Cometti: Dockers line up to take a beating
It was a strange weekend for the two WA-based sides.
Fair to say both the Eagles and the Dockers looked less than energised. Okay, Ross Lyon's team looked downright sleepy.
I know I'll get an argument from the Fremantle coach but his team gave the impression they gave themselves very little chance of winning.
That's a damning assessment but I genuinely believe the best judges of a team's chances are almost always the players.
Few people can grasp a team's shortcomings better than a player who reads the line-up in Friday morning's paper.
It might be unprofessional and it's certainly undesirable but every now and again a team puts in "a shocker" simply because, subconsciously, enough players don't like the look of their own side.
By contrast, I'm guessing too many West Coast players might have felt exactly the same about the St Kilda line-up for Saturday.
I learnt a couple of other things too at the weekend.
Firstly Melbourne circa 2014 are only last year's team in a new suit.
I admit it I was fooled by the first week of the NAB Challenge!
Under pressure they can't cope. They continue to be a simmering pile of compost in the AFL's front garden.
And then there's Geelong.
The Cats should win another premiership or two if they're right, and they do have better players waiting in the wings to replace Paul Chapman and Josh Hunt.
