Melbourne’s Christian Petracca gets around Bulldogs skipper Marcus Bontempelli in last year’s grand final. Photo: AFL MEDIA

MELBOURNE v WESTERN BULLDOGS (MCG, Wednesday 7.10pm local time)
The wait is finally over. After six long months, a brand new AFL season is upon us and what better way to kick it off than with one of the league’s biggest grudge matches? The last time these two sides met, the Demons embarrassed the Bulldogs on the biggest stage of all after they produced one of the most exhilarating 40 minutes in grand final history to emphatically shatter their 57-year premiership drought. If the Dogs are the competitive beasts we assume they are, especially with the intense Luke Beveridge at the helm, the fact that they gave up 16 of the last 17 goals in the 2021 grand final must have burned like hell throughout the pre-season. And when you add Dogs captain Marcus Bontempelli’s recent revelation that some of his players found it disrespectful that Melbourne mockingly sang their finals celebration song “Freed From Desire” in the middle of Optus Stadium soon after winning the flag, it all points to the season opener being a fiery affair. And as if the Dogs needed any more salt rubbed in their wound, Melbourne will unfurl its 2021 flag in front of its faithful. The Dees head into the clash without defensive premiership trio Michael Hibberd (calf), Harrison Petty (calf) and Trent Rivers (knee), while the Bulldogs will be missing Josh Bruce (ACL). Bruce’s absence for much of the season looms as a real challenge for the Bulldogs, who looked dysfunctional up forward in the pre-season without him. It’s a case of Aaron Naughton or bust, and with Steven May and Jake Lever to contend with, it could be the thing that sways the result in Melbourne’s favour.
RONNY’S TIP: Melbourne by 22 points.
ROCO’S TIP: W Bulldogs by 6 points.

CARLTON v RICHMOND (MCG, Thursday 7.25pm local time)
Here we go again. The Blues up against the Tigers in the first round of the season. We’ve seen this movie a few times already. Carlton enters the game on the back of considerable pre-season hype, Carlton exits the game with all the air let out of its tyres. Richmond has played the role of the Blues’ March party pooper with monotony for almost a decade, winning the last nine Round 1/2 meetings between the two clubs as part of its record 11-game winning streak against Carlton. The Blues yet again head into a new campaign with renewed optimism on the back of hiring new coach Michael Voss and signing recruits Adam Cerra, George Hewett and Lewis Young. And the confirmed return of two-time cancer conqueror Sam Docherty is a tremendous story sure to give the Blues an added boost. But they are missing arguably their best player Sam Walsh (ankle). The Tigers, meanwhile, are close to full strength, and after having their 2021 campaign largely ruined by injury, will be keen to show the world they’re not a spent force just yet.
RONNY’S TIP: Richmond by 17 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Richmond by 18 points.

ST KILDA v COLLINGWOOD (Marvel Stadium, Friday 7.50pm local time)
Both of these teams head into the new season with differing expectations. The Saints, and their coach Brett Ratten in particular, are under pressure to return to the finals after spectacularly dropping out of the top eight last year, while the Magpies are embarking on a new era under new coach Craig McRae after a decade of Nathan Buckley at the helm. Both clubs have already been hit hard by injury with Jack Billings (groin), Hunter Clark (shoulder), Nick Coffield (ACL), Jarryn Geary (shoulder), Dan Hannebery (hamstring), Zak Jones (personal reasons) and Paddy Ryder (achilles) out or in doubt for the Saints, while Collingwood’s backline will be without Brayden Maynard (suspended), Jordan Roughead (shoulder) and Charlie Dean (ankle), while Jeremy Howe (groin) will be thrown into the side without match fitness. Despite all of that, the Saints should still be a little bit too strong for the Magpies.
RONNY’S TIP: St Kilda by 15 points.
ROCO’S TIP: St Kilda by 16 points.

GEELONG v ESSENDON (MCG, Saturday 2.10pm local time)
The Bombers will be crossing their fingers that their electrifying match winner Jake Stringer (groin) will be fit for this match because they are already badly depleted up forward as it is. Three of their top five goalkickers from 2021 will be absent on Saturday – Anthony McDonald-Tipungwti (personal), Cale Hooker (retired) and Harrison Jones (ankle). If Stringer fails his fitness test, that will make it four of the top five, including the entire top three. The flow-on effect would mean a lot more pressure gets heaped on the shoulders of Peter Wright and the untried Kaine Baldwin, if he is handed his debut. Geelong might be written off as a legitimate premiership threat this year, but the Cats still made it to a preliminary final last year and will probably have Essendon’s measure for the fourth time in a row this weekend.
RONNY’S TIP: Geelong by 25 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Essendon by 4 points.

GWS v SYDNEY (Stadium Australia, Saturday 5.10pm local time)
This game has the potential to be historic with Lance Franklin just five goals away from becoming only the sixth man in VFL/AFL history to reach the magical 1000 barrier. He would join footy luminaries Tony Lockett, Gordon Coventry, Jason Dunstall, Gary Ablett senior and Doug Wade in the very exclusive group. But recent history would suggest he is more likely to achieve the milestone in Round 2 considering he kicked five goals or more only three times last year. The subplot of this contest is that it is also a grudge match, perhaps not on the scale of Melbourne-Bulldogs, but a grudge match nonetheless. These crosstown rivals last met in that epic elimination final which GWS won by one point – taking their finals head-to-head against the Swans to 3-0. However, this time the Giants will be without their inspirational co-captain Toby Greene who still has another five weeks to serve of his six-match ban he copped during that final for making contact with an umpire. For all intents and purposes, Sydney should have won that game and it’s a result that wouldn’t have sat properly with the Swans over summer. They’ll be keen to make amends for their diabolical goalkicking performance in the final quarter in particular.
RONNY’S TIP: Sydney by 16 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Sydney by 32 points.

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BRISBANE v PORT ADELAIDE (Gabba, Saturday 7.10pm local time)
Two of the competition’s biggest finals disappointments over the last couple of years have the chance to get a new campaign off to a good start when they face each other in a blockbuster clash. There’s little doubt that these two sides will be there when the whips are cracking again at the end of season, but after the Power became the first non-Victorian side to lose consecutive home preliminary finals in VFL/AFL history last year and the Lions crashed out of the finals in straight sets for the second time in three years, these two teams are in no position to take anything for granted. This promises to be a cracking contest between a pair of heavyweight sides. But in front of their home fans on a ground where they have a brilliant home-and-away record at the last three years (28-2) compared to their finals record at the same venue in the same period (1-4), expect Chris Fagan’s men to get the job done.
RONNY’S TIP: Brisbane by 9 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Brisbane by 18 points.

HAWTHORN v NORTH MELBOURNE (MCG, Sunday 1.10pm local time)
Opportunities to win games this year will probably be scarce for these two sides, so this already looms as important. It’s the start of a new era at Hawthorn with Sam Mitchell taking over the reins from Alastair Clarkson after a legendary 18-year stint in the role that yielded four premierships. Suffice to say Mitchell has fairly big shoes to fill, but the Brownlow medallist is not short on self-confidence. The Kangaroos did get more competitive as season 2021 wore on, but they still won the wooden spoon, and it’s a long way back for them. Despite the positive moves they’ve made on the list management front, the Roos still have to dramatically improve in almost every key statistical category in 2022.
RONNY’S TIP: Hawthorn by 13 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Hawthorn by 10 points.

ADELAIDE v FREMANTLE (Adelaide Oval, Sunday 3.40pm local time)
The time for excuses has come to an end for Fremantle. If the Dockers want to be taken seriously again, then a return to the finals must be achieved in 2022. They’ve been building nicely under Justin Longmuir but he now enters his third year at the helm and with the list of players he now has at his disposal, he will surely head into the second-last year of his contract next season under immense pressure if he fails again to take his team to the top eight. Their first credibility test comes in the form of back-to-back bottom-four side Adelaide. The game might be played at Adelaide Oval, but if Freo can’t take care of Matthew Nicks’ men without Rory Laird, Paul Seedsman and Taylor Walker, then they would need to take a good, hard look at themselves.
RONNY’S TIP: Fremantle by 16 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Fremantle by 28 points.

WEST COAST v GOLD COAST (Optus Stadium, Sunday 5.40pm local time)
There hasn’t been a team that has experienced a more hellish pre-season than the Eagles. They head into this contest without Elliot Yeo (ankle), Jack Darling (foot), Tim Kelly (COVID), Liam Ryan (COVID), Dom Sheed (ankle), Oscar Allen (foot), Jamie Cripps (pectoral), Tom Cole (ankle), Alex Witherden (suspension) and Luke Edwards (groin), while Luke Shuey (hamstring) and Liam Duggan (knee) are unlikely. New recruits Campbell Chesser (syndesmosis) and Greg Clark (shoulder) aren’t available either. It’s an absolute disaster for Adam Simpson’s side. As a result, the Suns would have to be a huge chance of coming away with the victory. In fact, that’s exactly what they should do if they’re worth their salt.
RONNY’S TIP: Gold Coast by 19 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Gold Coast by 10 points.