Eight teams remain undefeated as Port Adelaide rule the roast at the top of the ladder. Eight teams are still winless, with the Dockers dwelling below all at the bottom. The coaches authorized their defensive structures more and at times it wasn’t pretty to watch. We didn’t see the free-flowing, offensive branded footy of Round One. The competition remains as open as we’ve ever seen it before which is setting the stage for a compelling season. 

THE GOOD

High in the sky

The specky is still well and truly alive in 2017. Dale Thomas finally gave Blues fans something to cheer about, taking a ‘something out of nothing’ hanger. Tom Boyd soared through a pack to clang onto a ripping grab against Sydney, whilst Jeremy Howe seems to take a mark of the year contender weekly. It was Paul Puopolo who rose above them all, catapulting himself over Jake Kelly and into the heavens on Saturday afternoon. Puopolo provided Hawks fans with a silver lining on the day, kicking three goals and asserting a mark of the year contender which will be hard to top at season’s end.

Comeback Cats

The Cats were staring down the barrel of defeat on Sunday afternoon. North Melbourne lead by 25-points at three quarter time and were largely in control of the game. A five goal to one fourth quarter saw Geelong snatch a one-point victory, including a long bomb from Darcy Lang to equalize the scores and a game winner from George Horlin-Smith with one-minute remaining. Whilst there were unlikely heroes emerging everywhere for Geelong, the infamous Dangerfield/Selwood midfield duo recorded 11 disposals apiece in the final quarter to lead the charge.

Deja Vu

Liam Picken was one of many heroes in the 2016 Grand Final, his brilliance was on show again in the rematch between the Western Bulldogs and the Swans. Much like the Grand Final, Picken dominated the fourth quarter and pushed the Bulldogs over the line in an electrifying game on Friday night. Buddy Franklin’s magic was also a highlight, kicking three consecutive goals from 55-meters out in the fourth quarter. Franklin finished with 4.3 on the night. Sam Reid enjoyed a breakout performance for Sydney, booting a career-high six goals, whilst Travis Cloke settled into his new colours with an impressive three goal outing.

THE BAD

Wounded Saints

One week after losing their franchise player in Nick Riewoldt to a knee injury, the Saints will be without star midfielder Jack Steven for at least one week. Steven is currently hospitalized after puncturing his lung and injuring his ribs in St Kilda’s bruising encounter with West Coast. St Kilda were the better team for the most part of the night, only surrendering the lead at the 21-minute mark of the final term. Remarkably, Steven ran out the game despite sustaining the injury. The Saints were wasteful in front of goal on the night and fell victim to Josh Kennedy’s late heroics, who booted three goals in the fourth quarter to seal West Coast’s victory.

Misfiring Magpies

Collingwood’s 0-2 start to 2017 can largely be attributed to their goal kicking inaccuracy. In Round One, the Pies scored 12.14, following it up with 11.14 in Round Two. Thursday night’s scrappy affair opened up in the second half, as Richmond got honest performances from their new look midfield, including Josh Caddy (19 disposals, one goal) and Dion Prestia (24 disposals). Dustin Martin (25 disposals, two goals) and Trent Cotchin (26 disposals, two goals) certified themselves on the game, whilst Sydney recruit Toby Nankervis appears to be the steal of the off-season for the Tigers. Collingwood may look to employ the services of set-shot specialist coach to get their season back on track.

Western Divide

While West Coast sit pretty in equal first place on the ladder, Fremantle is dwindling at the very bottom. Not even the return of Nat Fyfe can salvage the Dockers or a shrewd off season which saw them add seasoned names like Bradley Hill, Shane Kersten, Joel Hamling and Cam McCarthy. McCarthy, in particular, looks unconditioned to play AFL after missing all of last year, whilst the Dockers youngsters are failing to take the reins of this team from the likes of veterans Dave Mundy and Aaron Sandilands. Fremantle fell to Port Adelaide by 89-points, Robbie Gray torching them with 30 disposals and whopping six goals. Ollie Wines was sensational again, recording 31 disposals and two goals himself.

THE UGLY

Green Machine outshines Suns

There aren’t many positive signs for the Gold Coast Suns. It appears father time and injuries are finally catching up to the legendary Gary Ablett, they possess no real identity and find themselves 17th on the ladder after being obliterated by GWS by 102-points on the weekend. They’re an early front runner for the wooden spoon and would require a miracle to get themselves back into finals hunt of season 2017 with such a widespread of competition. Despite being gifted with an array of young talent and platter of mature age pieces; the Suns have only gone backwards since their dawn in 2011. Toby Greene excelled for GWS on the weekend with 22 disposals and five goals, whilst Jake Kelly (27 disposals, three goals) and Jeremy Cameron (six goals) were invincible for the Giants. The weekend’s clash highlighted how far progressed GWS is from Gold Coast as the two newest expansion teams of the competition.