THE BIG 5 - AFL Round 2
Form reversals from the Crows and the Blues, umpires getting a pay rise, Barry Hall’s injury and a potential Easter Monday fizzer. These are the top five points of discussion this week.
5. Were we too soon to judge Adelaide?Too slow. Too old. A second round match up with the young, fit, virile, fit Western Bulldogs was not going to be the antidote. Or maybe it was. Perhaps the shock loss to Essendon had more to do with desire than attributes. They still have class. This was not the team that embarrassed at AAMI Stadium last Sunday. Chris McDermott said before the game that the Crows can’t win the flag. He may be right, but what are the odds there will be a retraction this week?
4. Were we too soon to judge Carlton?Ooh this had shades of 2006, 2005 and the rest. A fighting win followed by a shellacking. We’ll hear the same lines about kids developing. Bryce Gibbs continues to come along nicely. Lance Whitnall has to be a major concern. The Blues won despite him against Richmond. This week he was just as ineffective.
3. Do umpires deserve the same pay rise as players?Everyone is cashing in. Next well have the catering companies and ground janitors demanding their slice of the new pie. In all seriousness, the umpires are part of the show. A necessary evil that needs to be encouraged. Television money has increased by over 50 percent and the umpires will get a 23 per cent jump over the next five years. Not an almighty rise and not an unreasonable ask from the men in white.
2. Should Barry Hall have been risked?If there is one club that knows how to look after it’s own it has to be the Swans. Their player management has been the most responsible in the competition and an enormous reason behind their continued success. The Swans are not a club that needs to make a statement in round 2, so it would be outrageous to suggest they unduly risked their star of stars. His limping was attributed to an ankle strain, not the awkward looking hyper extended knee. Good enough.
1. Why is Hawthorn v Melbourne in a marquee slot?Years of complaining by the middle of the road Melbourne clubs seems to have paid off, because we have a couple of duds in the Easter Monday spotlight. Sure, both were dreadful on opening weekend, however it is difficult to justify that this ever deserved prime time status. Of all the codes, AFL has the most carefully placed draw. That makes the placement more difficult to fathom. Even Geelong against Carlton had more going for it than this. Let’s just hope it’s close.
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