Welcome to the first round review for 2012! Its been a bloody long offseason, but its finally here- the disappointment that is Supercoach.

Seriously, the amount of times Ive heard people asking for a do-over this weekend has been huge.

Guess that happens though when you have 3 tons and an 88 on the bench, while your field consists of such wonders as "17" and "30" and "34".

But, we learn from this and we now have a better idea on how to improve our selections for next week.

So if this was you, and the difference between your heartbreaking 2100, and a mighty 2300 was simple bench selection - then take heart in the fact that a lot of people out their are feeling your pain!

Now, onto the review - it was a magnificent weekend of footy!

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GWS vs Sydney
Result: Sydney by 63, 14.16.100 to 5.7.37

The result was exactly as expected, but the journey to get there differed. The GWS, I thought, looked pretty decent- and for the first half really showed patches that perhaps theyll threaten a few of the lesser teams. Sydney however, isnt one of these lesser teams, and really put the foot down in the third quarter, kicking 5.4 to a single behind.

Of course, they did win the final quarter, a feat which took the Suns 11 tries before they could win their first.

A couple of interesting scores for the Giants though, Ward managed to score 107SC, off 22 possessions at an attrocious 59% Disposal efficiency. Will be interesting to see what happens to that if he can improve on that.

And thats the only higher priced player Ill be looking at from the GWS, cause what we care about is the sheer volume of rookies playing here. Top scoring was Kennedy, who managed a Giants-high 28 possession for a 103SC. Not a bad score at all - unless you had it on your bench! McDonald collected 23 touches for a 99SC, and like Kennedy warmed my bench. Bugg closed out the triumphtant of high-scoring Giants to warm my pine, off 27 touches for an 87SC.

Giles proved to us all why the favoured 3 man rookie ruck strategy has proven so popular, going head to head with one of the best in the business and coming out not too far behind, collecting 12 disposals and 26 hitouts (To Mummys 35HO) for an 87SC. Mohr got a lot of it in defence, showing more than he had in the pre-season with an 86SC, while Greene did well through the middle, collecting 27 touches, though his disposal really let him down, just scraping over 50% DE for an 84. Hoskin-Elliot was fine, but not worth the extra premium, collecting 16 touches for a 79. Speaking of the premium priced blokes, Coniglio did some clever things, and while his increased job-security should be nice, his 58 is going to want to improve to be worth it. Tomlinsons 43SC is much the same, sure, his DPP is nice, but hes certainly not worth the extra $$ thus far.

On the Swans side, we saw some big games from JP Kennedy and K. Jack, scoring a 137SC and 133SC respectively. Of course, not many will have these folks, and youll need to look down the list to Mumfords 95SC off 11 touches and 35 hitouts to find one. Goodes, another popular premium forward, managed a nifty 90SC, but in classic Goodes style, might be starting the season under average, while mid-priced defender, Malceski, copped a lot of critisism for his 18 touch 83. Not too bad for his price, but youll want to see him averaging high 90s.

Finally, mid-pricer, Parker was subbed off after a high hit from the popular J. McDonald, which will give J a 2 week holiday on the sidelines. Parkers score was tracking very nicely before it, with 17 disposals and 61SC.

Heros: A. Kennedy, J. McDonald, T. Bugg, J. Giles, T. Mohr
Villians: D. Shiel, D. Tyson, J. McDonald

<p style="border-top: 1pt solid silver; padding-top: 20px;">Richmond vs Carlton
Result: Carlton by 45, 18.17.125 to 12.9.81
<div style="float: right; padding-left: 4pt; font-size: 8pt; text-align: center;"><img src="http://tooserious.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/KBTrollin.png" alt="" />
KB. Master Troll
With just a single game the week before, I felt that this was the real start to the season, not just a standalone teaser to start the season. As it has been recently though, the result was a blow out to the Blues. Which I do have to admit made me smile. Not because I like the Blues, and not because Im any Richmond - but purely because of the ridiculous level the Kevin Bartlett was taking it to through the last week or two. If I ever hear anyone judge a season based on pre-season form again, Ill point them to this article and say- yes Kev, what evs.

But I disgree, the margin didnt really cover the excitement of the game, that 3rd quarter, which saw Richmond bring the margin to within a kick was exciting. They had the momentum, but a massive play from the Blues, taking the ball from one end of the ground, to the other, through extreme traffic the whole way - finally cuminating in Yarran having a crack at Goal of the Year, really stopped them in their tracks, only for the Blues to pile on a string of goals to put the result beyond doubt.

Kreuzer was fantastic, picking up 16 disposals and 15 hitouts to a mighty 125SC. Not bad for a cheaper option. Simpson, Murphy and Gibbs did what they do, with SC scores of 120, 119 118 respectively. Scotland had a bit of a dog of a night, with just 83SC, though early signs were a lot more worrying than that. Bower did alright, certainly a lot better than a lot of other defensive rookies, with a 12 touch 62SC. As an option that has been thrown around as a potential forward Keeper, Robinson was pretty ugly, his 17 touches were a worrying sign, but his 54SC off that and 2 goals was ugly. That said, DT, he should still be a decent option. I myself have him in Sportbet, so those two goals were tasty, worth 12 points each over there. Certainly took the sting out of him kicking the Blues final goal with seconds on the clock, killing the Carl 1-39.5 action I had going on.

Richmond had a lot of decent fantasy options leading into this year, and Ill start off with the ones who did well. Cotchin was great. 27 disposals, 2 goals and a game high 127SC was a great start to those who took a punt. As was JRoo, opening his season kicking 4.3 off 16 disposals for 118SC. Deledio did fine, scoring a 100SC as did Dustin Martin, just 16 touches but an 89SC. Yep, Im sure Ill get some disagreements in the comments on that one, but for his price, an 89 is fine- he just needs to throw in a few of those monster games of last year and hell get his average up.

Newman wasnt great, just 14 touches and a 66SC wasnt good enough for a premium defender. Particularly from one youd have probably skipped Lids to get. Ellis and Morris were both worrying early days, but saw a lot of it in the final quarter, finishing on 50SC and 30SC respectively.

Heros: Cotchin, Kreuzer, Murphy, Gibbs, Riewoldt
Villians: Conca, Newman, Robinson

<p style="border-top: 1pt solid silver; padding-top: 20px;">Hawthorn vs Collingwood
Result: Hawthorn by 22, 20.17.137 to 16.19.115

A great game this one, worth of the Friday night spot. A big scoring game, saw both teams trading blow for blow for much of the game. Honestly, I think the Pie could have really put Hawthorn to the sword early, but kicking 2.7 in the first quarter, they just missed too many chances. Franklin was great for the Hawks, his 21 touches and 5 goals shows exactly why he was the cookie cutter forward premium, he can just do it against any opposition. Mitchell is looking a good premium mid, his 32 disposals getting him a very nice 139SC to open the ledger, while for those who risked it, Rioli had a massive first half, getting him 116SC off his 16 disposals.

Really, most of the true Hawthorn premiums did well, Birchall (103SC) and Suckling (97SC), getting a lot of it in defense. (Though Suckers did kick that absolute dolly to set up a Collingwood goal!) Hale was perfectly acceptable, 82SC off a shocking DE% (56%) bode well if he can improve on it and showed that sharing the job with McCauley isnt going to kill his scores. Just needed to snag a few more goals as he did in the pre-season to knock up that kind of score.

On the rookie front, the only real option was Boumann, who was subbed off in the 3rd for a lowly 7 touch 17SC. Did his job alright as a defender against one of the toughest forward lines in the biz, but certainly didnt do what us fantasy fans need.

On the Collingwood side, the rookies were just as ugly. Yagmoor, I dont even think I saw come near the ball, but apparently he laid 2 tackles so he must have been on camera once or twice, Seedsman, who subbed into his place picked up 5 touches for 11SC, while Paine jagged a goal, along with 6 touches for a pretty lowly 44SC. Clarke did a little better, with 13 touches for 50SC, and while prominant early, didnt really justify the extra spent to get him in.

Pendlebury though, what an utter gun. Almost Perma material and Id have hated to start the season without his massive 167SC off 33 touches. He was just dominant the whole game, but particularly that 3rd quarter. Gun. Swan underperformed with just a 92SC, but it was off 32 touches, so the scores will come. Sidebottom was a little worrying, 23 touches for just 72SC. That said, he kicked 3 behinds, which would have just about tonned him up if theyd converted.

Heros: Pendlebury, Mitchell, Franklin
Villians: Boumann, Yagmoor, Seedsman (Normally I skip the rookies in the villian section, but damn, these guys really hurt!)

<p style="border-top: 1pt solid silver; padding-top: 20px;">Melbourne vs Brisbane
Result: Brisbane by 41, 17.17.119 to 11.12.78

Id hate to be a Demon fan after this opening to the season. After getting ahead early, they just didnt fire a shot. Youd hate to have run a keeper league over the off season and drafted heavily from them, thats for sure!!

I hate the saying, but Black really wound back the clock, with a massive game. 30 disposals, 10 tackles, 152SC and 3 brownlow votes was just a huge one. Adcock got a lot of it, running through the middle and delivering a game-high 9 inside 50s for a 140SC. If he keeps playing that role, he might be worth a sneaky sideways next week if youve got a defender who is severly struggling. Rockliff. Wow, I love a mid who can put on score board pressure and his 23 disposals were supplimented by the 3.5 he kicked for a 139. Imagine if hed kicked straighter!

Hanley did well for his price, a 104SC off 23 touches rewarded his coaches, while Leuenberger. Well, I was expecting to have to write something negative about the boy. About how his rumour achillies was keeping him down, but somehow off just 9 touches and 22 hitouts, he managed to crack the ton. I can only imagine that each and every one of those hitouts were to advantage, which is just a phenominal effort. Golby did alright for his price, filling a mid-price spot in the backline, his 20 touch 72SC was nice. Sadly, I dont see that happening every week!

For Melbourne, there was one massive plus to come out of this game. Magner the magnet. What a gun, rolled his ankle in the 4th, so he didnt complete a full game, but still managed 23 disposals and 102SC (and was joked about in the TS chat as being promoted straight into the #1 midfielder spot at Melbourne). It was a fantastic debut, and can I suggest a sideways into him if by some chance you left him out?

Outside of that, Watts did alright with an 18 touch 88SC, Grimes put up a solid 82SC and didnt get injured, while Tynan put in a decent first hit out. Yes, his 36% DE is one of the worst Ive seen!, but 14 touches and 43SC is a fine performance, one that will only improve.

Bate was selected as the sub, which struck me as strange after his pre-season, Im guessing his fitness base never made it to where it needed to be, which is worrying times for whoever selected him as a breakout candidate.

Heros: Magner, Black, Adcock, Rockliff, Hanley
Villians: Bate, Moloney

<p style="border-top: 1pt solid silver; padding-top: 20px;">Gold Coast vs Adelaide
Result: Adelaode by 69, 19.23.137 to 10.8.68

Yeah, it was all the Crows. They dominated the first. The second. The third. Well, the game. To be fair, you dont expect the Suns to be good in their second year, takes time for all the youngins to grow- so they still have a few more years of losses like this I reckon.

That said, when I said it was all Crows. Well, not quite. It was all Crows, and Gaz. The little master was in fine form, collecting a massive 42 touches and 2 goals for a 139SC.

Brennan showed why Ive seen him in a few squads with a solid 27 touch, 114SC effort, but after that, the GC Mid-pricers really put in a swag on mid-priced efforts.

Hall was great early, in fact, Im pretty sure he finished the game pretty close to his half time score. Not sure if thats a good thing or a bad thing, as it shows what he can do- but also that he cant really run out a game.

On the Crows side, Tippett led the way, 19 disposals and kicking 4.3 for a 150SC. Thompson was hot on his heels though, 39 disposals and 1.2 for a 147SC reveals him as a decent POD. Though it is just early, and it is the Suns!

Sloane came out with a ripper though, 24 touches and 114SC will see those coaches who rolled the dice smiling very smuggly this week, while Jacobs looks a decent ruck option, with 18 disposals and 28 hitouts for a 102SC.

Patrick Dangerfield drew a lot of ire in the TS chat this weekend, but as Al Paton pointed out on twitter, his burst style of play is exactly what makes the live SC scores difficult to use as a measuring stick. Anyways, his 25 touch, 93SC was a fine finish for what started a shocker.

The other in exactly the same boat as Dangermouse, was Porplyzia. 17 touches and a 74SC was a fine result considering he was on 20 at half time.

On the other hand, Johncock better not be in any of your teams! His 18 touch, 57SC doesnt bode well for the former premium backman.

Heros: Tippett, Thompson, Ablett
Villians: Johncock

<p style="border-top: 1pt solid silver; padding-top: 20px;">Fremantle vs Geelong
Result: Fremantle by 4, 16.9.105 to 15.11.101

Wow, were we treated to a pair of absolute crackers on Saturday night! After kicking the first 5 goals of the match, it really looked like Freo were going to dominate this thing, but Geelong, the champion team that they are, went on to kick 9 goals to 3 to go into the half time break 5 points up. After that, it was a classic back and forth affair going right nown to the wire with a pair of captains goals from Pav to get them over the line.

Sandilands top scored for the Dockers, his 32 hitouts and 19 possessions on his way to 113SC, just go to show, that if youre 211cm, you dont need a pre-season to do well! Or perhaps its more that Geelong will leak points to rucks for a while...

Fyfe was magnificent. 30 disposals, 2 goals and 109SC. Honestly, I expected more, but I guess thats what happens in the tight games. Anyone who took the risk on Ballantyne will be happy, His 20 touches and 2 goals got him a 105.

Duffield looked good rebounding out of defense, 21 touches for a 90 holds him in good stead, unlike Broughton, who was given a job on StevieJ after the first quarter and subsequently struggled to get much of the ball, finishing on 14 touches and 57SC.

While Broughton was bad, have a thought for the coaches who took a punt on Enright, 11 touches and just 47SC. And while were talking poor performances, the big Orren could managed just 3 touches and 10 hitouts before being subbed out at half time. A tough first matchup though! Welcome to the big league.

There was a good number of cheap cats playing, and really, they all did a decent job of it. Smedts a 46SC, Guthrie 79SC and Motlop 87SC - I reckon youll be happy with any of them.

Heros: Bartell, Selwood, Ballantyne, Fyfe, Sandilands
Villians: SJ, Enright, Broughton

<p style="border-top: 1pt solid silver; padding-top: 20px;">North Melbourne vs Essendon
Result: Essendon by 2, 14.20,104 to 15.12.102

Wow, what a game. It had it all, free flowing attacks, high intensity at the ball, a massive come back and a kick after the siren to decide it. Sadly for HMac owners (And North fans), he wasnt able to convert the chance after the siren and the Bombers walked out victorious.

Stanton was massive. I have so much manlove for the bloke, and his 35 touches, 2 goals and 180SC saw him live up to that love. Hot on his heels though was Paddy Ryder, the Ruc/Fwd who can only be selected in the rucks dominated with 20 touches and 33 hitouts. Funny that one small oversight could see that 165SC go from the majority of squads to well, none really...

Zaharakis was probably the best of the $450k forwards, bringing home a 25 touch 112SC after struggling to make much impact early. Dempsey was great, only 14 touches for a 98SC. One might even say that his game has... grown a beard!

Not too much to come from North, Harvey, Swallow and Wells all hit 90SC, HMac managed a 77SC, while for price, Petrie and Goldstein struggled with 74SC. The latter of which was really played by Essendon sending whoever he was on, deep into the forward line.

Heros: Stanton, Ryder, Hibberd, Zaharakis, Dempsey
Villians: Petrie, Goldstein

<p style="border-top: 1pt solid silver; padding-top: 20px;">Western vs West Coast
Result: West Coast by 49, 21.10.136 to 12.15.87

For mine, West Coast have shown us why they are a top4 contender. With their forward line decimated through the off-season, they still managed to stroll into a win, never even looking threatened.

Cox did a fine job, with 16 touches and 22 hitouts for a 110SC, while Naitanui managed 12 touches, 23 hitouts and 105SC... sounds like they are sharing perfectly.

Mid Pricers, S. Selwood and Darling both managed to crack the ton with 104SC and 102SC respectively. Had I the stones, I would have grabbed young Scooter, though I guess his mid-only status makes him too much of a no go.

As for the dogs, there was some good things- Dahlhaus put in a cracker, with 19 touches and 2 goals for a 112.

Rookie, Clay Smith started like an utter house on fire, booting 4 goals off 13 touches to pad my bench with another ton. This time, 103SC in just 49% game time. Still, gotta keep telling myself- cashcow still makes cash. Boyd scored a 110SC, while Hargrave made a tidy 76SC.

It was pretty ugly after that though, with the popular picks of Dickson and Lake both struggling to impact the game, both scoring a 30SC.

Heros: Naitanui, Priddis, Cox, Dahlhaus
Villians: Lake. Just Lake

<p style="border-top: 1pt solid silver; padding-top: 20px;">Port Adelaide vs St. Kilda
Result: Port by 4, 13.11.89 to 13.7.85

Man, another cracker of a game! I reckon weve been bloody spoilt this weekend. Great footy. Anyways, for this encounter, Port got the jump, breaking away to a lead early and heading into the first quarter 3 goals up. The Saints hit back in the second, carrying a slim 3 point margin into the main break. That was reversed at 3 quarter time with the Power up by 5, before finally running out winners with a strong opening to the final term. That said, the Saints were charging home at the death, having kicked the last two and were streaming down the ground. I reckon if there was another 10 seconds, we would have seen a different result.

Nick Dal Santo top scored for the game with a mighty 148SC off 28 touches. Breaks his hand in the off-season and comes you with that - magnificent. Outside of that though, most of the Saint Premiums hit their marks, Goddard on 118, N.Roo on 105SC, McEvoy on 93SC and Hayes on 87SC. Fisher didnt quite make it, with a 76SC.

That all said though, rookie forward, Milera was great. 17 touches and 85SC looks a real gem in the forward line. It is a shame that Ledger didnt play though, knocked out by the "general" apparently.

On Ports side, Hartlett top scored with 26 touches and a 134SC. McCarthy hit the mark as a mid-pricer, scoring a very tidy 105 off 23 touches.

With Gray gone though, there wasnt too many popular options from the Power, Wingard a bit- who looked quite lively. 16 disposals and a very nice 71SC.

Heros: Hartlett, McCarthy, Dal Santo, Goddard, Riewoldt
Villians: Fisher

So there we go, lockout is still a few hours away, but I can tell you from looking around at the number of high-quality leagues that Im in- 2100 aint a bad score at all and if youre rock a 2200, or maybe even a 2300+, then you should be sitting very pretty leading into next week.

And if not, well hey- even the best in the world sometimes fails to crack 2000...