them so quickly as the boys from Punt Road. The Tigers’ poor round two effort against Melbourne could not have been more contrasting than the win over Collingwood. Last week the Tigers played hard, direct football but as soon as the Demons jumped them in the first quarter on Friday night, they reverted to their bad old ways of kicking short and wide. Based on the first two rounds it is impossible to know which performance represents the “real” Richmond but with a red-hot St Kilda to come on Easter Monday, things could soon turn ugly at Punt Road if there is not an improved performance next week.
3. Is there hope for interstate visitors? A trip to AAMI Stadium or Subiaco has become about as much fun for visiting AFL clubs as a trip to the dentist in recent years but the victories this weekend by Brisbane over the Crows in Adelaide and by Port Adelaide over the Eagles at Subiaco will give hope to all clubs that an interstate trip no longer represents mission impossible. The Crows in particular look vulnerable and where once a game at the AAMI Stadium cauldron against the 97 and 98 premiers would be considered a likely loss, visiting teams will now fancy themselves against Gary Ayres’ struggling side.
4. The Cats are a worry Geelong might have fielded its most inexperienced team for 40 years against the Blues on Sunday but that was still no excuse for the below-par effort against a side that has finished in the bottom two in the past two seasons. After suffering a 10-goal hiding in round one, the Cats went down by nine goals this week against a side, nearly half of whom were playing in the Blues’ jumper at Optus Oval for the first time. And while the Cats’ may have been missing their most experienced players through injury, most of the players that took to the field have at least three or four years experience behind him and represent the future of a club that has so often underachieved. But if the effort against what is an improving but still modest Blues’ side is the best the new breed of Geelong players can serve up, then coach Mark Thompson will have some worrying times ahead of him.
5. The Kangaroos – still the ultimate value for money side. It’s a fair bet Richmond and Geelong fans in particular this weekend would be wishing their side produced the kind of performances the Kangaroos come up with on a consistent basis. Yet again the Roos were written off before the start of the season but yet again they have overcome the doubters to thrash Adelaide and Hawthorn, two teams widely considered to finish above them, in the opening two rounds of the season. And if the Roos’ do not lose any of their veteran midfield of Shannon Grant, Anthony Stevens, Brent Harvey and Adam Simpson to injury, who is to say this remarkable club cannot pull off yet another backs-to-the-wall finals appearance.
WEEKLY AWARDS
1. Coach of the week. Neale Daniher If any senior AFL coach deserved a win such as the one the Demons achieved on Friday night it was Daniher, who has done everything possible to try and lift his flagging club both on and off the field this season. While it is debatable any coach in the AFL has had to put up with the off-field distractions the Melbourne coach has endured in the past seven years, Daniher has still taken it upon himself to not only lead the club on the field but off the field as well. Normally a reserved public figure, Daniher has taken it upon himself to “sell” his club this season as the Demons desperately try to build their membership and their revenue. But despite these extra duties, Daniher has not been distracted from his primary goal in attempting to improve the team’s fortunes on the field and handled himself superbly after last week’s horror first round performance against Hawthorn. And he got his just reward on Friday night as the Demons destroyed Richmond to finally give the club’s long-suffering fans reason to believe that 2004 could yet herald the start of a Melbourne revival.
2. Player of the week. Michael Voss He has a chronic knee problem and most experts were surprised the Lions’ triple premiership captain was even playing this week considering Brisbane has to face Collingwood in just five days’ time. Yet not only did Voss play against Adelaide this weekend but he enjoyed one of his all-time great days and that is saying something from a player widely considered to be the best in the AFL. Forced to play as a permanent forward due to his knee problem, Voss responded with a career best seven goals as the Lions made it two from two while Adelaide lost its second game on the trot and now faces Fremantle in Perth.
3. Villain of the week. Jade Rawlings The old phrase “a week is a long time in football’ certainly applies to the Bulldogs’ boom recruit this week. After a career best seven goal haul in his debut for his new club last week, the former Hawthorn star endured a nightmare day in front of goal on Saturday against Collingwood. In the Dogs’ second successive thriller to start the season, Rawlings had countless chances to win the game for his side yet finished with a wasteful 3.7 as the Pies came from 32 points down to beat the Dogs by nine points and hand last year’s wooden-spooners their second successive narrow defeat to start the season.
