MORE: AFL Round 2 Photos | Paul Roos Dee-flated
Blues are cooked
The season may only be two rounds in, but already it looks like Carlton are going nowhere. Their list is a rabble and not good enough to make the finals. They opened the season with two winnable matches and butchered them both. Against the Power they were completely overrun, while against Richmond they were deplorable for the first half before the Tigers capitulated to let them back in. And still they couldn't take advantage with some awful kicking in the final term. Two years ago the Blues were apparently in their premiership window and they recruited a gun coach to try and take them the extra step. Now they've gone backwards and are better off supporting Mick Malthouse through a total rebuild.
Essendon will be tough to beat under Bomber
The Bombers showed they have the ability to match it with the best team in the comp with their spirited performance against Hawthorn on Friday night. Sure, the Hawks were without a host of key players – Sam Mitchell, Brian Lake, Ben Stratton etc – and lost Luke Hodge to injury during the match, but the effort from the Bombers was the story of the night. They came within a whisker of pulling off an unlikely upset despite trailing by over five goals at half-time. The addition of Paul Chapman has been instrumental and if the triple premiership star can stay fit then they could be a real top-four chance. And with experienced dual-premiership coach Mark Thompson at the helm, they could be a real force this year.
Adelaide Oval a big tick
There was nothing but rave reviews from the first match at Adelaide Oval on Saturday afternoon. A bumper crowd of over 50,000 attended the first Showdown at the new ground and it delivered on all fronts. It looked like another classic when Adelaide hit the front in the third term. But their so-called superior fitness again failed to come to fruition with the Power running away with a comfortable victory. In another sub-plot to the fierce rivalry between those two sides, the Power – who were the home side for the clash – denied Adelaide car-parking at the venue and also covered all the seats with Port Adelaide t-shirts.
Swans are in trouble
Tipped to be one of the premiership favourites at the start of the season, Sydney look anything but a contender. Many said their opening-round loss to GWS was just an aberration, but their follow up to Collingwood was equally as bad. Counting the end to last year, the Swans have lost seven of their past nine matches. The addition of Lance Franklin has seemingly unsettled the team with the superstar forward struggling to make an impact at his new home. Adam Goodes and Kurt Tippett are both a while away from returning, while veteran Ryan O'Keefe could find himself out of the side based on form. This week's away clash to Adelaide is shaping as a must-win or else they could find themselves too many games behind their rivals.
Demons are still a mile off
New season, new coach, improved list ... but still the same crappy Dees. There's no question their squad has improved with the likes of Daniel Cross, Dom Tyson, Vic Michie and Bernie Vince making a big impact, but their lack of a forward line is becoming a massive concern. Just four goals from 10 scoring shots against West Coast on the weekend. Injuries to Chris Dawes and Jesse Hogan and the fact Mitch Clark will probably never play again certainly doesn't help, but master coach Paul Roos looks devoid of answers. He has said he doesn't want to look at the scoreboard, but sometimes it's hard to ignore.