Round 2 Preview

And what a round we have this week! And this is what I think:

Brisbane vs Carlton (Gabba) Thursday Night.
Easter Thursday has lined up a beauty! Brendon Fevola up against his old side! Brown and Fevola versus Carlton should be an interesting clash. The main thing that I reckon will be a deciding factor will be stopping Brown and Fevola from marking the ball because that's where they will get the most scoring power from. Brown and Fevola took 15 out of 20 marks inside 50 last week, and that was the deciding factor. When deciding on who to tip in this game that was the main thing I had to take into consideration and if Carlton are going to beat Brisbane then they will need to spoil the ball heaps. In this case I still think the Lions will have that edge just but Carlton will challenge and win by 12 points.

Collingwood vs Melbourne (MCG) Saturday.
Well. The Pies had a really good win against the Dogs last week and for the first time in a while genuinely impressed me. Whether they will go on to win the flag is another thing. Melbourne on the otherhand were not as impressive, they were not good at all. Their experienced players were lacking omph and let Hawthorn win well. Their young players in Scully and Trengrove are the ones that are going to be the future of the club in their movement forward. Realistically to me this was an easy tip to do if you can put it that way. Collingwood will win by 63 points.

St Kilda vs North Melbourne (Etihad Stadium) Saturday Night.
St Kilda got the win first up which was expected but they were challenged by the Swans. North started not good and finished off a lot better. North Melbourne was one of the few teams to beat the Saints but not by much. It will be interesting to see North with their second hitout under their new coach Scott. St Kilda have a lot to prove this year that they can still go further this year after just missing out last year. I do believe that in this case St Kilda will win and find some form by 24 points.

West Coast vs Port Adelaide (Subiaco) Saturday Night.
This is one of the matches of the round for me. Purely because both teams have tallented young players that will carry them well into the future. Being at Subiaco will give the Eagles some much needed home ground advantage but Port have been good over in Western Australia in previous times. West Coast had a tough game last week going to Brisbane for Round one but they did impress me and will take confidence going back home in order to play this game. The question would be whos engine room will be most effective as I think both are evenly matched. I am going to predict an upset and Port Adelaide will win by 4 points.

Adelaide vs Sydney (AAMI) Sunday.
Both teams lost first up, the Swans were a bit more gallant in defeat whereas Adelaide were lacking oomp! Having said that when a team is tipped to win the previous week and ends up playing poorly it's always good to get on board them the following week. Adelaide have handy inclusions but I like the look of Sydney in this occassion. I think that the home ground advantage will be the difference and Adelaide will win by 19 points.

Essendon vs Fremantle (Etihad) Sunday.
Before the game Matthew Lloyd will have a lap of honor. Is that going to spur the Bombers? It does generally have a good effect however not all the time. Fremantle had a magnificent win one which I was really impressed with. Essendon were really gallant in defeat and that will spur them on the fact that if they played their cards right they could have caused a major upset. The big question for me in this game is whether Fremantle can win away from home? Especially in Melbourne where they are not really good. Could they sursprise people for the second week in a row? I personally think not and Essendon will win this one by 28 points.

Richmond vs Western Bulldogs (MCG) Sunday.
Richmond were really lacking last week, turnovers, the usual song and dance caused the defeat. Western Bulldogs were outclassed by a Collingwood side looking to get to the Grand Final after just missing out last year. The big thing in this game would be if Richmond can iron out their turnovers then that will make them improve. If Richmond can come out with heart then they will have a chance. But I know that you will be dumb not to back the Dogs after last week's performance, they will be pumped for it! So having said that Western Bulldogs will win by 42 points.

Hawthorn vs Geelong (MCG) Monday.
Both teams were impressive last week. This was such a tough game to tip. Geelong were awesome with coming back and winning by 31 points in the last quarter. Whereas Hawthorn were great without some of their stars in Bateman, Rioli and Franklin. Hmm. Matchups are going to be important and especially in the engine room. Hawthorn have an awesome forwardline, Geelong have the ability to match them up. Whoever dominates the midfield will dominate the game. In this case it's the Cats to win by 13 points.

Well I got 8 last week, what can I do this week?

More to follow.....