That’s a Wrap - NAB Cup Round 2
Essendon vs Western Bulldogs
Well Round 2 of the 2008 NAB Cup saw some better footy being played and the Bombers kicked it off on Friday Night with an impressive display 
against the Doggies. Their pace and willingness to use that pace to tackle, harrass and chase from behind was the highlight. For Bomber fans it will be easy to get carried away with that performance but you only need to remember back to Carlton’s impressive performances in the NAB Cup compared to the season proper to realise it is only early days. The Bombers have certainly found the pace they were looking for and Ricky Dyson looks set for big things in 2008 racking up 30 touches. Bachar Houli looked great and his silky skills were evidant again. Laycock was good in the ruck giving David Hille a bit more time in the forward half and he looked like he could be a good option as a tall leading forward. The Bombers quick movement and their use of advantageous handballs was good to watch, but can they continue that against the Saints Next Week? Matthew Knights might have put a few of his knockers to rest with what looks to be a very exciting game style which the players have faith in and a following his instructions to the letter.
For the Doggies, they just couldn’t get anything right, skill errors galore and couldn’t convert in the forward 50 (they only had 1 less inside 50 than the Bombers). Jason Akermanis started very well getting plenty of the ball but his skills were pretty disappointing by his standards. A player I 
singled out in this game was Adam Cooney and while he had a good game possession wise he just didn’t do enough with it and is something he needs to improve on. Scott Welsh went missing in the forward line (apparently had a virus and shouldn’t of played) and Johnson was their main avenue to goal, they just can’t rely on that for the rest of the year. I think they were beaten in an area that they are generally good at and that is running the ball and using their skills, missing Gilbee, Griffen and Ray didn’t help in that area. On the positive side Daniel Cross was again great and the young fella Hill showed some spark in the forward line with that outstanding volley goal. The Doggies have a bit of work to do before Round 1.
Carlton vs Hawthorn
The Hawks blasted the Blues in the opening quarter with 8 goals 2 of which were “SUPER GOALS”. The young Blues looked like 
they didn’t know what hit them and could never get back into the game. Tim Clarke was Hawthorn’s leading ball-winner with 23 possessions while Luke Hodge, Travis Tuck, and Jordan Lewis also running rings around the Blues midfield. For the Blues, Nick Stevens took his disappointment of not being named captain for 2008 on the Hawks gathering an outstanding 35 touches. It is an amazing to see him just slot straight back into the swing of things and is like a top draft pick for the Blues. The Hawks skill level when delivering into the forward line was the highlight for me and made life easy for the forwards and extremely difficult for the very in experienced Carlton defence. I think Brett Ratten was trialling a different back half at the start as there were some names there that had not played much senior footy and is an area of concern for the Blues, as is their reliance on Brendan Fevola to kick the goals. In a good sign for they Blues though, they never gave up and had a great 3rd quarter and a key move of Brett Thornton back to defence. Not all is lost for the Blues they have a great platform to build on for Round 1 especially with the Juddernought to come back in.
Campbell Brown will be sweating it out waiting for the tribunal after trying to let Number 1 draft Pick Matthew Kruezer know that he is know playing with big boys and was reported. Also reported was Josh Kennedy who had his number taken for making high contact with Marc Murphy but that one should be thrown out.
St Kida vs Geelong
Well the Saints will be talk of the betting circles after the weekend and will no doubt have their fair share of money placed on them after upstaging the reining premier by 5 points. But it came at a loss with the G TRAIN injuring his calf and is in doubt for Round 1. The young fella Jack Stevens’ got some encouragement from the coach “We all like kicking goals, so if you pick it up 10 metres out, they’re not too 
hard to kick, are they?”. He could of at least given the kid a wrap, it was probably the biggest thing he has done in his footy career! and he won them the game! Justin Koschitzke looked ominous in front of goal and is going to be a handful for opposition clubs. Mind you the Cats did have Matthew Scarlett and Tom Harley missing down there. Joel Corey in his first hit out was outstanding with 35 touches and Joel Selwood looked like he was playing for his career the way he was throwing his body into packs and attacking the ball. The Cats midfield again looks imposing with Stokes and Ling also racking up the touches. The Tomohawk also looked like he wants that position left by Nathan Ablett. For the Saints their youngsters shone again with Jarryn Geary again putting his hand up for Round 1 with an impressive performance as did David Armitage. Charlie Gardiner was god against his old club and looks likely to play come Round 1.
Adelaide vs Fremantle
In the Final game at AAMI Stadium the Crows got off to a sluggish start but ended up 17 point winners over a tired looking Fremantle side. Andrew McLeod was simply outstanding and just about single handedly won the game for the Crows. He was instrumental in setting up a plethera of goals in the second half with the skill and balance that makes him one of the best to watch. And what about James Porplyzia? He is a star in the making and I have jumped on his bandwagon, 
his ability to get the ball is fantastic he ended the game with 21 touches and another youngster that looks destined for big tings Chris Knights had 25. If these type of guys can put in performances like this and let the likes of Goodwin and McLeod spend more time up forward then the Crows might just put a few of their doubters to bed. The pressure and tackling of the Crows was the thing that turned the game around after the Dockers got the jump in the first quarter. Aaron Sandilands gave the two young Crows ruckmen a lesson with 25 hit outs and would have been a good learning experience for the two. But the Crows ground level pressure negated that dominance. Roger Hayden started well in the first half but faded out during the second but was still probably the best for the Dockers, Matthew Pavlich was well Matthew Pavlich, gave the Dockers a target and presence in the forward 50 but he just can’t do it on his own. Dean Soloman helped out a bit with 2 goals but I wouldn’t be relying on him to be a leading goal kicker. Youngster Rhys Palmer although not getting lots of the footy looked impressive again with what he did and just needs some more game time to get used to the pace of the game.
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Bulldogs will never win anything without any tall timber as forwards…