There are always consequences, and in late March every year, ramifications are magnified for people in the AFL.
That the results of the first games of a season carry more significance than the 21 that follow may defy the logic of even the smartest brains, but anyone with even a passing knowledge of AFL knows that, simply, it is the way it is.
Three clubs know that intense ramifications, however unjustified, are waiting should they emerge from this weekend’s matches with bad losses.
Richmond, Melbourne and St Kilda are those three clubs.
The Demons have to defeat Port Adelaide at the MCG on Sunday.
St Kilda must win against Gold Coast on Saturday night.
The Tigers need to stand up against Carlton on Thursday.
Melbourne was frantic in last October’s trade period. It added five players from rival clubs to its list, all of them questionable decisions in some form.
Collingwood’s Chris Dawes was secured via a financial offer said to be exorbitant. Shannon Byrnes was targeted despite managing just nine matches for Geelong in the previous two seasons.
There wasn’t much interest for David Rodan outside of the Demons, as was the case with ex-Cat Tom Gillies. And Cam Pedersen was no longer required by North Melbourne.
Melbourne has passionately defended its trade week work. It has no choice but to do that. On Sunday at the MCG, the Demons, and those players (Dawes may miss because of an interrupted pre-season) need to perform.
Port Adelaide won five matches in 2012, one more than Melbourne. It will not be an easy opponent, for it has been revamped under new coach Ken Hinkley. But a year already guaranteed to be a long one will loom, again, as never-ending should the Power lose this one.
Richmond has seemingly done everything right in preparation for 2013. Hope is high yet again for supporters. Practice match form was more than passable, the big name players are primed, the coaching staff is ready.
Expectation is always high with the Tigers, however misplaced it has been in some years. It is more than justified this year.
Coach Damien Hardwick is entering a fourth-season, he has bolstered his playing list with yet more targeted recycled players and knows that his board, while understanding and more aware than supporters of how tough this caper can be, is demanding significant improvement.
Richmond’s now-traditional season-opener against Carlton has ended in season-shaping catastrophe before.
Of course, ramifications from a loss await Carlton and its new coach Mick Malthouse too.
But with 28 seasons and 664 matches behind him as a coach, Malthouse won’t be getting too worked up over a loss. He’s experienced 272 of them before, four of them being Grand Finals.
No one is expecting miracles of St Kilda in 2013, and one could argue that 12 wins from the 2012 season were more than passable.
Second-year coach Scott Watters is an impressive man with a clear vision of where the Saints are headed, and he knows that it will take considerable time for his grand plans to materialise.
But that doesn’t mean he, or his supporters, will tolerate a round one loss against Gold Coast, even if several key backline players, including Sam Fisher, miss or play underdone.
Pressure is on all within the AFL at all times, but the pressure on Richmond, St Kilda and Melbourne in this week is amplified to levels above all other clubs.
Responding positively to that pressure will be liberating.
Failing to deal with it could suffocate the 2013 season before it takes even a second breath.
Twitter: @barrettdamian, @AFL
