AFL Round 2 2023 Tips & Preview

Carlton managed to take away two points from their Round 1 clash with Richmond in a lackluster game that had few highlights for either side.

It’s worth pointing out that the Blues were without Sam Walsh and they blooded a couple of youngsters that played well including Matthew Owies and Lachlan Cowan.

The Cats premiership defence got off to a shaky start with a defeat to Collingwood on Friday night and on the surface it was hard not to be disappointed in Chris Scott’s men.

It’s important not to overreact during round one until the dust settles, Collingwood might prove to be a very good football team come seasons’ end.

The free flowing football and skill level in that game as opposed to Thursday night was a stark contrast and I’m confident the Cats can bounce back.

Geelong has covered the line in their last six games following a loss and Carlton has lost their last 16 games against reigning premiers.

It was always going to be a tough road trip for Brisbane having to head to Adelaide to take on Port, but it was the way in which the Lions were beaten that is most concerning.

They simply couldn’t get their hands on the football, recording just 264 total disposals which is the second fewest by a team since 2013.

They only went inside their forward 50 40 times but they went at 37.5% efficiency when it was in there, you will not win games of football doing that.

If Brisbane were the least impressive side of Round 1, they run into the most impressive to come out of the opening weekend.

If Melbourne were a race horse, they came into their first up run having won a couple of trials by six lengths.

They had 30 shots at goal against the Western Bulldogs, thumping them by 50 points with all the usual suspects at the fore.

Gawn, Petracca and Oliver were among the best on the ground and Ben Brown managed four goals up forward.

There will be a period of adjustments for a lot of teams, such as Brisbane, early in the season who have recruited key pieces into their team.

This is not the case for Melbourne who have the pillars of success already in their team.

I can’t see Brisbane turning their form around quickly enough to beat a team like Melbourne who are clearly flying early season.

Collingwood stamped themselves as a genuine threat by beating the defending premiers Geelong on Friday night.

The way they effortlessly transitioned from fast ball movement through the middle of the ground into controlling the football with short kicks to keep possession was impressive.

Their will to win and never give up was a strength during 2022 and they proved they have lost none of that hunger, coming from over three goals down on three separate occasions to win by 22 points.

Port Adelaide couldn’t have been much more impressive in their round one win over Brisbane.

They seem to have a really good balance of talented young players who are ready to hit their prime (Butters, Rozee, Duursma) and quality experienced campaigners (Wines, Dixon, Boak).

I want to see Port do it again before I can get excited about their prospects and Collingwood have won 11 of their last 12 at the MCG.

A lot of pundits were worried about how many games Collingwood won by small margins last year and expected them to fall down the ladder because of it.

The opposite was true for those assessing the chances of Richmond in 2023 with the Tigers losing so many close games last year.

Tim Taranto slotted into the midfield well gathering 32 disposals and 542 meters gained for his new team and Dusty had 23 touches, 15 of them kicks.

Adelaide had four points in front of them but failed to capitalise against GWS in round one.

They had just one fewer shot on goal but kicked 12.18 to go down by 16 points in hot conditions.

There is plenty to like about the Crows in terms of young talent and Josh Rachele seems to improve with every game he plays gathering 18 possessions and booting three goals in the loss.

It will continue to take time for Adelaide to gel despite being back home, I think they have their work cut out for them against a Richmond side that will be disappointed in the way they started their season.

Ross Lyon returned to St Kilda and made an immediate impact with the Saints marching on toward a successful start to season 2023.

Were the Saints super impressive or were Freo disappointing?

I certainly want to see the Saints do it again because they are a super inconsistent football team and one I struggle to get a firm grip on.

The Western Bulldogs are another team that are tough to work out.

They made a lot of structural changes to their side during the off season, opting to go tall up forward, possibly leaving themselves a little sparce through the middle of the ground.

This was evident against a Melbourne midfield that dominated for large portions of the contest.

St Kilda has failed to cover the line in seven of its last eight night matches and the Western Bulldogs have won each of their last nine Saturday night matches at Marvel Stadium.

It’s a matter of who I trust more and that remains the Dogs at this stage.

Fremantle had a fantastic 2022 season, exceeding all expectations to play football beyond August but they were extremely disappointing in round one in a loss to St Kilda.

Just how much can we look into that performance remains to be seen.

In contrast, North Melbourne kicked off the Alistair Clarkson era with a win against the West Coast Eagles but I’m just not sure how to read that form either.

Regardless of that, there was plenty to like about some of the Kangaroos youngsters none more so than first gamer Harry Sheezel who collected 34 touches and gained 631 meters for his team.

North have lost their last 13 straight away games and Fremantle have beaten the Roos by 40+ in their last four games.

The Hawthorn recruiting staff have left the Hawks very thin on experience and it showed during their big loss to Essendon in round one.

The young Hawks were competitive for the first half but were completely blown out in the second half to lose by 59 points.

They are at the bottom of the ladder, and although we don’t want to get carried away after just one game, it’s tough to see them climbing much higher by seasons end.

A huge Grand Final defeat at the hands of Geelong had many punters and pundits asking how Sydney would bounce back early in season 2023.

Some of those questions were answered when they headed to the Gold Coast and flexed their muscles during the opening round.

There are few teams with a better young list of players that are ready to make their mark on the competition and seek revenge than the Swans and they can easily cover the line this week back at the SCG.

The market had the Gold Coast Suns in the contest when they hosted Sydney in the opening round but the punters got that one wrong.

The Suns were never in the contest and they were beaten by a better side at a different stage of their development.

Essendon sit atop the AFL ladder after their big win over Hawthorn and while their are a few excited Bombers supporters, we may need to pump the brakes a bit.

Plenty of good signs, good ball movement and a willingness to chase and tackle were all a positive and if they bring that level of effort this week they should be beating the Suns in Melbourne.

It’s been a tough 18 months for West Coast and their supporters, winning just two games during a horribly disappointing 2022 season.

Things did no start as planned this year either, going down to North Melbourne by five points in the opening round.

They did manage the last three goals of the game and their pressure and tackling throughout the game was above par.

A lot is being made of GWS and their win over Adelaide last weekend and I want to take nothing away from a resilient win in the face of adversity.

In extremely hot conditions and with a number of players unavailable through concussion and injury, they managed to grind out an important win.

But it was the Crows, and they were at home.

It’s hard to trust the Eagles right now but they get a GWS side that struggles in the heat and are being asked to travel across the country.

And we are getting a nice price.