Collingwood 11.24 (90) d Richmond 9.8 (62) at Visy Park
The Magpies ended Richmond’s brief pre-season renaissance with a solid, albeit wasteful, performance at Visy Park.
Collingwood led by 39 points at half time and could have won by more if not for its kicking woes in a goalless final term when it registered 13 successive behinds.
Both teams rested several stars with Brett Deledio, Ben Cousins, Trent Cotchin, Chris Newman, Dale Thomas, Scott Pendlebury, Dane Swan and Alan Didak among those missing.
Jack Anthony, Anthony Corrie and John McCarthy each booted two goals for the Pies, while Mitch Morton slotted four goals for Richmond. Magpies Sharrod Wellingham, McCarthy and Luke Ball all found plenty of the footy while Andrew Collins, Matthew White and Jeromey Webberley were among Richmond’s best.
SATURDAY
West Coast 16.9 (105) d Carlton 9.12 (66) at Leederville
The Eagles booted seven goals to two in the first half to take the game away from the Blues and held them at arm's length for the rest of the game.
Mitch Brown finished with three goals while Adam Selwood, Nic Naitanui and Quinten Lynch booted two apiece. Selwood was among the Eagles' best, along with Beau Waters, Naitanui and improving youngster Tom Swift.
Eddie Betts and Ryan Houlian each kicked two goals for the Blues, with Betts joining Chris Judd, Kade Simpson and Shaun Grigg among his side's best players.
North Melbourne 12.11 (83) d Hawthorn 6.7 (43) at North Ballarat
A dominant first half in wet conditions was the catalyst for North's 40-point win against the Hawks.
The Roos kept the Hawks goalless to half time to lead by 43 points at the main break, with Daniel Wells booting three goals in his return from osteitis pubis.
Injury was added to insult for the Hawks when ruckman Simon Taylor left the field on a stretcher during the second term after falling awkwardly in a collision with North's Leigh Adams. Brad Sewell also suffered a suspected collarbone injury.
Wells was substituted in the second half and the Hawks rallied to match their opponents as Lance Franklin booted two goals, but the game was well beyond saving by that stage.
North's Gavin Urquhart finished with two goals while Jack Ziebell and Ryan Bastinac also impressed through the midfield.
Brisbane Lions v Geelong Cats at Visy Park
Match cancelled due to heavy lightning and rain.
Adelaide 9.15 (69) d Melbourne 10.7 (67) at Elizabeth
Melbourne's bus was 20 minutes late, and the Demons must have wished it had broken down completely after a nightmare afternoon in South Australia.
Daniel Bell and Liam Jurrah suffered shoulder injuries, and Kurt Tippet poured salt into the wound with a late goal that robbed Melbourne of even the consolation of a rare win.
Tippet was Adelaide's best and kicked five including the matchwinner.
For the winners, Jon Griffin provided solid service in the ruck, Tyson Edwards was good in midfield and Ben Rutten and Goodwin stood firm in defence. Nathan Bock was a late withdrawal, replaced by Daniel Talia.
Sydney Swans 14.7 (91) d Essendon 9.9 (63) at Blacktown Olympic Park
Rhyce Shaw made a successful return from knee injury in front of over 4000 fans in what the League hopes will become Sydney's new AFL heartland.
Daniel Bradshaw and Jarrad McVeigh were the Swans' most notable absentees as coach Paul Roos continued to audition for his best 22.
"Most of the players who played tonight had good patches, so they’re still in the mix for round one," Roos told sydneyswans.com.au after the match. "We'll narrow it down next week, and it'll probably be a bit more critical after next week’s game in order to prune it back for round one."
By contrast, the Bombers were missing a host of stars including skipper Jobe Watson, David Hille, Paddy Ryder, Brent Stanton, Jason Winderlich and Dustin Fletcher.
They went goalless in the first quarter but outpointed the Swans in the second half. Jason Laycock played out the game in the ruck, David Zaharakis kicked three goals and Jay Neagle impressed despite twice hitting the post. Rookie Ben Howlett continued to prove himself a ball magnet, topping the Dons' possession count.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
