Grinners

Those who love an upset

And wasn’t it a weekend for it? Port Adelaide crushed a Carlton that’s in serious strife. Brisbane snuck home against the powerful Eagles. But most astonishingly, Melbourne defeat Essendon by pressuring them into mistakes as well as playing their own game to grab their first win for the season. Astonishing weekend.

Those who love a close one

Not only that, but Brisbane’s sneak home and Melbourne’s scrappy victory were under ten points. However, the true holder of this goes to the Friday night spectacle, where Richmond and St Kilda engaged in a shootout to have only an eight-point difference despite 34 goals being scored between the two sides.

Those who love the Coleman race

Started with Jack Riewoldt on Friday night incredibly scoring eight to take the lead. Tex Walker kept himself well in the hunt with 4 goals. But Lance Franklin’s amazing 13-goal haul sent him storming to the lead. Whether his accuracy issues continue will remain to be seen, but right now the race has taken a fantastic turn.

Those who love dominant midfield displays

Jude Bolton’s 41-disposal, 2 goal haul was fantastic. Jobe Watson, despite being in a losing side, was dangerous all night. The combined talents of Brett Deledio and Trent Cotchin roving through the midfield were a joy to behold. But Gary Ablett’s incredible 53-possession game against Collingwood was simply phenomenal.

Collingwood

The Pies have slyly gotten away with yet another win and have drawn level with Adelaide, West Coast and Essendon on points. It’s hard to believe, but the best-supported side in the competition is not gaining much attention from the media eye.

Mark Neeld

Pressure valve released. And thank goodness, it was ridiculous for the media to target a first-year coach.

Moaners

North Melbourne

The Kangaroos look bereft of fight and completely inept. Ultimately, where does the blame lie? Is it at the foot of the coaches who institute the gameplan and demand high performance at the expense of particular individuals, or the players who struggle to get involved?

Carlton

It’s at the stage where if Carlton lose to Geelong next week and the Saints defeat Gold Coast, the Blues drop out of the eight. Chris Judd is struggling, they are without Murphy and Carazzo for a few weeks yet and they struggle against pressure football. Doubts are there about their premiership chances and their top four chances. But could they miss the finals? If their form doesn’t change soon it’s still possible, particularly as no-one is sure how many wins will be needed for the eight this year.

Essendon

The Bombers were arrogant and paid the price totally.

Gold Coast

Do the kids rely on Ablett too much? It’s a thought; they looked a heck of a lot better without him.

Fremantle

So close, yet so very far. The comparisons continue with St Kilda 2007. Whether they’ll improve in 2013 is yet to be seen, but right now they’re either completely inept at scoring or getting into a massive shootout.