Round 2 of the 2022 AFL season saw some stunning upsets but, in reality, it was all about one man in the Harbour City.
Here’s how it looked for punters:
Buddy brilliant
Coming up against a strong Geelong backline, on the back of a quiet Round 1 performance, and in slippery SCG conditions, some had doused hopes of Buddy Franklin reaching the 1000-goal mark on Friday night. On 996, the superstar Swan was $4.00 with Palmerbet to kick the requisite four goals to reach a mark that, in all likelihood a mark that will never be reached again in AFL football. But, as he’s done on so many occasions, he stepped up. Four set-shots at goal — all four through the big sticks. Incredible.
#Buddy1000 pic.twitter.com/a4teHj3dvo
— Michael Willson (@MichaelCWillson) March 25, 2022
Power outage
Just two rounds in, and we might have already had one of the biggest upsets, from a margin perspective, of the year. Hawthorn’s victory against preliminary finalists Port Adelaide — away from home no less — was not just impressive given they were $4.00 outsiders. Such was the confidence in the Power, they also started gave up a 25.5-point head start in line markets. But Hawthorn steamrolled Ken Hinkley’s men in one of the most worrying early-season AFL performances. In winning by a whopping 64 points, the Hawks’ victory represents an 89.5-point swing on the pre-game line. Clinical.
Don’t judge us on tonight…. Or last game due to injuries…. Or the end of last year when we lost a home prelim by 70 points…. Or the last 10 years…Just don’t judge us. Cheers #AFLPowerHawks pic.twitter.com/6eT4eeP8Fp
— Liam Sheedy (@Sheeds1984) March 26, 2022
Electric Blues
We asked last week whether 2022 was the year Carlton returned to the promised land. And if a Round 1 win over Richmond had hinted that it might be, an electric performance the Dogs had fans screaming it from the rooftops. The Blues dismantled the grand finalists in a dominant first half effort. And, while Luke Beveridge’s side fought back late, it was too little too late. Michael Voss’s men are 2-0 for the first time in a decade, and a return to AFL finals footy is very much on the cards. $2.88 Top 8 hopes to start the season, Carlton have come screeching into $1.67 after just two games. They’re back — and so is five-goal hero Charlie Curnow.
“Tough kick”
Not for Charlie, apparently 😲#AFLDogsBlues pic.twitter.com/Ln4mnO1JJR
— AFL (@AFL) March 24, 2022
