AFL, Round 1 {R}

And so it begins, in earnest.

Fixtures for the opening round...

Friday, 26 March
Richmond v Collingwood, at the MCG (7:45 p.m. Melbourne time)

Saturday, 27 March
Hawthorn v Melbourne, at the MCG (2:15 p.m. Melbourne time)
Fremantle v Carlton, at Subiaco Oval (1:15 p.m. Perth time)
St. Kilda v Geelong, at Telstra Dome (7:15 p.m. Melbourne time)
Brisbane v Sydney, at The Gabba (7:15 p.m. Brisbane time)

Sunday, 28 March
Port Adelaide v Essendon, at AAMI Stadium (12:45 p.m. Adelaide time)
Kangaroos v Adelaide, at the MCG (2:15 p.m. Melbourne time)
Western Bulldogs v West Coast Eagles, at Telstra Dome (2:15 p.m. Melbourne time)

Discuss...

Also, I listed the live centre bounce times, given that all audio webcasts on the AFL's website are now free to the public, and no longer on a pay subscription. So adjust your mental clocks accordingly...

 

It's merely my understanding, according to what was reported on the AFL's website, towards the end of the Wizard Cup.

If it is indeed true, then yes, it is an absolute godsend.

 

Some articles from the Wednesday papers here, from the Geelong perspective (of course)...

• 
  [*]Reduced line-up for the Saints match -- Geelong Advertiser
  
  [*]Ex-forward adds muscle to intimidating back line -- Geelong Advertiser Feature article on Cameron Mooney
  
  [*]Board talks compromise -- Geelong Advertiser Article on Ford, Geelong's main sponsor
  
  [*]Mooney ready to Hamill it out again -- The Herald Sun
  
  [*]Cats stick by Cup criticism -- The Age

And from the Saints camp...

• 
  [*]Milne selection up to psychologists: Thomas -- The Age
  
  [*]Saints focus firmly on return clash -- The Age
  
  [*]Saints keeping an eye on pair -- The Herald Sun

And a couple of other AAP wire-copy articles of note, as picked up by the Ballarat Courier:

Carlton @ Fremantle
Pagan's new ritual: Blues to blood up to 11 new debutants

Brisbane v Sydney
Voss fit to play Swans -- but no sure thing thereafter

 

More Geelong stuff, from Thursday morning's papers...

• [*]Thomas, Thompson exchange barbs -- The Herald Sun
  
  [*]Hard supporters put both eyes on the footy -- Geelong Advertiser My wife owns a pair of these glasses
  
  [*]Cats face grand final rematch -- Geelong Advertiser Includes some team news
  
  [*]Thompson cool on subject of Saints -- afl.com.au

And from the Saints' perspective...
Milne more likely to play than Montagna -- afl.com.au

 

Amerifolklegend goes by the informal abbreviated moniker of "AFL" on these boards.

And no, AFL, not unless you want to suit up for Carlton. I hear they need players very badly.

That is fantastic news for the Aussie Rules-loving bretheren back home. FSW always seems to join the party late on, but just in time, in this case.

 

And Geelong will get said revenge, too.

My wife and I are going to the match at Telstra Dome tomorrow night-- in fact, we're spending the whole day in Melbourne, taking the train up from Bacchus Marsh to do so.

We'll be picking up our 2004 Geelong FC memberships once we get there, as well as our choice seats for the match, and then I thought I'd spoil her silly with a nice cruise up and down the Yarra River and into Victoria Harbour. And then we'll be at the game, at Docklands.

And she knows all about the "spoil her silly" part, anyway (she does happen to post here).

I'll post my tips, the teams, and the news that matters, all momentarily.

 

Here's the only news from Friday that really matters...

Round One Teams -- afl.com.au

And for St. Kilda and Geelong...

ST KILDA
B: Baker, Penny, Voss
HB: Blake, Maguire, Jones
C: Black, Hayes, Goddard
HF: Riewoldt, Hamill, Harvey
F: Milne, Gehrig, Koschitzke
Foll: Knobel, Ball, Powell
Inter: Peckett, Thompson, Dal Santo, X.Clarke
Emerg: Schwarze, Montagna, Murray
New: ---

GEELONG
B: Harley, Scarlett, Sanderson
HB: Rahilly, Mooney, Milburn
C: Riccardi, Enright, Kelly
HF: Kingsley, Graham, Haynes
F: Ablett, McCarthy, Bartel
Foll: Chambers, Corey, Ling
Inter: Spriggs, Chapman, Hunt, Rooke
Emerg: Playfair, Moloney, Gardiner
New: ---

Interesting matchups for Geelong. Looks like Mark Thompson is trying to do what he couldn't take advantage of a fortnight ago, and that's the Cats' height advantage-- as per his forwards' reach over the Saints' defenders. Graham and McCarthy down the middle should be able to do something, as well as Haynes and Kingsley on the flanks and Ablett Jr. in one pocket.

The key to the match, IMO: If Cameron Ling (a pre-season smokey for the Brownlow Medal, so far) can keep Robert Harvey to 20 possessions or fewer, Geelong will win.

But the evergreen Harvey will still need help getting the ball into the Cats' defensive 50 to the likes of Frasier Gehrig and Aaron Hamill, St. Kilda will still have it tough against Geelong's solid back six.

 

The free live audio appears to be working well (although most of the time I'm listening to Triple M on a radio here).

Got the Richmond v Collingwood game on right now, and the likes of Brian Taylor and Sam Newman-- among a Friday Night Footy radio commentary team of them and James Brayshaw and Jason Dunstall-- are in wonderful voice at the moment.

As for the match itself, Collingwood captain Nathan Buckley kicked a goal from 55 metres within 30 seconds of the opening centre bounce of the season-- but Richmond lead at quarter time, 2.5 (17) to 1.2 (8).

Good thing, too, with all the trouble Tigers coach Danny Frawley has had to encounter during the offseason, and this week at Punt Road in particular.

Favouritism has Spud fuming -- The Herald Sun

And if you think that was funny (with apologies to Richmond supporters, of course), check out Mike Sheahan's column in Friday morning's Herald Sun.

At this rate, Frawley might as well pack his bags and come back to North Ballarat, where he was a Premiership-winning coach in the VFL and the Ballarat Football League in the early-to-mid-90's before getting hired by Richmond.

 

Three-quarter time...

Code:

Richmond    11.9 (75)
Collingwood    5.6 (36)

Five goals for the Tigers' Matthew Richardson and two more to new teammate Nathan Brown. And Andrew Krakouer is playing quite well, too. Improved play from the Tigers' forwards, that's the reason behind a 39-point lead at three-quarter time.

That, and the lack of targets for Collingwood to kick to inside 50, with Anthony Rocca still suspended and Tarkyn Lockyear still recovering from a knee reconstruction from last season.

Their goalkickers at this point are Buckley, Shane Woewodin (twice), Ben Johnson and Alan Didak-- not a forward among them! They have to do something inside 50, and fast, to have a prayer of pulling this one out.

 

Collingwood started strongly at the beginning of the final term, but could not sustain it.

Full time:

Code:

Richmond      14.13 (97)
Collingwood 8.9 (57)

Goal-kickers:

Richmond -- Matthew Richardson 5, Nathan Brown 2, Ty Zantuck, Mark Coughlan, David Rodan, Andrew Kellaway, Ray Hall, Greg Tivendale, Andrew Krakouer 1 each.

Collingwood -- Alan Didak 2, Shane Woewodin 2, Leon Davis, Ben Johnson, Nathan Buckley, Chris Tarrant 1 each.

 

Yeah, I still think this is the case.

Buckley had 31 possessions and Paul Licuria added 27 possies, but Collingwood did a terrible job of maintaining possession effectively, and an even worse job of delivering the ball inside the Tigers' 50.

Not their best display by a longshot, but getting Rocca back next week against the Western Bulldogs will give them a bonafide target in the forward line. Alan Didak did OK in a makeshift role for them last night, but he's really a converted backline player, in truth.

But full credit to Danny Frawley-- in a tumultuous week at Richmond, he had a gameplan which started with keeping his players focused on the matter at hand and not on the boardroom flux, and his players produced on the field, especially when it came to the performances of Richardson and Nathan Brown.

 

We were there last night-- and that was a very disgusting performance by Geelong. I'll formulate my complete thoughts on it later, suffice it to say that I'm still hung over and I have a very sore throat from all that yelling and barracking last night.

One thought, though-- Mark Thompson, the Geelong coach, should be held accountable for what happened. More than that, he should be sacked.

 

The trip itself was fantastic. Great way to relieve the stress of the week (with the exception of the way the game turned out, of course). The highlight of the day was the chartered cruise boat trip down the Yarra River and into Victoria Harbour. For those ever to visit Melbourne, this comes highly recommended. In fact, to put a footy spin on it, there are even "water taxis" that go up and down the Yarra, and they can drop you off within walking or other commuting distance from either the MCG or Telstra Dome.

Indeed, I'm an ex-pat Yank, and I am very familiar with the sport dating back to when ESPN was first starting out and was airing the old VFL when they needed anything for programming time. I'd say that was the late 1970s, and I've broadened my knowledge of Aussie Rules and still thirsting for knowledge of the sport since then.

I've done enough in that regard to be able to write freelance features for publications and websites, just like I've done with my background and upbringing as a soccer journo, and cover a local country footy league here for the Ballarat Courier newspaper.

I would say that a vast majority of the Aussies here are very complentary towards a Yank, or anyone else that gets involved in barracking and supporting their teams.

My wife and I, incidentally, had our wedding reception at the Geelong Football Club's social rooms a little more than two years ago, and since then, we've been on a friendly basis with many of the staff members of the GFC-- including the woman who coordinated the reception for us, we seem to get a call from her, socially-related, at least a couple of times a season.

So all in all, the game has given me a lot of pleasure and a lot of rewards, even though it's far from a native game from where I was born.

 

And here are all the results from Round 1...

Out of respect for those who want to wait until the AFL match of the round and a highlights package is aired on Fox Sports World back home, I will conceal the results. Highlight them if you want to know what they are.

[result]FINAL SCORES
Richmond 14. 13. (97) def. Collingwood 8. 9. (57)
Hawthorn 17. 17. (119) def. Melbourne 10. 10. (70)
Fremantle 15. 17. (107) def. Carlton 8. 12. (60)
St Kilda 19. 8. (122) def. Geelong 9. 7. (61)
Brisbane Lions 11. 14. (80) def. Sydney Swans 11. 12. (78)
Port Adelaide 23. 20. (158) def. Essendon 8. 14. (62)
Kangaroos 23. 11. (149) def. Adelaide 10. 14. (74)
Western Bulldogs 20. 17. (137) def. by West Coast Eagles 22. 12. (144) [/result]

I went 4-4 on my tipping, a very disappointing week for me. And since my wife picked exactly the same teams I did, she shares in my dismay. Misery loves company, I guess...