The biggest upset of the round came at the MCG on Friday night when the Tigers went from chocolates to boiled lollies. After comfortably defeating Collingwood in Round 1, Richmond was expected to make light work of the hapless Demons. Instead it was Richmond that was embarrassed going down by 59 points. David Neitz kicked nine goals and starred for the winners along with Brad Green and Clint Bizzell. Mark Chaffey, Kane Johnson and Nathan Brown were the best for Richmond.
The Western Bulldogs snatched defeat from the jaws of victory for the second week running, going down to Collingwood by nine points. The Bulldogs led by as much as 32 points midway through the second quarter but the Magpies pegged them back in the final quarter. Chris Tarrant and Anthony Rocca did the job up forward for the winners but it was the work of Josh Fraser and Nathan Buckley in the midfield that set up the win.
Adelaide may has well have packed up and gone home at quarter time in its match against Brisbane at AAMI Stadium. The Lions were brilliant early and led by 46 points at the first break before running out 21-point winners. Michael Voss was brilliant kicking seven goals. Nigel Lappin and Mal Michael were the other stars. Simon Goodwin was the best for the losers.
Port Adelaide scored an important away win against West Coast in the closest match of the round. Warren Tredrea was again magnificent kicking five goals and being the key to Port’s three-point win. Kane Cornes also continued his good early season form as did Shaun Burgoyne. Chris Judd and Ashley Sampi were the best players for West Coast.
Big bad Barry Hall was at his brilliant best for Sydney, kicking five goals and being the dominant player on the ground as his side accounted for Fremantle by 31 points. Paul Williams and Stuart Maxfield won plenty of the ball in the midfield to ensure their side had plenty of opportunities in front of goal. Matthew Pavlich was the standout for the Dockers, kicking three goals and taking some sensational marks.
If Geelong hasn’t hit rock bottom, it isn’t far off after suffering a humiliating 54-point loss to Carlton at Optus oval this afternoon. The Cats led by 19 points early in the game but fell away horribly as Carlton took another step towards earning the respect of the football world. Scott Camporeale and Brendan Fevola (five goals) were the best for the Blues. James Kelly was one of the few Cats who could hold his head up high.
The Kangaroos might just be the most under-rated side in the AFL and they proved it today, scoring a comfortable 29-point win over Hawthorn. Those who didn’t include them in their pre-season prognostications might now want to think twice. It was the usual suspects for the Roos – Shannon Grant, Brent Harvey and Leigh Colbert were all superb. Joel Smith and Peter Everitt tried hard for the Hawks but their delivery into the forward line was deplorable.
