The first full round of the 2025 AFL season is in the books and plenty of preseason prognostications have already been thrown out the window.
Few would have expected Richmond’s upset of Carlton on Thursday (and didn’t we hear about it from those who did… all Tigers fans funnily enough).
Defending Premiers Brisbane did just enough to start their season on a winning note in Sydney although it’s fair to say there was room for improvement, which should make the rest of the competition nervous.
Check out all of our big takeaways from Round 1 below.
1 – Sam Lalor isn’t the next Dusty…
The hype surrounding Richmond’s number one draft pick was real heading into Round 1 and it’s safe to say, he lived up to it all.
X lit up over the performance of Sam Lalor in Richmond’s incredible 13-point victory over Carlton, as the young gun from Bacchus Marsh led the way with 18 disposals and two important goals on debut.
His strength and explosiveness were a genuine highlight, and the Tigers faithful were ready to bestow him the #4 jumper made famous by Brownlow Medallist and three-time Norm Smith winner, Dustin Martin.
We’re not jumping into the Dusty hysteria just yet though, because Lalor also showed signs of being an elite overhead mark.
Instead of a direct Dusty clone, we reckon he’s 50% Dusty and 50% Nat Fyfe with three Brownlows between them, but we’re not getting carried away though.
2 – Brisbane should be premiership favourites
Heading into every new season, it’s reasonable to expect the reigning premiers to lead the market for the upcoming flag.
While that may have been the case one week ago, it might surprise a few punters to learn that the Lions are no longer the premiership favourites with Ladbrokes.
Despite beating Sydney by four points at the SCG in their only outing for the year, Chris Fagan’s champion side has already been usurped by the mania of Hokball ($6) and sit on the second line of betting at $6.50.
The Lions won without any impact from a tagged Lachie Neale (10 disposals), Levi Ashcroft debuted with 25 and four clearances, and they managed a winning score despite losing Joe Daniher to the vibes of Byron Bay.
How are they not favourites?
Yes, the Hawks have been impressive against Sydney and Essendon. Yes, they’ve added Tom Barrass and Josh Battle. Yes, Will Day is fit.
But favourites over the Lions already? No thanks.
3 – Underperforming Crows want a shot at the title
One of the most disappointing teams of the past three seasons, the Adelaide Crows made an early statement in their Round 1 clash against the Saints with a 63-point victory at Adelaide Oval.
It put them fifth on the ladder and with a juicy percentage of 187.5% to start the year.
Matthew Nicks and his talented squad have failed to live up to expectations since winning eight games and looking like a club on the rise in 2022, with 11 wins in ’23 before another on-field regression led to just eight wins and 15th spot on the ladder last year.
Have they finally put it together?
With a midfield consisting of Jordan Dawson (27 disposals), Matt Crouch (31), Jake Soligo (29) and Izak Rankine (28), they all fired and gave their equally talented forward line of Darcy Fogarty, Riley Thilthorpe, Tex Walker, Alex Neal-Bullen and Josh Rachele every chance of kicking a winning score.
The additions of Neal-Bullen, Isaac Cumming and James Peatling signify a shot at the title for the Crows and it couldn’t have started any better.
4 – Gold Coast midfield has highest ceiling
Is the wait for the Suns over?
Since first entering the AFL in 2011, we’ve all been waiting for the Gold Coast Suns to get their act together and make a run for the finals.
While the love child of the AFL (along with GWS of course) have yet been unable to secure a finals berth, their second full season under Dimma might well break the curse.
And if they do, it will be on the back of their all-conquering midfield.
Noah Anderson (36 disposals), Matt Rowell (30), Touk Miller (26) and Jarrod Witts (68 hit-outs) tore shreds off the Eagles in Sunday night and led their side to a convincing 87-point win.
The Suns had 74+ disposals, 33+ inside 50s and twice as many centre clearances (16-8).
It’s difficult to make any outlandish predictions after a win over the embattled Eagles, but with Sam Flanders waiting in the wings and Bailey Humphrey starting to make his own mark, this midfield might have what it takes to carry the Suns to the promised land.
5 – Brownlow favourite might be 0 from 2
Futures punters who took Nick Daicos at $4.50 might be starting to get a little nervous after the Magpies’ first two games of the season, with the star midfielder unlikely to poll a vote.
No Collingwood player deserves a look-in after their 52-point Opening Round nightmare against the Giants, but Daicos is even more doubtful considering he was cramping during the third quarter.
While Daicos (26 disposals) and the Pies hit back in a big way this weekend with a 91-point thumping of the Power, the umpires’ gaze could and should have been on the likes of Dan Houston (27), Steele Sidebottom (31), Tim Membrey (16 and 4 goals), and Dan McStay (21 and 3 goals) who were far more influential.
We know the umps don’t always see it like we do, but the $4.50 for Daicos in the futures market looks shaky at best.