The return round of AFL for the 2019 season was full of astonishing upsets, unexpected blowouts, season-defining injuries and plenty of things to talk about. This is the first Round Review, so the format is subject to change. Regardless, the general idea will be providing the final results from each match, and provide my AFL Fantasy suggestions based on the highest scorers of the round.

The results for Round 1:

Richmond (97) d. Carlton (64)

Geelong (72) d. Collingwood (65)

Port Adelaide (87) d. Melbourne (61)

Hawthorn (87) d. Adelaide (55)

Western Bulldogs (82) d. Sydney (65)

Brisbane (102) d. West Coast (58)

St. Kilda (85) d. Gold Coast (84)

GWS (112) d. Essendon (40)

Fremantle (141) d. North Melbourne (59)

I would personally say that every game this round, with the exception of Carlton v Richmond and St. Kilda v Gold Coast, were upsets and I’m sure most would agree. Perhaps the two biggest surprises, however, were the absolute demolishing of Essendon and North Melbourne by the Giants and Dockers respectively.

The Giants, particularly midfielders Stephen Cognilio and Tim Taranto, ran rampant over an extremely sluggish Essendon outfit. Cognilio (161) and Taranto (137) both finished within the Top 6 Fantasy scorers for Round 1, with a combined (yet fairly evenly split) 61 disposals, 5 goals, 17 tackles, 12 marks, and 12 clearances. Dyson Heppell (107) was Essendon’s only player to score over the ton, with Smith (93) and McGrath (84) being the next highest scorers for the Dons. An extremely poor effort from Essendon, and they’ll (hopefully) look to make up for it in Round 2 against the Saints.

Meanwhile, a new-look Fremantle scored their highest score since their 2013 Grand Final team with a whopping 141 points against an underwhelming North Melbourne, who finished on only 59 points. It was an outstanding team performance by the Dockers with five players managing to break the ton. Cam McCarthy (109) was the standout with 5 goals, the equal highest in all of Round 1! The midfield worked wonders despite the departure of elite mid Lachie Neale. Fyfe (103) led the way with 32 disposals and 10 clearances, however Hill (113), Tucker (111) and Langdon (107) also played very respectable games. The Roos, on the other hand, were quite disappointing with the highlight being debutant Bailey Scott (97), who was deservedly awarded with the first NAB Rising Star nomination of 2019. Macmillan (118) backed up his superb JLT performance, being the highest scoring Fantasy player in the match with 37 disposals. Goldstein (95) is hopefully returning back to his elite ruck work of previous years, with 34 hitouts and a goal.

On Saturday, the reigning premiers were stunned by an absolutely dominant Brisbane Lions outfit that proved that they are a threat in 2019. After West Coast came out firing in the first quarter, Brisbane managed to make the Eagles fifth-minute second quarter goal their last for the entire match. From there, the Lions kicked 9 unanswered goals and effectively blew the season wide open by upsetting the 2018 premiers. Both teams were a little disappointing from a Fantasy perspective, with only one player from each team, Rich (101) and Sheed (133), scoring over 100. Owners of Sheed will be glad they trusted him to continue his Grand Final form into 2019. Lyons (96) and Zorko (94) were the Lions other high scorers, while Shuey (95) and Yeo (91) provided for the Eagles despite a disappointing team performance.