AFL Round 1

Round 1 was a round full of upsets and great matches. The AFL season kicked off with St Kilda against Melbourne at the MCG Friday night.
On saturday, the matches are:
Fremantle Vs PortAdelaide at Subiaco
Kangaroos V Collingwood at MCG
Lions V Hawks at Gabba
West Coast V Sydney at SCG

Sunday's matches are:
Adelaide V Essendon at AAMI
Geelong V Bulldogs at Telstra Dome
Carlton V Richmond at MCG

To see the final scores, the ladder and some important comments, click AFL Round 1


Melbourne 62 - by St Kilda 93 at MCG
This was the first match for the Saints new coach, and its always good to get the first win. The Demons were sloppy and the key players were not playing to their full best.

Fremantle 105 - PortAdelaide 121 at Subiaco
This was the first of many upsets in Round 1. Freo dominated the first half, leading by almost 30 points at one stage. But the Power came back hard in the 3rd quarter, kicking 10 goals, and then 3 goals in the last quarter to defeat Freo at their home ground.

Kangaroos 79 - Collingwood 82 at MCG
A great match between these 2 sides. The Kangaroos were in front throughout the whole game, until the final quarter. The Magpies kicked 7 goals in the final quarter to seal the win. However, Shannon Grant missed from 15 m out hitting the post after having a 50 m penalty. Kangaroo fans will not be happy because the umpire did not give him the full 50 m.

Lions 69 - Hawks 44 at Gabba
Lions were just too strong for the Hawks at the Gabba. This year, the lions re back to their full strength as their key players emerge from Injury. It was a tight match, but the win earns the Lions top spot for this week.

West Coast 74 - Sydney 73 at SCG
Everyone was waiting for this Grand Final rematch, and the margin at the end WAS like the final. At first, it seemed West Coast were going to thrash the Swans, leading by almost 30 points at Half-Time. But the eagles kicked only 1 goal in the second half, to the swans 7. Kerr's tackle in the final seconds helped the Eagles scrape their win.

Adelaide 74 - Essendon 105 at AAMI
This match was the biggest upset of the round. The last time these two met, the crows thrashed the bombers, kicking a massive 30 GOALS! This time round, the crows managed only 10 goals. The bombers had their full side back, and look like an unbeatable team unless, like last year, their key players get injured.

Geelong 93 - Bulldogs 113 at Telstra Dome
Bulldogs were just too quick for the Cats. It was Akers first match for the Bulldogs after leaving the Lions. The key match-up was Brad Johnson vs one of the best defenders Matthew Scarlett. However, Johnson was simply too quick and strong against his much taller opponent, kicking a huge 8 GOALS on his own. For the Cats, Nathan Ablett had his best match, kicking 3 goals.

Carlton 115 - Richmond 98 at MCG
There was tremendous pressure on this years NAB Cup winners to maintain their winning streak, and gain the trust of their supporters. The Blues were not accurate kicking a total of 25 behinds. The Tigers looked much better in the first 3 quarters and seemed they will win. But, like they have been doing in the NAB cup, the Blues made a massive comeback and stole the win from their long time rivals.

So, round one is over...How does the ladder look? Who is on top? Who's at the bottom? Check it out:

AFL Ladder

Team

W

L

D

F

A

%

P

1. Brisbane

2

0

0

171

94

182

8

2. Essendon

1

0

0

105

74

142

4

3. Western Bulldogs

1

0

0

114

93

123

4

4. Carlton

1

0

0

115

98

117

4

5. Port Adelaide

1

0

0

121

105

115

4

6. Collingwood

1

0

0

82

79

104

4

7. West Coast

1

0

0

74

73

101

4

9. St Kilda

1

1

0

143

164

87

4

8. Sydney

0

1

0

73

74

99

0

10. Kangaroos

0

1

0

79

82

96

0

11. Fremantle

0

1

0

105

121

87

0

12. Richmond

0

1

0

98

115

85

0

13. Geelong

0

1

0

93

114

82

0

14. Adelaide

0

1

0

74

105

70

0

15. Melbourne

0

1

0

62

93

67

0

16. Hawthorn

0

1

0

44

69

64

0