Geelong superstar Jeremy Cameron was the difference the last time the Cats and Blues played in Round 7. Will he star again? Photo: AFL MEDIA

CARLTON v GEELONG (MCG, Friday 7:40pm)
Round 15 kicks off with a blockbuster clash between a pair of top-four hopefuls in front of a packed MCG. Despite the fact it’s only been eight weeks since these sides played each other, you couldn’t ask for much more. The Blues head into this game with a lot of momentum, having won four of their last five matches to zoom up to second on the ladder. And while they weren’t overly impressive in their last outing, their lethal accuracy and enviable forward efficiency ensured victory over the wasteful Bombers. They take on a Geelong outfit that has been out of sorts since starting the year 7-0. The Cats have lost five of their last six games, and in their sole victory in that period, they struggled to overcome bottom-two Richmond at Kardinia Park. Although, they were far from disgraced against the Swans before the bye. In a big boost for Chris Scott’s side, Patrick Dangerfield, Zach Tuohy and Ollie Henry all return. One man holds the key to the contest: Jeremy Cameron. The Geelong superstar has averaged 20 disposals, seven marks and five goals in his last three games against Carlton. If Blues coach Michael Voss fails again to devise a plan to stifle Cameron’s influence, the Cats are going to be hard to stop.
RONNY’S TIP: Geelong by 12 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Carlton by 10 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Carlton by 15 points.

PORT ADELAIDE v BRISBANE (Adelaide Oval, Saturday 1:15pm)
It’s been 20 years since these clubs did battle for the 2004 premiership, and it’s fair to say they currently find themselves in much different situations to those glory days of two decades ago. Having dropped their last two games against fellow top-eight rivals Carlton and GWS, the Power have slumped to seventh on the ladder, while Brisbane is battling to just stay in touch with the final eight, one game adrift in 13th spot. But at least the Lions have turned things around since starting the year 2-5, and have only lost one of their last six games to remain in the September hunt. The desperate state of affairs for the Power is not lost on coach Ken Hinkley who has made a bit of a statement by dropping Ivan Soldo, Quinton Narkle, Dylan Williams and Francis Evans. While most of that quartet aren’t exactly walk-up starts to the senior team, it’s still fair to say Hinkley is losing patience with his hot-and-cold mob. Conversely, the Lions represent a settled bunch and after coming so close to achieving victory in their last trip to the city of churches, when they drew with the Crows in Round 9, don’t be surprised if they go one better this time around.
RONNY’S TIP: Brisbane by 7 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Port Adelaide by 22 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Brisbane by 11 points.

GWS v SYDNEY (Giants Stadium, Saturday 4:35pm)
The Giants got a much-needed win last week to momentarily steady the ship of their wobbly season, but things do not get any easier for them this week. In fact, things don’t get much harder than the Swans at the moment. John Longmire’s men are sweeping all before them in 2024, having now won nine matches in a row to sit no fewer than three games clear on top of the ladder. Their most recent success another scintillating comeback win over Adelaide, featuring a career-high nine goals from Joel Amartey. The Swans’ belief is sky high right now, as evidenced by the fact that they have frequently fought back from large deficits to register impressive wins in recent times. They truly back themselves from any position in any game and against any opponent. Making the task even tougher for GWS is the massive loss of champion defender Sam Taylor (testicle), while the absence of Nick Haynes (hamstring) will also be keenly felt in the backline. With four wins from their past five Sydney derbies, the Swans have the wood over ‘little brother’, and should be able to record 10 wins in a row for the first time since 2014 (which, in a good omen for the Swans, was a grand final year for them).
RONNY’S TIP: Sydney by 21 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Sydney by 6 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Sydney by 19 points.

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MELBOURNE v NORTH MELBOURNE (MCG, Saturday 7:30pm)
All of a sudden this game does not look as straightforward for the Demons as it did a fortnight ago. The Kangaroos flicked the competitive switch during their bye week and since losing their first 12 games by an average 52 points, they have knocked off West Coast in Perth and fallen to reigning premier Collingwood by a point after giving up a nine-goal lead. And all of that should send shivers down the spines of Melbourne players, coaches and supporters, because if North replicates its ferocious pressure game, which saw it dominate stoppages and produce astronomical attacking efficiency in the first half, it will go close to win No.2 for the season. And the stakes couldn’t be higher for the Demons, who have lost four of their last five games and are desperate to stay in touch with the top eight. Indeed, the loss of superstar Christian Petracca (ribs/spleen) for the season could not have come at a worst time for Simon Goodwin’s team. Meanwhile, co-captain Jy Simpkin (hamstring) returns for the Kangaroos to further bolster their high-performing midfield, led by the one-two act of George Wardlaw and Luke Davies-Uniacke. The Demons should still probably be good enough to get the job done, but it promises to be a nervy night for the red-and-blue faithful.
RONNY’S TIP: Melbourne by 11 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Melbourne by 16 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Melbourne by 17 points.

ESSENDON v WEST COAST (Marvel Stadium, Sunday 1pm)
After navigating their worst fortnight of the season so far, which saw them lose back-to-back games for the first time, the Bombers still find themselves in the top four heading into this game. And they lost few admirers in those two losses to Gold Coast and Carlton where, really, terrible goalkicking cost them dearly in the end. Apart from that (and it’s a big part of the game, undoubtedly), Essendon didn’t do too much wrong against the Suns or Blues. And Brad Scott’s team looks set to receive a major boost this weekend with Sam Draper, Mason Redman and Xavier Duursma all named in the extended squad after overcoming their respective injuries. Much of the optimism surrounding West Coast’s first half of the season has evaporated in their last three games which saw them suffer horribly disappointing losses to Adelaide, St Kilda and North Melbourne. The return of gun forward Oscar Allen is a sight for sore eyes, but with Dom Sheed (hamstring) joining whiz kid Harley Reid (suspension), Tim Kelly (hip) and Liam Duggan (concussion) on the sidelines, this task appears too difficult for the struggling Eagles. A win for Essendon will promote it back up to third at least, and possibly as high as second, so it’s far too important a game for it to drop.
RONNY’S TIP: Essendon by 25 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Essendon by 24 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Essendon by 35 points.

FREMANTLE v GOLD COAST (Optus Stadium, Sunday 2pm)
If a furious Dockers coach Justin Longmuir is anything to go by, expect Fremantle to come out breathing fire this Sunday. The normally unflappable Longmuir could not hide his disappointment at his team’s shocking performance last week against the Western Bulldogs. The 67-point loss was Freo’s worst effort of the season, and largely came out of nowhere considering it only lost one of its previous six games. The Dockers’ 92-point win over Melbourne in their game before the bye suggested they were well on the way to feature in the finals again, but the Dogs brought them back to earth with a thud, scoring a monstrous 23.11 (149), and it prompted Longmuir to suggest his players got comfortable with themselves after they had “everyone pumping their tyres up” following the big Demons win. And it’s hard to disagree with Longmuir’s assessment. Fremantle’s intensity, pressure and effort were well down for most of the game and they appeared to be coasting through proceedings. Well, you can only imagine what training has been like for Freo during the week. Longmuir’s counterpart this week Damien Hardwick has had a similar experience since his team’s last match. Hardwick hasn’t been afraid to wield the axe this season, and he has done so again, reacting savagely to the Suns’ disappointing loss in their dour, low-scoring affair against St Kilda by dropping Brayden Fiorini, Nick Holman, Jed Walter and Ned Moyle. But Gold Coast remains one of the worst road teams in the league, having now lost its last 13 games away from Carrara or Darwin, which makes it easy to back Fremantle in this one, especially with star Suns forward Ben King out with a knee injury.
RONNY’S TIP: Fremantle by 22 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Fremantle by 12 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Fremantle by 11 points.

SEASON TOTALS
RONNY 73
ROCO 73
ROCKET 71

*all times are local