Blues duo Charlie Curnow and Jesse Motlop celebrate a goal as Carlton snapped Port Adelaide’s 13-game winning streak last year. Photo: AFL MEDIA

PORT ADELAIDE v CARLTON (Adelaide Oval, Thursday 7pm)
The Power might be third on the ladder, but it feels as though their recent wins have papered over some cracks. They smashed North last week, as most teams have done this year, they somehow got out of jail the previous round against Hawthorn, after playing horribly for three quarters, and while their victory over Geelong appeared to be massive at the time, the grandiosity of the achievement has been diluted quite a bit by the Cats’ form line since then. It all adds up to a fascinating match-up this week against Carlton which also heads into this game on the back of a bit of an unconvincing month of footy. However, the Blues looked a lot more potent last week with Tom De Koning rucking all day and facilitating star on-ballers Patrick Cripps and Sam Walsh to have huge games against Gold Coast. Conversely, the Power, with Aliir Aliir, Esava Ratugolea and Brandon Zerk-Thatcher down back, will back themselves to contain twin towers Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay in Carlton’s attack. It promises to be a tight contest, but there can only be one winner (unless a fourth draw of the season occurs), and the Blues have what it takes to smash and grab the four points from the City of Churches.
RONNY’S TIP: Carlton by 6 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Port Adelaide by 6 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Carlton by 11 points.

COLLINGWOOD v WESTERN BULLDOGS (Marvel Stadium, Friday 7:40pm)
How long can Collingwood keep this up as its injury list gets worse and worse with each passing week? It has been an incredible achievement by the Magpies to go unbeaten in their past eight games, but they came awfully close to tasting defeat last week in their second draw of the season against Fremantle. And while Craig McRae’s side is arguably the best system over personnel team in the competition, that characteristic is going to be pushed to the very limit this week when the Pies head into battle without Jordan De Goey (abdomen), Brody Mihocek (hamsrting), Jamie Elliott (vascular), Tom Mitchell (foot), Mason Cox (concussion/knee), Joe Richards (foot), Will Hoskin-Elliott (hamstring), Reef McInnes (concussion) and Dan McStay (knee). Jeremy Howe (groin) is a chance to return, but given De Goey and Mihocek have yo-yoed in and out of the team recently after supposedly recovering from their injuries, only to reaggravate them, the Pies couldn’t be blamed for giving Howe an extra week to recover, even with their massive personnel headaches. Significantly, Collingwood’s forward line is completely decimated. And while the Pies have cobbled together competitive scores in the past three weeks with a new-look line-up in attack, it remains to be seen whether they can keep producing such gutsy efforts against these enormous odds.
RONNY’S TIP: Western Bulldogs by 17 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Collingwood by 4 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Western Bulldogs by 7 points.

HAWTHORN v ADELAIDE (MCG, Saturday 1:45pm)
What a game this promises to be. The Hawks are officially back after their worrying 0-5 start to the year. Not only do they now look a lot more like the team that tested so many sides last season, they appear to have taken another step forward in their development. The way they’re tracking, they seem to be well on track to eclipsing their 2023 tally of seven wins. With four victories from their past six games, they head into their next clash with the Crows full of confidence. And they’re going to need it, because Adelaide also looks like a team that has turned the corner after a sluggish start to the season. Matthew Nicks’ men have lost just two of their seven games to keep their finals hopes flickering. Neither side has a great recent record at the MCG. The Crows are winless in their last 10 outings there, while the Hawks have managed just one win from their past nine matches at the venue. However, Adelaide has come mighty close in its last three games at the ground, losing them all by a combined total of just 10 points, and with its head full of steam after pulverising West Coast by 99 points, it should be able to bring the Hawks back down to earth.
RONNY’S TIP: Adelaide by 15 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Adelaide by 16 points.
ROCKET’S TIP:Hawthorn by 9 points.

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WEST COAST v ST KILDA (Optus Stadium, Saturday 2:35pm)
Perhaps the best illustration of just how dire things have become for St Kilda is the fact that West Coast heads into this game as favourite. When was the last time that happened? You could probably count on one hand how often it’s occurred in the past three seasons. But there’s a reason why that’s the case this week. The Saints have become one of the impotent teams in the AFL. They have registered their three lowest scores of the season in their last three games, with an average of just 57 points throughout that period. And while the Eagles are coming off a thumping loss reminiscent of their atrocious 2022 and 2023 seasons, they are certainly a different team at home this year. They might be winless on the road, with an average losing margin of 10 goals, but they have a much more respectable 3-2 record at Optus Stadium. Their average winning margin in Perth is a very healthy 37 points as well, and the news gets better for the Eagles with Jack Petruccelle (ankle) pushing his case for selection, while Alex Witherden (calf) hasn’t been ruled out yet either. It’s easy to picture West Coast running roughshod over a toothless, uninspiring St Kilda outfit this week.
RONNY’S TIP: West Coast by 28 points.
ROCO’S TIP: West Coast by 24 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: West Coast by 19 points.

GEELONG v RICHMOND (Kardinia Park, Saturday 7:30pm)
The depleted Tigers have made their worst start to a season in 14 years, and probably won’t win this week, but their surprisingly impressive performance last round against Essendon has ensured that this game’s intrigue factor is moderate at the very least. After starting the year with all guns blazing, winning their first seven games, the Cats have fallen in a huge hole to lose four matches in a row for the first time since 2006. And their usually fearsome home fortress of Kardinia Park has lost its aura recently after they lost two games in a row there for the first time in nine years. It’s been 18 years since they’ve suffered a hat-trick of outs there. Is Richmond the team to deliver the Cats that unwanted stat? It’s highly unlikely. The Tigers haven’t visited Geelong since 2017 and with Shai Bolton (concussion) the latest addition to their enormous injury list, the Cats should register their first win in over a month.
RONNY’S TIP: Geelong by 36 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Geelong by 32 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Geelong by 31 points.

MELBOURNE v FREMANTLE (Alice Springs, Sunday 12:30pm)
The Dockers will actually be disappointed this game isn’t being played at the MCG considering they’ve beaten the Demons in their last two meetings at the venue. Instead, Fremantle heads to the Red Centre for the very first time and fortunately for Justin Longmuir’s charges, they’ll be greeted by much nicer conditions than the last game staged there between Melbourne and GWS in 2023 which experienced a chilly single-digit maximum temperature. The less said about that game for the Demons, the better, as they kicked an atrocious 5.15 and lost by two points despite having 27 more inside 50s (73-46). The Demons have had an up-and-down past six games, which have been split evenly 3-3, but while Freo heads into this match in better form, having lost just one of its last five games, Simon Goodwin’s team features more firepower and should be too good in the end. Worryingly for the Dockers, the return of ruckman Sean Darcy last week led to a drop-off in output from the brilliant Luke Jackson. And with Melbourne skipper Max Gawn in imperious form, that match-up alone could prove decisive.
RONNY’S TIP: Melbourne by 20 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Melbourne by 20 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Melbourne by 17 points.

GOLD COAST v ESSENDON (Cararra, Sunday 4pm)
Like the Eagles, the Suns can only win at home and cannot buy a victory on the road. However, Gold Coast is a much better version of West Coast because unlike Adam Simpson’s side the Suns are actually undefeated in 2024 when playing host at either Carrara (4-0) or Darwin (2-0). Essendon has passed almost every test that has been thrown its way so far this season, and the surprise packet team, which sits second on the ladder after making its best start since 2001, will surely relish the challenge of becoming the first team to knock off the Suns on their home turf. And with important midfielder Will Setterfield (knee) on the verge of a return, the Bombers will have even more cause for optimism. Meanwhile, the exciting Malcolm Rosas jnr (hamstring) is on track for selection for Gold Coast as well. But when one takes a closer look at the Suns’ unbeaten run at Carrara this year, it becomes apparent that they haven’t beaten much. Essendon comfortably presents the biggest challenge at home to date for Gold Coast and Damien Hardwick’s men are going to have to be at their absolute best if they want to snap the Bombers’ longest unbeaten run (seven games) in 24 years.
RONNY’S TIP: Essendon by 12 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Gold Coast by 18 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Gold Coast by 15 points.

SEASON TOTALS
ROCO 63
RONNY 63
ROCKET 60

*all times are local