With round one of the AFL season in the bag it’s time to take a look at who played well, how badly I tipped and a few other general observations from what was a pretty surprising first week of footy. Also, in what will be an ongoing feature, I will name my team of the week from the past weeks action.
SURPRISE SURPRISE 
The Bombers taking care of the Crows was a huge upset. While I’m still not sold on Essendon as a genuine contender they certainly gave their faithful fans something to be happy about. Jetta and Davey we exciting in patches and Lucas was outstanding. This game may also have been a good sign that the Crows are finally slowing up. I’ve been saying they are too old and slow for the last two seasons and Neil Craig’s men have proven me wrong continually be maybe father time has finally caught up.
Port Adelaide were outstanding in beating Fremantle in the West and they were led by Tigers discard David Rodan. Many people thought Rodan was on the scrapheap but it looks like Port may be set to turn someone else’s coal in to a diamond just like they did with Josh Mahoney. An even bigger surprise in this game was that Port still won the game while letting Matthew Pavlich run wild. The Pav was everywhere but it still wasn’t enough for the Dockers.
Whilst Collingwood’s victory over the Kangaroos was not unexpected for some it was definitely a surprise to me. The Roos are week one specialists and are also super impressive at closing out games. Shannon Grant’s miss was amazing given his usual proficiency in that area and the delight he normally takes in stealing victory from the opposition when his team trails.
SAME OLD STORY
The umpiring had been a discussion point all summer and in round one it was no different. The incorrect 50m penalty was bad enough but the inconsistency in both the holding the ball decisions and the hands in the back rule drove me and about 40,000 other fans at the St Kilda vs Melbourne game mad. As a Saints fan I can defiantly say that the Dees got the rough end of the pineapple and that the rules committee has something to answer for.
A one point margin between the Eagles and Swans was a case of deja vu all over again. Messer’s Judd and Kerr once again led the way while fellow cohorts Cox (late withdrawal) and Cousins (holidaying in Arizona) were on the sidelines. It seems every time these teams turn out there is nothing more that a point or two in it.
TEAM OF THE WEEK
B Clement C.Bolton Jacobs
HB M.Johnson Ryder Kennelly
C Montanga Black N.Stevens
HF Pavlich Lucas S.Thompson
F Rodan Gehrig B.Johnson
Fol Seaby Judd Kerr
Just missing out: Lockyer, Ball, Moloney, Sandilands, Bock, Jetta, Kirk, Pettifer
TIPPING
Only three from eight this week. I was on the money with the Bulldogs, Blues and Lions. This was enough to leave me one position behind my wife in the footy tips and tied with my co-host Mark Franklin.
Article written by Luke Mather from oneweekatatime.com.au
