Melbourne champion Christian Petracca bursts clear of James Rowbottom (middle), Callum Mills (14), who won’t be available for another three months, and Peter Ladhams. Photo: GETTY IMAGES
SYDNEY v MELBOURNE (SCG, Thursday 7:30pm local time)
After 159 days and countless players having their “best ever summer”, it’s time for footy to make its triumphant return. Yes, that’s right. You read that correctly. It’s March 7, but season 2024 is about to begin, heralding almost seven months of millions of footy fanatics being captivated by their clubs’ weekly ups and downs. As it happens, this is the earliest that a VFL/AFL season has ever commenced, shading the previous mark of March 8 back in 2000 when the season was brought forward a month to accommodate the Sydney Olympics. Whether you want to call it Opening Round or Round Zero, whatever it is, it kicks off on Thursday night, and doing the honours are two sides who are fresh from suffering September disappointment. The Swans were bundled out in the first week by Carlton, some 12 months after making it to the grand final, and the Demons are coming off back-to-back straight-sets exits following their historic 2021 premiership. To say both teams have something to prove would be an understatement. Melbourne, in particular, has had its fair share of time under the spotlight during the off-season. The well-documented off-field troubles that superstar Clayton Oliver has endured, the provisional drug suspension that Joel Smith is serving and the scuttlebutt surrounding the club’s culture have all made for a summer of discontent for the Demons. But it’s amazing what winning can do, and if they head up to the SCG and take down the Swans, much of that negative attention will quickly dissipate. The great news for Melbourne is that Oliver will be lining up and he will be joined in the team by impressive No.7 draft pick Caleb Windsor as well as former Saint Jack Billings and 2021 draftee Blake Howes who makes his long-awaited debut. But the Dees head into battle without Kysaiah Pickett (suspension), Harrison Petty (toe), Lachie Hunter (calf), Smith, Shane McAdam (hamstring) and Jake Melksham (ACL) who will miss most of the season. Storylines in this match-up don’t get much bigger than new Sydney ruckman Brodie Grundy taking on his old team and former partner-in-crime Max Gawn after the much publicised coming together of the pair failed spectacularly after just one season. It’s fair to say Grundy is man on a mission. Joining Grundy in the Swans line-up is another former Demon in James Jordon who will have to step up to the plate quickly because Sydney is missing a sizeable chunk of its midfield in Luke Parker (arm), Callum Mills (shoulder) and Taylor Adams (knee). Up against the likes of Oliver, Christian Petracca and Jack Viney, that could be enough to tip the result in Melbourne’s favour. And the Demons don’t mind playing up at the SCG, having won their last two games there against the Swans who dropped a total of five matches at their home ground in 2023.
RONNY’S TIP: Melbourne by 11 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Melbourne by 10 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Melbourne by 17 points.
BRISBANE v CARLTON (Gabba, Friday 6:40pm local time)
Next up on the agenda is a preliminary final rematch between the Lions and the Blues. After coming so close to knocking off Collingwood in the grand final, Brisbane is widely tipped to go one step further in season 2024, and an undermanned Carlton outfit looms as the perfect opposition for the Lions to play against to tune up their pursuit of that elusive fourth flag (since the Brisbane-Fitzroy merger). It’s a bit of a familiar story for the Blues with a host of star players missing due to injury, namely Sam Walsh (back), Jacob Weitering (calf), Jack Martin (knee), Jesse Motlop (toe), Caleb Marchbank (illness) and Jack Silvagni (ACL) who will miss the entire 2024 campaign. Conversely, Brisbane is pretty much full strength, with only Conor McKenna (hamstring) unavailable from its grand final side. Will Ashcroft and Toe Doedee are also absent as they both continue their recoveries from serious knee injuries. Brisbane wound the clock back last year and transformed its home ground into the “Gabbatoir”, winning every game there for the first time ever, whether as the Bears or Lions. They’ve lost only three of their last 35 games at the ground. Expect that ominous streak to continue as they search for a 15th straight win at the venue and close in on their all-time record of 18 in a row there.
RONNY’S TIP: Brisbane by 37 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Brisbane by 20 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Brisbane by 25 points.
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GOLD COAST v RICHMOND (Carrara, Saturday 3:20pm local time)
If Grundy v Gawn/Melbourne is the best subplot of footy’s first weekend, then Damien Hardwick v Richmond isn’t too far behind. The triple premiership Tigers coach will step out in his first match as Gold Coast coach against his old club after a record-breaking 307 games in charge of Richmond. And he heads into the match will almost a full squad to choose from, apart from Lachie Weller (knee), Alex Davies (hamstring) and new recruits Jake Rogers (back) and Jed Walter (collarbone). Meanwhile, the Tigers are sweating on the fitness of superstar Dustin Martin who corked his calf at training on Tuesday while Tom Lynch (foot), Toby Nankervis (foot), Jack Graham (quad) and Rhyan Mansell (ankle) are unavailable. The Suns are notoriously fast starters and they also have the wood over the Tigers, winning their last three meetings, including two in Melbourne. With a point to prove under their new coach after over a decade of disappointment, expect Gold Coast to make a statement and ensure Adem Yze’s maiden outing as Richmond coach is a forgettable one.
RONNY’S TIP: Gold Coast by 23 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Gold Coast by 16 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Gold Coast by 29 points.
GWS v COLLINGWOOD (Giants Stadium, Saturday 7:30pm local time)
The second preliminary final rematch of the weekend pits the surprise packet Giants against reigning premier Collingwood. These two sides played yet another epic grand final qualifier last year which ended up with the Magpies triumphing by a solitary point, four years after losing to GWS by four points at the same stage of the season. Like Carlton, the Giants were one of the stories of the season last year, fighting their way out of the bottom four to win 11 of their next 13 games and finish in the top four. If they can parlay that form into their season opener, they’re going to be hard to beat. But they’re not up against just any old footy team, they’re facing the best side in the competition with the biggest target on its back. Make no mistake, the Magpies are the hunted this year following their record-equalling 16th VFL/AFL flag, but without Jeremy Howe (calf) and Nathan Murphy (concussion) down back, things could open up for dangerous GWS forwards Toby Greene, Jesse Hogan, Brent Daniels and Jake Riccardi. The positive thing for Collingwood is that Howe, Murphy and Jack Ginnivan (Hawthorn) are the only members of their premiership team who are unavailable this week. And Ginnivan’s replacement, former Docker Lachie Schultz, is in line to join Bobby Hill, Jamie Elliott and Beau McCreery to form arguably the most dangerous small forward unit in the league. The Giants head into the match with Finn Callaghan (shoulder), Isaac Cumming (quad), Harry Perryman (hamstring) and Daniel Lloyd (retired) the only members of their preliminary final side out of action, so this promises to be a red-hot March clash.
RONNY’S TIP: Collingwood by 6 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Collingwood by 2 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: GWS by 3 points.
