Ruckmen Brodie Grundy and Tim English go at it in last year’s Western Bulldogs-Collingwood clash. Photo: AFL MEDIA

RICHMOND v CARLTON (MCG, Thursday 7.25pm local time)
All the prognostications, pre-season hype and “training the house down” can finally take a back seat, because the 2021 AFL season is here! And how bloody good is it to have footy back at the MCG after 257 days, and in front of fans, as well? But as great as it is to have the practice games out of the way and the real stuff commencing, it is tinged with a bit of “here we go again” as the reigning premiers do battle with the Blues yet again to kick off proceedings. And as they’ve done in their 10 previous meetings, six of which were round-one affairs, the Tigers should have little difficulty in disposing of Carlton. As if the Blues’ task wasn’t already hard enough against the back-to-back champs, they’ll head into this contest without Charlie Curnow (knee), Zac Williams (suspension), Jack Martin (calf), Caleb Marchbank (calf), Eddie Betts (calf), Nic Newman (knee) and Mitch McGovern (hamstring). Richmond’s only forced out is Bachar Houli (calf). The Blues will unleash former Bomber speedster Adam Saad for the clash.
RONNY’S TIP: Richmond by 33 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Richmond by 28 points.

COLLINGWOOD v WESTERN BULLDOGS (MCG, Friday 7.40pm local time)
It’s the grudge match to end all grudge matches – Adam Treloar against his former teammates. The bad blood is still well and truly there as evidenced by public comments made by both Treloar and Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley this week, and it wouldn’t surprise to see those fireworks spill out on to the arena and manifest themselves into some fiery clashes. Collingwood finally has some good news after an off-season from hell with Steele Sidebottom (calf) and Chris Mayne (concussion) set to be the only notable absentees. The Doggies have a reasonably clean bill of health too, with Hayden Crozier (shoulder) and Toby McLean (knee) ruled out as former skipper Easton Wood (hamstring) continues to push hard to be selected. It’s going to be a very different-looking Magpies side minus Treloar, Jaidyn Stephenson and Tom Phillips, while the Bulldogs will get the opportunity to showcase arguably the best midfield in the competition, which now also features Stefan Martin and Treloar. The Pies have won their last four against the Dogs, but Luke Beveridge’s men should turn the tide this weekend.
RONNY’S TIP: Western Bulldogs by 21 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Western Bulldogs by 16 points.

MELBOURNE v FREMANTLE (MCG, Saturday 1.45pm local time)
The hat-trick of MCG clashes to kick off season 2021 is capped off by an encounter between two sides who are already battling sizeable injury lists. The Demons will be without Jack Viney (foot), Ben Brown (knee) and Sam Weideman (leg), while varying degrees of doubt surround the availabilities of Angus Brayshaw (foot), Steven May (concussion), Michael Hibberd (ankle) and Jake Melksham (hamstring). The Dockers, meanwhile, will be forced to make do with the absences of Michael Walters (hamstring), Rory Lobb (knee), Darcy Tucker (hamstring), Mitch Crowden (ankle), Sam Sturt (ankle), Bailey Banfield (syndesmosis) and Michael Frederick (calf), while Adam Cerra (calf), Sean Darcy (knee) and Griffin Logue (hamstring) must all pass fitness tests. Based purely on personnel, it’s hard to tip against Melbourne in this one, but it wouldn’t want to enter the game with the wrong mindset because Fremantle has won three of its last four meetings with the Demons at the MCG.
RONNY’S TIP: Melbourne by 17 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Fremantle by 2 points.

ADELAIDE v GEELONG (Adelaide Oval, Saturday 4.05pm local time)
It’s hard to see this contest between the reigning wooden spooner and the reigning runner-up going any way other than a Geelong victory. After coming so close, yet again, to winning a flag last year and falling short, as they have done for most of the past decade, the Cats will arguably be more determined than at any time since Chris Scott took over the reins to win a premiership. Their off-season recruiting strategy reflected how fed up they are with all of their near-misses and they will look forward to showcase new additions Jeremy Cameron, Shaun Higgins and Isaac Smith against the Crows in what looms as a lopsided affair. Expect the Cats to make a statement of intent here.
RONNY’S TIP: Geelong by 52 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Geelong by 40 points.

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ESSENDON v HAWTHORN (Marvel Stadium, Saturday 7.25pm local time)
This promises to be a really intriguing encounter between two fierce rivals who finished in the bottom six last year, aren’t really expected to do that much in 2021, but had promising practice games. The Bombers’ 23 will have a very different look about it after a sizeable exodus of players last year, with as many as four debutants – Nik Cox, Archie Perkins, Zach Reid and Harry Jones – potentially featuring. Meanwhile, the Hawks might hand Jacob Koschitzke, Tyler Brockman and Connor Downie their first games, too. So there’s plenty of excitement and enthusiasm surrounding this match for fans of both clubs. Add to the fact that both sides are missing key players, with Jake Stringer (achilles), Michael Hurley (hip), Patrick Ambrose (foot) and James Stewart (hamstring) unavailable for Essendon and Jack Gunston (back), Chad Wingard (calf) and James Sicily (knee) out for Hawthorn, another layer of unpredictability is added. It’s a coin flip, but the Bombers might just squeak home.
RONNY’S TIP: Essendon by 3 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Essendon by 18 points.

BRISBANE v SYDNEY (Gabba, Saturday 6.45pm local time)
This shapes as an exciting night for the Lions as they officially unveil prized recruit Joe Daniher in a match for premiership points in front of their home fans. The Gabba has reacquired its ominous nickname ‘Gabbatoir’ in the last few years with Brisbane winning 20 of its last 24 games at the ground, three of those four losses coming in the heat of finals footy. The Lions are primed for another tilt at a premiership this season and will have a packed house full of parochial supporters willing them on, just as they did in their premiership years at the turn of the century. The Swans will still be without Lance Franklin (calf) and Sam Naismith (knee), while Robbie Fox (finger) is out too. To their credit, they did show many times last year they can be competitive without a host of key players, but this task seems to be too tough and, in a further illustration of the AFL’s changing of the guard, the Lions should comfortably make it three wins in a row against Sydney for the first time in 19 years.
RONNY’S TIP: Brisbane by 32 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Brisbane by 26 points.

NORTH MELBOURNE v PORT ADELAIDE (Marvel Stadium, Sunday 1.10pm local time)
This one has all the hallmarks of a thumping. After completing one of their worst-ever seasons last year, North Melbourne didn’t exactly show that improvement could be imminent in their practice games with comprehensive losses to St Kilda and Hawthorn. Conversely, the Power, fresh from a six-point preliminary final loss to eventual premier Richmond, are just humming along beautifully and have managed to add Aliir Aliir and Orazio Fantasia to their team
which was already brimming with talent. The Kangas will look forward to potentially playing all four new recruits – Jaidyn Stephenson, Aidan Corr, Lachie Young and Atu Bosenavulagi – but that’s about as good as the day will get for them, because Port Adelaide should get off the mark in season 2021 with an easy victory.
RONNY’S TIP: Port Adelaide by 61 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Port Adelaide by 42 points.

GWS v ST KILDA (Giants Stadium, Sunday 3.20pm local time)
When the round one fixture was released, most people would have pencilled the Saints in for a victory in this game. But how quickly things have changed. Brett Ratten’s side now boasts arguably the most significant injury list in the AFL with Rowan Marshall (foot), Paddy Ryder (personal), Max King (concussion), Brad Crouch (suspension), Ben Paton (leg), Jarryn Geary (leg), Dan Hannebery (calf) and James Frawley (hamstring) all unavailable. But it hasn’t been all smooth-sailing for GWS either, with Lachie Whitfield (liver), Jesse Hogan (quad), Jake Riccardi (ankle), Braydon Preuss (shoulder), Daniel Lloyd (quad) and Adam Kennedy (shoulder) all ruled out too, and when you consider how many first-choice personnel walked out on the Giants last year, their 23 is going to look quite different indeed. But home ground advantage might just be the determining factor here.
RONNY’S TIP: GWS by 4 points.
ROCO’S TIP: St Kilda by 8 points.

WEST COAST v GOLD COAST (Optus Stadium, Sunday 3.10pm local time)
On paper, this looks like a pretty straightforward victory for the Eagles, but they have quite a few reasons not to take the upstarts from the Sunshine State lightly. Firstly, who could forget their 44-point defeat to the Suns last year with Matt Rowell absolutely dominating, and secondly, Gold Coast has known how to get its season off to a flyer in the recent past, starting with a 3-2 win-loss record four times in the last five years. Despite all that, West Coast still looks very strong on paper, with Luke Shuey (hamstring) and Elliot Yeo (groin) looming as the only key players unavailable. It will be great to see Rowell again after the spectacular start to his career was cut short by a shoulder injury last year, but it’s hard to see him leading his side to another stunning victory over the Eagles.
RONNY’S TIP: West Coast by 28 points.
ROCO’S TIP: West Coast by 36 points.