Collingwood’s Jack Ginnivan steps inside Gold Coast’s Sean Lemmens in the teams’ Round 7 clash. Photo: AFL MEDIA

BRISBANE v WESTERN BULLDOGS (Gabba, Thursday 7.20pm local time)
If the Bulldogs wanted to announce themselves as a premiership contender, this would be the game to do it in. Since starting the year 3-5, the Bulldogs have slowly but surely rebuilt their spluttering campaign to win five of their next six games and re-enter the top eight. And while they’ve beaten Sydney and Collingwood, they are yet to claim a really big scalp in 2022. After briefly capturing top spot on the ladder, Brisbane was swiftly humbled last week by reigning premier Melbourne to the tune of 64 points – the Lions’ biggest loss in over four years. But they now return to their home ground where they play so well, and are further bolstered by the inclusions of captain Dayne Zorko (hamstring) and Zac Bailey (COVID). The Bulldogs welcome back Lachie Hunter after he took personal leave almost three months ago, and although their attacking potency has skyrocketed in their last six games, averaging 114 points in that period, their only loss since Round 8 was against Geelong. Like the Cats, the Lions are also a top-four team and, as such, represent a similarly tough challenge for the Dogs.
RONNY’S TIP: Brisbane by 17 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Brisbane by 8 points.

CARLTON v ST KILDA (Marvel Stadium, Friday 7.50pm local time)
After starting the year in such promising fashion with eight wins from their first 11 games, the wheels have quickly fallen off the Saints, with three consecutive losses relegating them from top-four hopefuls to top-eight personae non gratae. Having slipped to 10th spot, St Kilda now finds itself in a desperate fight to keep its finals hopes alive, and will find it very hard to get back on track against a Carlton outfit that is seemingly immune from one of the biggest injury lists in the competition. The Blues were mighty last week in dispatching of premiership fancy Fremantle despite missing basically their entire backline, as well as Adam Cerra, Marc Pittonet, Jack Martin and Matt Owies. And they finally received some good news on that front this week with Cerra, Martin, Owies and Lachie Fogarty all set to be available for selection. Key defender Jacob Weitering is an outside chance, but is more likely to return against West Coast next week. The Saints will also receive a boost with Paddy Ryder and Bradley Hill almost certain to be recalled, but if they continue to play the kind of uninspired footy they’ve been producing in the past fortnight especially, they will stand no chance up against the sheer firepower of Carlton’s midfield.
RONNY’S TIP: Carlton by 22 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Carlton by 22 points.

ESSENDON v SYDNEY (MCG, Saturday 1.45pm local time)
The Bombers’ performance against St Kilda a couple of weeks ago ultimately proved to be a fleeting moment of positivity in another miserable year. Seven days later, Essendon returned back to Earth with an almighty thud courtesy of West Coast, which had only won one match prior. Yep, the Bombers are now the answer to the trivia question: “which team did the Eagles break their record nine-game losing streak against?” And if the Dons reckon they’re going to redeem themselves in any meaningful way against top-four aspirant Sydney, they had better think again. The last time these two sides played, the Bombers were lucky to avoid a 100-point loss, and there’s nothing to suggest that the gap between these two sides has closed by such a dramatic margin in the ensuing seven weeks, that Ben Rutten’s team could go close to springing an upset.
RONNY’S TIP: Sydney by 28 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Sydney by 16 points.

ADELAIDE v MELBOURNE (Adelaide Oval, Saturday 4.05pm local time)
The Demons return to the scene of the crime where their nine-game winning streak to start the 2021 season came to an end in thrilling fashion. The Crows will take some solace from the fact they are one of a handful teams to have conquered Melbourne in the past 15 months, but that will only take them so far this weekend. After a three-game skid, the Demons roared back into life last week with their best performance of the year to reassert themselves as the big dogs of the competition. Conversely, Adelaide has only won two if its last eight games, against bottom-two sides West Coast and North Melbourne, and should therefore not really trouble the Demons at all.
RONNY’S TIP: Melbourne by 32 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Melbourne by 32 points.

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GEELONG v NORTH MELBOURNE (Kardinia Park, Saturday 7.25pm local time)
Speaking of not really troubling the opposition, the insipid Kangaroos travel down the highway this weekend to cop their latest dose of medicine in what is becoming a long line of floggings they’ve received this year. North achieved an unwanted slice of history last week when it became the first VFL/AFL team to suffer 10 consecutive defeats by at least 40 points. All told, the Roos have now lost their last 12 games by an average of 59 points. They truly are one of the worst teams we’ve ever seen. In a sobering reminder of how far they’ve fallen this season, they lost their last match by 57 points to fellow bottom-four team Adelaide (which is now 13th thanks to the huge percentage boost). What hope do David Noble’s men then have against one of the strongest teams in the league on their home turf? Unfortunately for Noble, if the final margin is big enough, and all indicators suggest it will be a huge Geelong victory, it could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back and costs him his job.
RONNY’S TIP: Geelong by 72 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Geelong by 60 points.

GOLD COAST v COLLINGWOOD (Metricon Stadium, Saturday 7.25pm local time)
Who would’ve thought at the start of the season that we would be talking about a match between the Suns and Magpies as having claims to match-of-the-round status in the second half of the year? Well, here we are. Gold Coast lost no fans in its thrilling two-point loss to the Power in Adelaide last week. There’s no question the Suns have matured tremendously under coach Stuart Dew and have shown sustained signs of growth and development over a long period of time now. And how about Collingwood? Rookie coach Craig McRae has guided the Magpies to five consecutive wins for the first time since 2019 to sit in seventh spot on the ladder. Nobody saw that coming either. And that’s what makes this contest such a highly-anticipated one – two upstart teams who are “playing with house money” as they attempt to stay in the hunt for a finals berth. The Suns could welcome back key duo Jack Lukosius (knee) and Connor Budarick (hamstring), while the Magpies are set to regain Jordan De Goey from personal leave after copping a suspended $25,000 fine from the club for his behaviour on a Bali holiday. It promises to be a coin-flip job, but the Suns should just fall over the line.
RONNY’S TIP: Gold Coast by 3 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Collingwood by 10 points.

RICHMOND v WEST COAST (MCG, Sunday 2.10pm local time)
The Eagles enjoyed a rare victory last weekend against Essendon, but while they are looking like a different team to the one that stunk it up in the first half of the year, they shouldn’t expect that winning feeling to extend into a second consecutive week – even if Nic Naitanui makes his long-awaited return. The Tigers might not be in the top eight, but make no mistake, they are a top-four calibre team. Only nine weeks ago, Richmond destroyed West Coast by 109 points, and while a similar margin will be unlikely this time around, it should still be a comfortable day out for Damien Hardwick’s men all the same.
RONNY’S TIP: Richmond by 48 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Richmond by 42 points.

GWS v HAWTHORN (Giants Stadium, Sunday 3.20pm local time)
The Giants continue to show admirable fight and spirit under caretaker coach Mark McVeigh, and came close to pinching a thrilling win against Collingwood at the MCG last week, before falling short by just 11 points. Conversely, the Hawks’ up-and-down formline continues. They’ve lost their last four games, two of which were impressive close-run things against Collingwood and Fremantle in Perth, and the other two blowout defeats against Gold Coast and the Bulldogs. Sam Mitchell’s men are like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get. Although, given their 4-10 record, you can almost certainly predict the outcome of games they’re involved in. GWS is also 4-10, and the Hawks could regain important trio Jack Gunston, Chad Wingard and Will Day. But the Giants prefer playing at their bona fide home ground, having won 50 per cent of games there this year (2-2), compared to their 20 per cent strike rate elsewhere (2-8), and that will go a long way to deciding this contest.
RONNY’S TIP: GWS by 19 points.
ROCO’S TIP: GWS by 14 points.

FREMANTLE v PORT ADELAIDE (Optus Stadium, Sunday 3.20pm local time)
The Dockers will still be licking their wounds following their bitterly disappointing performance against fellow top-four hopeful Carlton. The Blues were ripe for the picking with their massive injury list, and Freo had been making a habit of beating strong teams at their home fortresses this year with wins over Melbourne at the MCG and the Cats in Geelong. But perhaps the Dockers thought it was just going to happen against the Blues, which is a very un-Fremantle-like trait under Justin Longmuir. Expect a ferocious response this week. The Power are hanging in there admirably, having recovered from their 0-5 start to be 7-7 and a game outside the top eight. But they are 12th on the ladder and can ill-afford any more missteps. And while recent wins over Sydney and Gold Coast have been impressive, beating the Dockers on the rebound in Perth would appear to be too hard a task.
RONNY’S TIP: Fremantle by 25 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Fremantle by 6 points.

RONNY’S SEASON TOTAL: 87
ROCO’S SEASON TOTAL: 89