Essendon won a thriller against GWS last time the teams met. A repeat right now seems rather unlikely. Photo: AFL MEDIA

PORT ADELAIDE v WESTERN BULLDOGS (Adelaide Oval, Monday 6.40pm local time)
Long criticised for its inability to regularly defeat top-eight teams, Port Adelaide has a real chance here to prove itself a worthy finals team. Having already beaten West Coast and GWS this season, claiming the Bulldogs’ scalp would be another big statement from the ladder-leading Power. And it’s hard to go past them. In years gone by, they would’ve lost a game like last round’s against Melbourne after suffering an upset loss to St Kilda at home, but they dusted themselves off and reasserted themselves with a dominant performance over the Demons. Which Bulldogs side will turn up? That’s anyone’s guess. The difference between their best and worst remains stark and they have been thoroughly terrible in two of their last four games against Carlton and Richmond. In round nine, Port Adelaide ranked second for inside-50 differentials while the Doggies were 16th. Luke Beveridge’s men do regain Josh Dunkley, and they have good recent memories of downing the Power at Adelaide Oval last year, but Port Adelaide seems to be a more solid proposition at this stage.
RONNY’S TIP: Port Adelaide by 17 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Port Adelaide by 10 points.

RICHMOND v BRISBANE (Metricon Stadium, Tuesday 7.10pm local time)
What a clinker this promises to be. Both premiership contenders head into this game on the back of comprehensive victories, with the Tigers thumping the Bulldogs and the Lions obliterating the Bombers. This writer dare says that the Lions have been waiting for this one ever since they were smashed by Richmond in last year’s qualifying final. And the odds would seem to be in their favour with Richmond still missing at least six of their best players and potentially seven if Nick Vlastuin doesn’t recover from his calf injury in time. Of course, there’s no doubt Richmond’s ability to manage its huge injury list is sensational with three wins from its past four games. But the Lions are a level above any side the Tigers have faced in the past month, and Chris Fagan’s team will test Richmond’s depth until it reaches breaking strain.
RONNY’S TIP: Brisbane by 20 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Richmond by 6 points.

GEELONG v NORTH MELBOURNE (Gabba, Wednesday 5.40pm local time)
The Kangaroos would have garnered a lot of confidence from their smashing of Adelaide on the weekend, even if the Crows are sitting three games clear on the bottom of the ladder. And they would have got an even bigger boost from Majak Daw’s return game, and the uplifting scenes of his first AFL goal in nearly two years. But let’s not kid ourselves, North is a bottom four team for a reason, and it is taking on a seriously good team in the Cats. Geelong proved that it could quite easily be there when the whips are cracking yet again this year following its nail-biting loss to premiership favourite West Coast last round. When you line up both teams against each other, the Kangas really don’t stand much chance.
RONNY’S TIP: Geelong by 34 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Geelong by 30 points.

ADELAIDE v MELBOURNE (Adelaide Oval, Wednesday 7.40pm local time)
Oh, boy. Doesn’t this have the potential to become car crash event for the Demons. Just when you thought Melbourne had turned the corner following a pair of impressive wins and a narrow four-point loss to the Lions, it takes two steps back (as it usually does) with arguably the worst performance in Simon Goodwin’s reign, against Port Adelaide. The Dees were truly pitiful in a display which had all the hallmarks of the Mark Neeld era. Melbourne should still beat the Crows, who hit rock bottom on the weekend after losing by 69 points to the second-bottom team, and who are still searching for their first win of the year. But the Dees would not want to be too cute at the Crows’ home ground, because Adelaide was pretty good in its last game there against Essendon. And after joining Brett Ratten (2007-08), Damien Hardwick (2010) and Mark Neeld (2012) as a modern rookie coach to start his career with an 0-9 record, Matthew Nicks will also be keen to emulate them all by achieving his first win in his 10th game.
RONNY’S TIP: Melbourne by 15 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Melbourne by 2 points.

COLLINGWOOD v SYDNEY (Gabba, Thursday 5.40pm local time)
At 4-4-1 and in 10th spot on the ladder, all of a sudden the Magpies’ season sits firmly on a knife’s edge as we go past the halfway point of the season. And after suffering an upset loss to the third-last Dockers on Sunday night, they prepare for battle against the second-last Swans with the knowledge that no game is a “gimme” fresh in their minds. Not even the return of Steele Sidebottom could inspire them to beat the Dockers, with the absence of injured star trio Scott Pendlebury, Jordan De Goey and Jeremy Howe appearing to really impact them in their last couple of games. Undoubtedly, the latest in a long line of off-field distractions – this time incredibly involving their coach Nathan Buckley and exacerbated by the comments of president Eddie McGuire a day beforehand – wouldn’t have helped. Like the Demons, the Magpies are probably fortunate that after a terribly disappointing performance, they’re playing one of the weaker teams in the competition, especially after the Swans themselves just copped a shellacking at the hands of St Kilda.
RONNY’S TIP: Collingwood by 22 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Collingwood by 16 points.

GOLD COAST v ST KILDA (Metricon Stadium, Thursday 8.10pm local time)
With eight games to go, the Saints are sitting in third spot on the ladder and are fast-becoming a legitimate top-four threat. They’re quick, they’re classy, they’re potent in attack, they’re solid down back and they now have a dynamic ruck tandem. What’s not to like about them? Not only are they arguably the most attractive team to watch in the AFL right now, but they’re damn good, too. And, really, if it wasn’t for two inexplicable fadeouts against cellar dwellers North Melbourne and Fremantle, they would be in top spot on the ladder. You can expect the Suns to put up a decent fight, for they are no longer pushovers, as this writer has highlighted a few times this year already, but St Kilda has bigger fish to fry, and is slowly but surely locking its crosshairs on a meaningful run at a finals campaign. The Saints have won the last four meetings between these two teams, the last three of which have been decided by a total of seven points, but the margin should be a bit larger this time around. Oh, and by the way, how good will it be to see the King twins go head-to-head for the first time?
RONNY’S TIP: St Kilda by 19 points.
ROCO’S TIP: St Kilda by 22 points.

ESSENDON v GWS (Metricon Stadium, Friday 7.50pm local time)
If ever you needed evidence that Essendon is a team that does OK against teams below it but is simply outgunned and outclassed by teams above it, then its last two thumping losses to the Bulldogs and Lions is it. On both occasions it has looked like a case of boys against men and it’s becoming more apparent with each passing week that the Bombers are once again a middle-of-the-road team. Yes, they’re missing a huge chunk of their best 22, but so is Richmond, and that fact probably brings into even sharper focus the gulf in quality between Essendon and the top teams when you consider how well the Tigers have managed. Toby Greene and Matt De Boer may have returned to the Giants’ injury list, but as a team that looks like its flag tilt is starting to build some momentum, GWS will be far too good for an Essendon team whose lack of connection between its midfield and forward line is becoming alarming.
RONNY’S TIP: GWS by 36 points.
ROCO’S TIP: GWS by 38 points.

RONNY’S SEASON TOTAL: 50
ROCO’S SEASON TOTAL: 53