Geelong star Bailey Smith and Brisbane’s Cam Rayner fight for the ball in Round 3 at the Gabba this year as Mark O’Connor (right) looks on. Photos: AFL MEDIA

FREMANTLE v ESSENDON (Optus Stadium, Thursday 6:10pm)
The Bombers have been brave recently without getting the results, but there’s only so far you can go with a decimated line-up, and the chickens came home to roost last week when their perennial tormentor Geelong utterly smashed them by 95 points – making it 20 losses from their last 23 meetings with the Cats. And the bad news for Essendon is it isn’t getting any reinforcements back this week. That means Brad Scott’s men will again head into battle with six teenagers, including an 11th debutant for the season, and six players with four games of experience or less. When you throw in an injury-ravaged backline and ruck department, as well as the absence of suspended prime mover Sam Durham, it’s very hard to mount a case for an upset win for the Dons. Fremantle survived a big scare against cellar dweller North Melbourne last week, but it has now won four games in a row for the first time in two years and should have few issues achieving its first run of five consecutive victories since 2022.
RONNY’S TIP: Fremantle by 32 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Fremantle by 32 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Fremantle by 21 points.

GEELONG v BRISBANE (Kardinia Park, Friday 7:40pm)
The match of the round takes its rightful place on centre stage under the Friday night lights. This promises to be an absolute ripper between the reigning premier and the Cats in another rematch of their gripping preliminary final. The last time they met, the Cats blew a 32-point lead at the Gabba in Round 3 to lose by nine points as the Lions booted eight of the last 10 goals. But things have changed since then with Geelong heading into this match like a house on fire, having won its last five games by an average of 50 points. Conversely, the Lions are off the boil with only two victories from their last six matches. Nevertheless, this is still a top-three showdown between two quality sides when they’re at their best. And both clubs have been hit hard down back with Geelong losing Sam De Koning (shoulder) and Brisbane without Jack Payne (knee). Horrendous goalkicking has basically cost the Lions their last two games, so it would be surprising to see no improvement in that department this week. But even if they do fix their radar, toppling the Cats on their home turf is always a tall order.
RONNY’S TIP: Geelong by 13 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Geelong by 18 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Geelong by 7 points.

CARLTON v NORTH MELBOURNE (MCG, Saturday 1:20pm)
While wins are still few and far between for the Kangaroos, they’ve been far from disgraced in their last six games with victories over Richmond and West Coast, a draw with Brisbane, and narrow losses to Port Adelaide, Essendon and Fremantle. The effort is definitely there, and it appears that finally the wheel is slowly turning in a positive direction for them. They face a Carlton side that did enough against the Eagles last week with an early blitz, but again faded badly in the second half. It’s been an all-too-familiar theme for the Blues and they will again be without Harry McKay (knee), Sam Walsh (foot), Nic Newman (knee), Brodie Kemp (Achilles) and Elijah Hollands (personal), while Charlie Curnow (hamstring) is also in doubt. Does this open the door for North? It could very well do, especially if Charlie Comben (shoulder) and Jackson Archer (hamstring) return to bolster the backline. It’s still hard to trust the Kangas to get the job done, which is why Carlton should still be just too good in the end, but this game might be closer than most people think.
RONNY’S TIP: Carlton by 8 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Carlton by 14 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: North Melbourne by 9 points.

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PORT ADELAIDE v SYDNEY (Adelaide Oval, Saturday 3:45pm)
Just when it looked like Ken Hinkley’s reign as Port Adelaide coach was headed for a premature end, the Power seem like they’ve rediscovered their mojo with a pair of impressive wins against GWS and Melbourne. And the Swans head into this clash on the back of a morale-boosting win over Richmond after a horrible 4-8 start to the season. Crucially for Sydney, Errol Gulden (ankle), Tom Papley (foot), Joel Amartey (suspension) and Matt Roberts (illness) could all make their returns, while Port Adelaide will be without Ollie Wines (knee) and Aliir Aliir (knee) is also under a cloud. If the aforementioned Swans quartet are brought back, that would make this contest very interesting indeed. It would almost be enough to swing the result in the visitors’ favour. But as it’s Wednesday evening, we’re flying a bit blind, so the safe bet is with the reinvigorated Power at home.
RONNY’S TIP: Port Adelaide by 10 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Port Adelaide by 24 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Port Adelaide by 17 points.

COLLINGWOOD v ST KILDA (Marvel Stadium, Saturday 7:35pm)
The Saints’ season is quickly spiralling out of control after a second thumping 12-goal loss in the space of eight weeks to the Bulldogs last round. They’ve now lost seven of their last nine matches to plummet into the bottom five after winning three of their first four. And they could not have asked for a tougher opponent to try and return to the winners’ list against. The top-of-the-ladder Magpies are absolutely flying, having lost just two of 13 games to be outright premiership favourites. If you thought the gap in class and skill was big between the Saints and Dogs last week, you ain’t seen noting yet. Collingwood by plenty in this one.
RONNY’S TIP: Collingwood by 52 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Collingwood by 16 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Collingwood by 25 points.

GWS v GOLD COAST (Giants Stadium, Sunday 1:10pm)
This was a close second behind Geelong-Brisbane for match of the round in what is a testament to how far the Suns have finally come after 14 years of mediocrity. It’s taken a while, but we have got ourselves the most anticipated match in the 14-year history of the Giants-Suns rivalry. Gold Coast has belatedly grown up roughly a decade after GWS did, but better late than never! This match-up should be a beauty. The up-and-down Giants pulled another rabbit out of the hat when everyone least expected it last week by defeating the Lions in Brisbane without their captain Toby Greene, and the Suns are reeling from back-to-back defeats for the first time in 2025. GWS hopes to regain Greene (glute) and Jake Stringer (hamstring), but has suffered a massive double blow with star duo Sam Taylor (toe) and Brent Daniels (adductor) both unavailable. One would expect the Giants to continue their momentum going, but they have been anything but predictable this year. Fresh from a bye, and seething from their recent run of outs, coach Damien Hardwick could have his charges primed and ready to go against a side that has beaten them in 13 out of their last 14 meetings.
RONNY’S TIP: Gold Coast by 7 points.
ROCO’S TIP: GWS by 8 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Gold Coast by 15 points.

WESTERN BULLDOGS v RICHMOND (Marvel Stadium, Sunday 3:20pm)
The Dogs are rock-and-rolling again with their precocious key forward Sam Darcy back in the side, as they proved with their crushing win over St Kilda last week. Darcy is such a unique match-up, he’s almost impossible to stop, meaning the likes of Ben Miller and Noah Balta are going to have their hands full. Second-last Richmond has shown on many occasions this season that it can be a competitive force, but there are few routes available to it for victory on Sunday, especially at a venue the Dogs love playing at so much. It’s been 12 years since the Tigers downed them at Docklands, and if Luke Beveridge’s men play at, or close to, their optimum level, Richmond stands no chance.
RONNY’S TIP: Western Bulldogs by 54 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Western Bulldogs by 42 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Western Bulldogs by 39 points.

SEASON TOTALS
ROCO 90
RONNY 80
ROCKET 77

*all times are local