“LOOK OUT FOR THIS ONE”: BRAD JOHNSON'S BOLD ROUND 1 UPSET CALLBy Lachlan Geleit
SEN
13 March 2024Western Bulldogs great Brad Johnson has made a bold prediction ahead of Round 1 of the AFL season.
That prediction pertains to Thursday night’s clash between Carlton and Richmond at the MCG.
While the contending Blues are considered hot favourites as the Tigers enter a rebuilding phase, Johnson has Richmond causing a huge upset at the MCG’s first game of the season.
That bold call comes after the Blues upset the Lions at the Gabba in Opening Round, while the Tigers were poor first up under Adem Yze going down to the Suns on the Gold Coast.
Johnson explained why he expects Richmond to cause a boilover with their ins significant as the Blues also lose Sam Docherty to injury.
“Look out for this one,” Johnson said on SEN Sportsday.
“I look at the way Carlton played last week. It was brilliant … the second half was off the charts.
“But I sort of go, ‘Ok, well, massive win … one of the best wins in the club history’, but will they back it up this week?
“Potentially they could, but I think with the Sam Docherty injury adding to (Caleb) Marchbank, (Jacob) Weitering and (Sam) Walsh … then you've got the Tigers and who they bring back in this week.
“I sort of sit there and I go, Dustin Martin comes in, Toby Nankervis will be right to go and Tom Lynch comes in up forward.
“Tom Lynch is probably the one where there's the biggest question mark on in terms of what he may do in terms of output, but he’s proven when he's come back from injury in the past … he's still a really strong target.
“He’ll get their best defender that they've got down there … they (Carlton) would prefer it to be Weitering.
“So, for me, I think the Tigers will win this game.”
Johnson also likes what he’s heard from Richmond during the week and he thinks that the Tigers have acknowledged their shortcomings against Gold Coast and will make amends for that come Thursday.
“It'll be a big comeback from the way they produced their footy last week,” Johnson said.
“At times they were disappointing they weren't as hard as the Gold Coast Suns.
“You know what it's like when a team gets hit like that and they are able to then assess that internally and actually accept the fact that they weren't at their best.
“Richmond players have come out and said that this week.
“That for me is the mental shift required with their staff factor coming back into this lineup that will get them across the line against a team that is still depleted with injury.
“I think they will fluctuate in the first part of the year the Blues, until they get their absolute best team back on the field.”
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2024/03/13/look-out-for-this-one-brad-johnsons-bold-round-1-upset-call/
