Dangerous Brisbane forward Charlie Cameron during a previous clash between the Lions and Saints. Photo: AFL MEDIA

GOLD COAST v CARLTON (TIO Stadium, Friday 7.20pm local time)
Season 2020 has sure been a weird one, with adversity hitting all clubs at one point or another throughout the year. So, in troubling times like these, it’s fantastic that we still get the opportunity to formally celebrate the enormous contribution Indigenous players have made to the great game of Aussie Rules courtesy of the 14th Sir Doug Nicholls Indigenous Round. And kicking things off is a crunch match between two top-eight hopefuls desperate to keep their finals hopes alive in what could prove to be an early elimination final. Neither side has been in sparkling form with just two wins between them from their last 10 games combined – both going to the Blues by small margins against lowly North Melbourne and Fremantle. And while the Suns only have a draw to show for their last five outings, they did fall to both St Kilda and the Bulldogs by less than a kick in that period. The Blues (Jack Martin, Marc Pittonet) and Suns (David Swallow, Jarrod Harbrow) have welcomed back some key players for this one, and although David Teague’s side might have a couple extra days’ rest on the Suns, Gold Coast seems to be banging down the door for their fifth win of the campaign.
RONNY’S TIP: Gold Coast by 2 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Gold Coast by 6 points.

WESTERN BULLDOGS v MELBOURNE (Metricon Stadium, Saturday 1.45pm local time)
This looms as a good old-fashioned “eight-pointer” between the eighth-placed Demons and 10th-placed Bulldogs, who are separated by only percentage with six rounds remaining. But given Melbourne has a game in hand on the Doggies, the sense of urgency is slightly stronger for Luke Beveridge’s side. After 18 months in the wilderness, it appears as though the 2018 Demons have re-emerged. In the last three rounds, they have not just beaten, but blown away their opponents in incredibly impressive style. The question now is whether or not this version of Melbourne is here to stay. The Dogs have found the going tough in the last month, but restored some confidence with a 10-goal drubbing of winless Adelaide last week. But their only win of note this year was against GWS, and the stocks of that result have plummeted in recent times. The Dees are in a similar boat with a win over a dispirited Collingwood their highlight of the year to date, however it’s hard to ignore the form line of the side that has won its last three games by over 50 points.
RONNY’S TIP: Melbourne by 18 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Western Bulldogs by 10 points.

PORT ADELAIDE v HAWTHORN (Adelaide Oval, Saturday 4.05pm local time)
Hawthorn’s season has gone from bad to worse with star defender James Sicily set for 12 months on the sidelines after rupturing his ACL against West Coast. Compounding things for the Hawks was Jaeger O’Meara breaking his hand in the same game. With six losses from their last seven games, the season can’t come to an end quickly enough for the 16th-placed Hawks. And the tests don’t get any easier for Alastair Clarkson’s men with their next assignment against top-ranked Port Adelaide on its home turf on the rebound from a 10-goal defeat. The Power have had a week they would rather forget with key players Dan Houston and Peter Ladhams also both suspended for breaching COVID protocols. However, you can bet your bottom dollar that they will still be seething from their humbling at the hands of fellow flag contender Geelong, and Hawthorn presents itself as a perfect lame duck for Ken Hinkley’s men to prey upon to help them recapture the kind of form which has seen them sit on top of the ladder all year.
RONNY’S TIP: Port Adelaide by 42 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Port Adelaide by 30 points.

ESSENDON v RICHMOND (TIO Stadium, Saturday 7.15pm local time)
Arguably the biggest positive that has arisen from the pandemic which has hit Victoria hardest is the Dreamtime game being staged in the Top End for the very first time. It’s very fitting that this match rounds out the first ever AFL Darwin double-header. What a thrill it will be for not only the Indigenous players of both teams to play in this game up north, but also for the crowd in attendance which will doubtlessly be predominately Indigenous. It looms as a special occasion. Unfortunately for the Darwin folk, putting the incredibly important themes attached to the match to one side, they’re not going to be treated to much of a contest. For large chunks of games, the Bombers play a dull, boring, predictable, static brand of football. Now, that might be able to get the job done against the bottom teams, but as St Kilda showed just last round, it gets torn to ribbons by the competition’s better teams – of which Richmond is certainly one.
RONNY’S TIP: Richmond by 50 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Richmond by 36 points.

FREMANTLE v SYDNEY (Optus Stadium, Saturday 6.10pm local time)
This might be a match-up between two bottom-five sides, but recent form has ensured that there is a level of intrigue in this one. The Swans are riding high after scoring their best win in over a year as they thumped cross-town rival GWS by 41 points in a huge upset. Meanwhile, the Dockers might be smarting still from that incredible kick after the siren from Jack Newnes which helped Carlton snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, but they have clearly improved as the year has gone on. And it’s fair to say you might see captain Nat Fyfe spend a bit more time in the midfield this week if Freo’s on-ball division begins to get overwhelmed as it did against the Blues. Michael Walters should also be better for the run after being relatively quiet in his first game back last week. There’s a lot to be excited about from a Sydney perspective and its future hasn’t looked as bright as it did against the Giants. However, a key architect of that result – star defender Dane Rampe – has been ruled out with a broken hand. The key injuries continue to pile up for the Swans and the type of result they produced last week, while promising for the future, will prove to be an exception this year rather than the rule. The Dockers have put together a more reliable and consistent form line and with more big guns in their side, should be too good.
RONNY’S TIP: Fremantle by 21 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Fremantle by 16 points.

ADELAIDE v GEELONG (Adelaide Oval, Sunday 12.35pm local time)
The Crows are 0-12 and if they thought their first win of the year was coming this week, they had better think again. It’s actually quite frightening to think about the kind of things the incredibly disciplined and well-oiled Geelong machine will do to the hapless Crows when one contemplates how emphatically it brushed aside two supposed premiership contenders in the space of five days last week. Geelong smashed the Saints and Power by a combined margin of 119 points, restricting both teams to just four goals each in the process. The Cats have winners all over the park while the opposite is true of the Crows. Chris Scott is coaching the lights out, Matthew Nicks is struggling badly in his rookie season. Adding insult to injury is the fact that Adelaide has conceded the most points from intercept possessions this season while Geelong has conceded the fewest. Look away now, Adelaide fans. Loss No.16 in a row is coming your way, and this one is going to be particularly brutal.
RONNY’S TIP: Geelong by 82 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Geelong by 56 points.

BRISBANE v ST KILDA (Gabba, Sunday 3.35pm local time)
It’s the game of the round as second-placed Brisbane faces fifth-placed St Kilda with both teams out to bolster their top-four claims. They also head into this contest in very good form, having each won five of their last six games – although the Lions were rusty to say the least last week in accounting for North Melbourne by a solitary point. But Brisbane should welcome back Cam Rayner (hamstring) and Daniel Rich (suspension), while the Saints will almost certainly regain managed duo Jake Carlisle and Dean Kent. There’s no doubt that when St Kilda gets its running game up and going, it’s one of the hardest teams to beat. But the Saints are up against one of the few teams in the competition that can look even more dangerous when it really cranks into gear. And when you add the fact that the Lions are undefeated at their home ground this year, with five wins by an average of 28 points, and have won 15 of their last 18 there, the case for St Kilda gets harder to make.
RONNY’S TIP: Brisbane by 20 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Brisbane by 12 points.

WEST COAST v GWS (Optus Stadium, Sunday 4.10pm local time)
Putting the 2019 grand final aside, it’s hard to think of a more disappointing performance produced by a GWS team than last round against Sydney. At least in last year’s premiership decider, the Giants had a crack in the first quarter. Last week, they did not fire a single shot against a bottom-four side – it was a truly appalling effort. Captain Stephen Coniglio described his team as “hopeless” at half-time of that game, and he was bang on the money. It’s hard to work out what the Giants’ game plan even is, and within that you have too many players wanting to play like millionaires rather than get their hands dirty and do the hard, fundamental stuff. They’ve certainly hit rock bottom, so the expected return of barometer Toby Greene (hamstring) couldn’t be more timely, especially for one of the toughest tasks in football – West Coast in Perth. The Eagles are humming along beautifully with an active seven-game winning streak and are looking every bit the premiership favourites the bookies have anointed them. Aside from a groin injury to Elliot Yeo, not much is going wrong for West Coast after a bumpy 1-3 start to the year and with a fully-functioning forward line, which the Giants could only dream about, it should have few issues making it eight wins straight.
RONNY’S TIP: West Coast by 29 points.
ROCO’S TIP: West Coast by 34 points.

COLLINGWOOD v NORTH MELBOURNE (Gabba, Monday 7.10pm local time)
The Magpies have looked shaky for quite some time now, and their thumping loss to Melbourne magnified their predicament more than any other loss this year. While still in seventh spot on the ladder, Collingwood has only just been going for five rounds now. Although, at least the likes of Scott Pendlebury, Darcy Moore, Jamie Elliott and Will Hoskin-Elliott will be better for the run after all returning for the horror show against the Demons. And they could be further boosted by the return of Isaac Quaynor (shin). However, if they dish up the same garbage they did last round this week against North Melbourne, the Magpies run the risk of another embarrassing loss, and they’ve had quite a few of those this year against Essendon, Fremantle, West Coast and Melbourne. The Kangaroos showed plenty of fight last week, but that performance sits one out as an island in their horrible 2020 season. With no tangible evidence in the last couple of months to suggest North is capable of replicating such a display in consecutive weeks, the Magpies should be able come away with the four points.
RONNY’S TIP: Collingwood by 22 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Collingwood by 28 points.

RONNY’S SEASON TOTAL: 68
ROCO’S SEASON TOTAL: 70