The Limestone Coast is well represented in the AFL with plenty of homegrown players starring on the national stage.
The SE Voice’s sports journo Will Boston takes a look at how our locals fared in Round 1.
Jordan Dawson
The Crows skipper was great in the side’s first match of the season against the Suns up on the Gold Coast.
It was a low scoring game for both sides with the Crows finding some consistency in front of goals late in the quarter.
Spending most of the game in the guts, Dawson finished with 26 disposals and 18 kicks.
Dawson also had five clearances in the game and applied a lot of pressure, racking up six tackles.
Sadly he could not pull his side to a victory as they fell short by six points.
Next round Dawson leads his side in its home match against the Cats on Friday night.
Darcy Fogarty
Fogarty had a quiet game on the Gold Coast, only registering nine disposals and two marks.
It was a tough game for the Crows’ tall forwards as it rained for lots of the game and all of Adelaide’s goals came from its small forwards who thrived in the wet weather.
Fogarty still helped his side score, having three score involvements.
Hopefully Fogarty can begin to find some form against the Cats defenders this Friday night.
Luke Pedlar
Like his teammate Fogarty, Luke Pedlar struggled in his first game of the season.
Pedlar suffered a nasty knock to the face that resulted in a broken nose.
That did not stop him from sitting out the rest of the game though.
Pedlar had eight disposals and seven kicks with one shot at goal that resulted in a point.
Pedlar still made an impact on the game, having five score involvements and one score launch.
Pedlar will now face a Cats defence that let 23 shots at goal last week.
Mitch Hinge
Mitch Hinge had a great performance against tough side the Suns in the wet weather.
Hinge had 19 disposals and 14 kicks.
He was also trusted with some kick outs during the game which is a positive sign to see that Coach Matthew Nicks trusts him getting the ball out of defence.
To add to that Hinge also had five pressure acts and two spoils in the game.
Because of the weather Hinge did not have too many marks due to the conditions.
Hinge has got a tough task this week against the likes of Jeremy Cameron and Oliver Dempsey who combined for five goals last week.
Mason Redman
Mason Redman and the Bombers have got off to a good start to the season – well maybe not Redman.
Redman will miss out on the Bombers clash against the Swans on Saturday after receiving a one match suspension by the Match Review Committee after striking Hawks midfielder Jai Newcombe in the second quarter.
Besides his off the ball antics, Redman had a pretty good game putting up 22 disposals and 18 kicks.
In the backline Redman had four pressure acts and two spoils.
After serving his suspension Redman will face the Saints in round 3 at Marvel Stadium.
Tom McDonald
After missing an extended period due to injury, Tom McDonald was back fully fit on the field and stepped up to the role left by Angus Brayshaw.
McDonald had 18 disposals, 12 kicks and 10 marks as he helped his side secure a 45 point win over the Doggies.
In his defensive role McDonald had three intercept marks and four spoils in the match.
McDonald played a big role in the ball movement of the Dees, racking up eight rebound 50s in the game.
McDonald has a tough match against the Hawks Saturday afternoon at the G.
Rowan Marshall
Rowan Marshall had an elite game against the Cats on Saturday night dominating in the ruck, having 36 hitouts.
Marshall also had 19 disposals and five clearances, as well as setting up goals for his teammates, finishing the game with 11 score involvements.
For all you AFL Fantasy lovers out there Marshall had another great fantasy game putting up an 118 point performance.
The lights will be on Marshall this week as the Saints take on the Pies tonight.
Brad Close
Close had an average game against the Saints on Saturday night.
While he did not have an amazing game, he got the job done.
Racking up 11 disposals and 3 tackles he helped his side get the close win with a goal early in the second quarter.
Close also had one goal assist and four score involvements in the game which helped the Cats get over the line.
Close has a big primetime game against the Crows in Adelaide on Friday night.
Jeremy Cameron
In his first game this season Jeremy Cameron was back to dominating the forward line.
Cameron bagged two goals in the game and could have converted on another three shots at goal too, with one of those goals an early contender for goal of the year.
On the run Cameron booted a beautiful shot from the pocket.
Besides kicking goals himself Cameron helped the Cats put goals on the board with eight score involvements.
Cameron did not have a big impact in the marking contest inside the Cats’ forward 50, as he only took two marks inside the arc.
That did not stop him from controlling the play as he had five marks with one of them being an intercept mark.
Cameron will have a tough job against the Crows on Friday night with Mitch Hinge and Max Mchalanney likely playing on him.
Lincoln McCarthy
Lincoln McCarthy had an average game against Freo on Sunday afternoon, bagging 15 disposals and 11 kicks.
McCarthy bagged a goal in the game as well as four score involvements and one goal assist.
After starting the season 0-2 the Lions will have a week to get things back on track as they have an early season bye.
After their break the Lions have a massive game on Thursday night in round 3 as they have a grand final rematch against the Pies at the Gabba.
Toby Pink
After being drafted by the Swans and not playing a game, Toby Pink finally got his opportunity to play a game of AFL footy.
Pink debuted against the Giants who proved to be a very tough side.
In his first game of AFL senior footy Pink got 10 disposals and six kicks.
Even though this was his first game Pink was cool under pressure as he finished the game with a disposal efficiency of 90%.
Pink was amazing in the marking contest as he finished with seven spoils.
After a solid first game hopefully Pink can keep his spot in the side as the Roos face Freo on Saturday afternoon at Marvel.