AFL Round 1

The 2023 AFL season is finally here! Some massive fixtures to start the new campaign. Richmond v Carlton. Geelong v Collingwood. Port Adelaide v Brisbane.

Melbourne v Western Bulldogs. Geelong v Collingwood. Richmond v Carlton.

It has been six long months of patient waiting, pretending to be interested in the pre-season and having to sate our desire for games…

Essendon have a new coach in Brad Scott, but it remains to be seen whether he’ll propel them into the scrap for finals. Hawks/Bombers fixtures have lost their lustre a little in recent times, and both teams look set to be in for long seasons. The opening fixture, as usual, seems to be a belter; and now that the Blues have beaten the Tigers in Round 1 in the last 10 years, it feels like a genuine coin flip. The Power, on the other hand, have a golden opportunity to start the year with a statement win in front of their home fans to start their path to redeeming their shocker of a 2022, and ease some pressure on Ken Hinkley. I do not rate the Dogs this year, and honestly think things might get a little uncomfy for Luke Beveridge if they underperform this season. This won’t be a blowout in either direction, but like most games in the opening round, it’s hard to predict. And kicking a winning score has always been a thorn in the side for Ross the Boss. Whether Tom Hawkins is fit will play a big role, as will Jeremy Cameron’s availability for the entire game. What I’ve come up with is this: the Dees don’t have the tall forwards to really trouble the Dogs aerially like some other sides did last year, and it’s yet to be proven whether the Max Gawn-Brodie Grundy combination can work in the real stuff. I’m excited to see what Alastair Clarkson brings to the table at North, and anticipate a few sneaky new tactics that catch the odd team off guard in the early rounds before everyone figures them out. I’m big on Richmond this year and slightly cooler on Carlton than most, but the Tiges will need time for Tim Taranto and Jacob Hopper to gel in their system and develop chemistry with their forwards. So for starters, the Blues will knock off the Tigers in the season opener.

1987 was a year of expansion for what was still the VFL. The West Coast Eagles and Brisbane Bears entered the competition. They both started off very well ...

Johnson kicked three goals in a row for five for the game, the last seemed to seal the win for Bulldogs. After a pretty even first quarter the Crows put the foot down and kicked seven goals five behinds to Carlton’s 0.0 in the second quarter. However, Adelaide kept on coming and a Scott Stevens goal brought the margin back to four points. Dunstall kicked nine goals three behinds and would go on to kick 101 goals for the year, the sixth time he reached that milestone. Richmond kicked seven goals to the Eagles’ three in the third quarter to lead by 33 points. However, there was one thorn in their side in the form of Richmond star Matthew Richardson who kicked eight goals one behind. The AFL now had 15 teams and implemented a top six to play finals. With the support of the home ground, they kicked nine goals to one in the last quarter to win by 14 points. However, due to the strength in the Essendon team he would only play eight senior games. Essendon responded by kicking seven of the next nine goals to only trail by 13 points at the halfway mark. Sydney came out of the blocks hard, kicking the first eight goals of the game. Carlton were coming off a dominate 1981 season, finishing on top of the ladder and beating arch rivals Collingwood in the grand final.

BET: COLLINGWOOD $2.55 to win. NORTH MELBOURNE $1.83 V WEST COAST EAGLES $1.97 – 1.45pm Marvel Stadium, Saturday. The two bottom teams from last year meet. This ...

These teams are four and four from their last eight matches. This could be a danger match though. - BET: Don’t. They look over the odds. - BET: DON’T - BET: -10.5 points Fremantle at $1.90 - BET: Toby Greene most goals. Get on the Pies. - BET: The Gold Coast to win at $2.28. - BET: 15 points either way. - BET: COLLINGWOOD $2.55 to win. - BET: 15 points either way

Cats make call on star; Hawks, Crows confirm debuts amid Dees' 'monster' blow: Team Whispers.

McGovern and Martin were lucrative signings in successive seasons in 2019 and 2020 but both have struggled with continuity at the Blues. Trade acquisition Toby Bedford would’ve been in the mix, but a recent hamstring injury is expected to sideline him for the first few weeks of the season. the 23 we pick will all have had full summers and be fit. “Clearly the ones we’d love to have are our key power forwards. But Goodwin was keen not to heighten early expectations for a combination that will “evolve”. “I was pretty confident (of playing Round 1). They are going to have an impact in a whole range of different areas. Chesser, who was the Eagles’ top 2021 draft pick but didn’t play senior footy last year primarily due to injury, has also put together a strong summer. I think what we need to be really careful of is to judge purely on scoreboard impact. Most impressively, 11 of the midfielder’s 24 disposals led to Hawthorn scores. That could see him get the nod ahead of 188cm backman Murphy. “Right now it is completely normal and it’s just a waiting game.

RICHMOND v CARLTON MCG, Thursday March 16, 7.20pm AEDT. RICHMOND Backs: Balta, Vlastuin, Grimes Half-backs: Broad, Baker, D. Rioli

I/C: B.Hardwick 15 C.Macdonald 31 T.Brockman 33 I/C: N.Martin 37 M.D’Ambrosio 42 A.McDonald-Tipungwuti 43 I/C: B.Campbell 16 N.Blakey 22 D.Stephens 3 L.McDonald 6 C: M.Wood 32 J.Steele - C 9 R.Byrnes 13 I/C: B.Ainsworth 9 L.Casboult 30 A.Davies 5 J.Jeffrey 40 I/C: A.Brayshaw 10 B.Laurie 16 T.Rivers 24 T.McDonald 25 I/C: J.Johannisen 39 J.Bruce 17 O.Baker 13 M.Hannan 29 I/C: A.Witherden 23 X.O’Neill 24 J.Jones 31 C.Jamieson 40 I/C: P.Curtis 25 H.Greenwood 18 M.Bergman 27 B.Cunnington 10 I/C: Newman, Cerra, E. I/C: Miller, Pickett, Cotchin, Mansell I/C: S.Pendlebury 10, B.McCreery 31, N.Murphy 28, M.Cox 46