Micro Noises 25
A flag within three years, Gazza? History says you could be right!
When Gary Ablett came out and said he believed that the Gold Coast Suns' stated aim of winning a flag within three years was achievable, not many gave much credence to his comments. After all, as captain of the club, he would say that wouldn't he? Even if he didn't really believe it.
But a glance at history suggests that his comments might not be as outlandish as many of us think. The Suns certainly got their 2013 season off to a good start, with a 13-point win over the Saints. And it's that win that could be an omen of big things to come for the Suns, as soon as this year. The final score in the match was 90-77, a scoreline that's only been seen twice before in the last 40 years. The most recent occurrence of it was when Carlton defeated the Brisbane Bears in the 1995 Qualifying Final at the MCG. The Blues went on to take the flag that year. And in 1973, Richmond, just as the Suns did last Saturday, defeated St Kilda 90-77 before they too won a premiership.
Maybe there's more to Gazza's words than we think.
The first of the first
With 17 players making their debut, round 1 saw a mixture of old and new names on the footy field last weekend. Matt Jones became the 66th VFL/AFL player of that surname, while Jed Anderson (48th), Josh Thomas (31st) and Kane Mitchell (27th) were amongst the other debutants to have common surnames. The rest were uncommon or rare, with five of the first-gamers having surnames never seen at the top level before: Nick Kommer, Mark Blicavs, Jimmy Toumpas, Jake Neade and Dane Rampe. Meanwhile Lachie Plowman isn't the first of person of that surname to have played at VFL/AFL level, but he is the first in over a century. Hugh Plowman played 26 games for St Kilda between 1910 and 1912. He was later killed in action at Fromelles in 1916.
Score Wars
Back on the topic of scores, 106 has jumped out of the blocks to take the early lead in this year's "Score Wars". Both Richmond and Sydney registered 106 in their Round 1 wins. No other score was recorded more than once. Last year's most common score, 91 was not seen in the opening round, and nor were the 2012 runners up, 84 and 95. The only score between 40 and 130 not recorded in 2012 was 130. The Bulldogs and Port both went close last weekend, but split the difference scoring 127 and 133 respectively.
The Marginal Medal
Nine different margins were recorded across the nine Round 1, with 5, 7, 13, 16, 28, 30, 35, 68 and 79 points all getting a run. The 79-point margin came from Port Adelaide's big one over Melbourne, and hadn't been seen since Geelong handed out a similar thrashing to Port themselves in round 3, 2011. That was a premiership year for the Cats, in Chris Scott's first year as coach. Maybe a first-year flag for Port's new coach Ken Hinkley isn't out of the question. The Bulldogs' 68-point margin had not been seen since 2010 and it was the Doggies who inflicted it on that occasion also, against Carlton in round 15. And that margin's previous appearance was yet another Dogs victory, over Richmond in round 11, 2009. The only margin under 50 points not seen last year, 39, is yet to make an appearance.
Postcode of the week
So abject was Melbourne's performance in round 1, that players, coaches and fans alike would have considered making appointments with a psychotherapist. This malaise was perhaps best reflected by the number of goals Melbourne kicked across each of the four quarters - 3, 4, 0 and 1 - against Port Adelaide. 3401 just happens to be the postcode of Jung.
Ridiculous footy anagram of the week
You can never tell how a first-game player is going to go when they step up to the big time. Some players take to the top level like a duck to water. Others get first game jitters. In the case of Port Adelaide's OLLIE WINES, we probably should have known beforehand that there would be no attack of the jitters for him. He's an anagram of NO WILLIES.
Comments
Daryn Duliba 5 April 2013
This Suns fan hopes Mr. Ablett's prediction is correct. Good start but a tough test for the Suns in round 2.
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