Australian Football

Round 3

Premiership Season 2017 - Round 3 Review

Total Crowd 284,734 (Avg 31,637)

Three rounds in and we have three teams undefeated and three without a win. The three sides that are undefeated are probably not a huge surprise, with two of them - Adelaide and Geelong - having made finals last year, although some might not have expected Richmond to also have a 3-0 record. The real surprises are at the other end of the ladder. North Melbourne has a had a difficult draw so its 0-3 start is not a major upset.

Few, however, would have forecast either Sydney or Hawthorn to be winless after three weeks. Fewer still would have predicted the Swans and the Hawks to be without a win by now. But that is the AFL's world order in 2017, at least in the early stages of the season. Even the reigning premiers, the Western Bulldogs, had a shock loss to Fremantle. It seems that anything is possible in this brave new AFL world.

Round three began with a Friday-night thriller at the SCG between Sydney and Collingwood. Both sides were winless and desperate to get some premiership points on the board and the match reflected that. The Magpies took and early lead but the Swans reeled them in and the match went down to the wire, Collingwood ahead by the narrowest of margins when the final siren sounded. 

At Bellerive Oval on Saturday afternoon, North Melbourne hosted GWS. The Kangaroos started as underdogs but did well to be within 15 points of the Giants at three-quarter time, but the visitors power away in the final term, kicking six goals to two to run away with the match by 42 points and move within percentage of the top four.

Richmond, undefeated after two rounds, came up against its biggest test so far at the MCG on Saturday, facing off against the Eagles, also undefeated and tipped by many to be a Grand Finalist this year. The Tigers passed the test with flying colours, coming from behind to beat West Coast by 11 points on a wet afternoon at the 'G.

Another pair of unbeaten sides - Geelong and Melbourne - met at Docklands and the Demons did very well for three quarters but were unable to get a break on the Cats due to poor kicking at goal. They led by three points at the last change despite having kicked two fewer goals, but Geelong blew them away in the final term, kicking six goals to one to win 20.6 to 13.19, the Demons losing by 29 points despite having six more scoring shots. 

Saturday night at Subiaco saw a huge upset, with the down-and-out Dockers defeating the reigning premiers, the Western Bulldogs. Fremantle jumped the Dogs early, kicking the first four goals but the Bulldogs reined the Dockers in to lead by 14 points at the last change. However, the Dockers finished the match as they had started, with a run of goals, to claim a shock 16-point win. 

Saturday night's other match saw Port Adelaide and Adelaide meet in Showdown 42. These matches rarely disappoint and this time around was now exception, with the two sides placed second and first on the ladder. Port took an early lead but the Crows took charge late in the second term to hit the front. They were challenged again by the Power late in third quarter and early in the last but withstood the charge to win by 17 points and maintain top spot. 

St Kilda and Brisbane met at Docklands in Sunday's first match and the Saints got away to a big lead halfway through the second term, as many had predicted. But the Lions roared back into contention just before half time and kept going in the third term to turn a 36-point deficit into a two-point lead. The Saints, winless before this round, responded to the challenge to regain the lead before the last break and then go on with the job in the final quarter, winning in the end by a comfortable 31 points. 

Old rivals Carlton and Essendon met at the MCG on Sunday and they were greeted by some old fashioned footy weather, the rain tumbling down for most of the afternoon. The Dons had early control and led by eight points at quarter time but the Blues gradually got on top over the next three terms to score a highly meritorious 15-point win, their first of season 2017. 

The last game of the weekend provided the round's biggest upset. With Hawthorn having lost its opening two matches, a Gold Coast win wasn't totally unexpected, but the magnitude of the Suns' win was. Gold Coast was 26 points ahead at the long break, but blew the Hawks away after half time to win by 86 points, the largest winning margin in the club's history. 

Round four will see Adelaide, Richmond and Geelong start as favourites, so the chances of all three being 4-0 at the end of the round are good. On the other hand, Hawthorn, North Melbourne and Sydney will start as outsiders so they may well all be 0-4 after next weekend. The round will see the first-ever match played on Good Friday between North Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs.

R-3, Ladder