Hawthorn forward Mabior Chol gets a kick away from traffic during the Hawks’ meeting with Adelaide in Round 20 last year. Photos: AFL MEDIA

ST KILDA v WESTERN BULLDOGS (Marvel Stadium, Thursday 7:30pm)
The Bulldogs are coming off a bitterly disappointing loss to Hawthorn last week, but perhaps the fresh re-signing of long-time coach Luke Beveridge will lift their spirits. Not to mention the return of prodigious young forward Sam Darcy. The 21-year-old was quickly becoming the hottest property in the AFL before a nasty knee injury unfortunately brought his rapid momentum to a halt eight weeks ago (coincidentally against the Saints). If he picks up where he left off, St Kilda will be in for a long night. Star Saints defender Callum Wilkie certainly has his work cut out. Ross Lyon’s side achieved a much-needed morale boost before the bye with an upset win over Melbourne in the red centre, and Jack Macrae is certainly a welcome inclusion against his old team. The Bulldogs absolutely destroyed St Kilda last time around, and the 71-point margin was actually flattering. It would be surprising to see Beveridge’s men drop two in a row as they aim to stay in touch with the top eight.
RONNY’S TIP: Western Bulldogs by 24 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Western Bulldogs by 24 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Western Bulldogs by 27 points.

HAWTHORN v ADELAIDE (Launceston, Friday 7:40pm)
The Hawks got their faltering season back on track last week with a very impressive win over the Bulldogs without James Sicily (hip/abdominal), Nick Watson (illness), Jack Scrimshaw (ankle) and, of course, Will Day (foot). But the fact is their record against top-eight sides remains 1-4, and the struggling Giants (seventh) are the highest-ranked team they have beaten. If the Hawks want to make a real statement, it would be with a win over the third-placed Crows. And Launceston was the site of their win over GWS, which should give them an extra boost of confidence. But Adelaide is no pushover anymore, as evidenced by their gutsy victory over reigning premier Brisbane last round. The Crows have quality all over the ground and they might be bolstered further by Nick Murray (knee) potentially returning. Although James Peatling (suspension) is a key out. Meanwhile, Watson and Scrimshaw should return for Hawthorn but James Worpel (quad) will have to pass a fitness test. The fact that the Hawks have won their last seven games at the venue for this match probably tilts the result their favour, but it certainly won’t be a walk in the park.
RONNY’S TIP: Hawthorn by 2 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Hawthorn by 6 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Hawthorn by 3 points.

BRISBANE v GWS (Gabba, Saturday 1:20pm)
What has happened to GWS? After looking set to make an assault on a premiership that many pre-season pundits predicted they would win, with a 4-1 record, it has lost five of its last eight games, and was lucky to scrape past bottom-two Richmond in Round 12. This is by far coach Adam Kingsley’s biggest challenge of his short tenure. The team’s skill level is nowhere its best and the players don’t look prepared to put in the hard yards synonymous with the famed ‘Orange Tsunami’. Adding to the Giants’ headaches is captain Toby Greene (glute) being under a cloud, but star midfielder Finn Callaghan (shoulder) should return. Brisbane is reeling from a shocking loss to Adelaide, caused mainly by its notorious goalkicking yips from yesteryear rearing their ugly head again, so expect it to rebound against the Giants, especially with Brandon Starcevich (concussion) on the verge of a long-awaited recall.
RONNY’S TIP: Brisbane by 22 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Brisbane by 16 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Brisbane by 15 points.

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ESSENDON v GEELONG (MCG, Saturday 4:15pm)
There’s no doubt that the Bombers have been admirably punching above their weight class for most of the year. Not many would have predicted them to have six wins at this stage of the season, and their performances in narrow losses to Brisbane (away) and Carlton in the last two weeks with injury-ravaged and youthful teams speak volumes about their spirit and attitude. But unfortunately for the Bombers, nobody from their extensive injury list is expected to return this week, and compounding matters for them is the suspension of prime mover Sam Durham. All of that spells big trouble against their bogey team Geelong. No side relishes playing against Essendon more than the Cats, as evidenced by the fact that they have beaten the Dons in 19 of their past 22 meetings in a span that dates back almost two decades. With Bailey Smith (hamstring) potentially returning, a comfortable win for Geelong is in the offing.
RONNY’S TIP: Geelong by 39 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Geelong by 28 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Geelong by 31 points.

NORTH MELBOURNE v FREMANTLE (Optus Stadium, Saturday 5:35pm)
Selling one home game to Western Australia has paid off for North Melbourne. Can the perennial struggler make it two from two? Probably not. To be frank, the Kangaroos dodged a bullet last week, and for all intents and purposes should have been beaten by the Eagles in Bunbury, but Andrew McQualter’s men decided to put on a spectacular display of inaccuracy and snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. The Dockers are a far more different proposition for North. They appear to be hitting their stride with three wins in a row, including a tremendous performance against the Suns on the Gold Coast before the bye. The Kangaroos’ loss of Charlie Comben (shoulder) exacerbates the absence of fellow key backman Aidan Corr (calf), and could definitely leave them exposed with Freo tall targets Josh Treacy, Jye Amiss and Patrick Voss running around.
RONNY’S TIP: Fremantle by 41 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Fremantle by 32 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Fremantle by 37 points.

PORT ADELAIDE v MELBOURNE (Adelaide Oval, Sunday 2:50pm)
While Hawthorn-Adelaide is the match of the round, the clash between the Power and Demons promises to be a very close-run thing, albeit a bottom-five match-up. Melbourne has put together a very strong formline since starting 0-5, and will no doubt privately be kicking itself for giving up a home game to Alice Springs which it lost to St Kilda a fortnight ago. Meanwhile, just as all looked lost for battling Port Adelaide, it leapt off the canvas to take down GWS in Canberra last week and ensure it still has a faint pulse in season 2025. Both teams appear to be on the verge of regaining a star midfielder each with the Power set to recall Jason Horne-Francis (hamstring) and Melbourne potentially bringing back Jack Viney (concussion). The Demons’ resurgence seems more genuine than Port Adelaide’s, and therefore they deserve the vote of confidence. After all, they almost defeated flag favourite Collingwood in a one-point King’s Birthday thriller earlier this week.
RONNY’S TIP: Melbourne by 3 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Melbourne by 11 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Melbourne by 5 points.

WEST COAST v CARLTON (Optus Stadium, Sunday 4:10pm)
Carlton hasn’t exactly been setting the world on fire lately. After losing three of its previous four games, it almost blew a 38-point lead on Sunday night against an Essendon side that featured six teenagers, a decimated backline and without its two best ruckmen. But the Blues got the job done, and they should really be able to repeat the dose against last-placed West Coast which has only one win from 13 matches and couldn’t even topple North Melbourne last week. Carlton’s cause might also be strengthened by the return of star forward Harry McKay (knee). The Blues have won their last five matches against the Eagles by an average of 76 points, with three of those victories occurring in Perth. Carlton has never beaten West Coast six times in a row.
RONNY’S TIP: Carlton by 26 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Carlton by 22 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Carlton by 9 points.

SEASON TOTALS
ROCO 85
RONNY 75
ROCKET 72

*all times are local