With the ‘hit and giggle' matches and the arduous pre-season training regimes now behind each team, fans, coaches, and players alike have set their sights on the real deal – Round 1.
For some clubs, the pre-season period could not have panned out better, whilst the unlucky remainder will be counting the cost of their campaigns.
Although there were a myriad of positives to be taken from the summer months, all teams will be striving to improve on their practice match form and learn from the lessons dealt out across them.
With the first bounce of the Sherrin just over a week away, we raise the big question that face each of the AFL's 18 clubs.
St. Kilda
Will their trend of high scores continue?
With a plethora of dangerous avenues to goal, it should surprise nobody that St. Kilda was able to top the tonne in their pair of pre-season matches.
After slotting 22.8 against the Roos, the Saints followed up with 19.11 against a much-improved Carlton outfit.
Max King getting it done at ground level ✅#AAMISeries pic.twitter.com/CpYdC3ybQG
— AFL (@AFL) March 4, 2021
Although these accurate totals will be warming hearts in the Bayside region, it is the aforementioned number of names hitting the board that will have Saints fans ecstatic.
Against the Roos, 11 different names slotting the big sticks, with 12 doing so on Thursday night.
Kicking an average of 20 goals per week is unlikely to continue for the entirety of the season, but as the Saints look to have adapted well to the new rules due to their desire to move the ball swiftly and score out the back, expect their scores to remain higher than previous years.
