Young superstars Noah Anderson (left) and Nick Daicos look set to take centre stage in a blockbuster clash on Friday night. Photos: AFL MEDIA

CARLTON v BRISBANE (Marvel Stadium, Thursday 7:30pm)
The life has been completely sucked out of the Blues’ season and it feels as though they’re just counting down the days until their disastrous campaign draws to a close. The year was doomed to fail from the very beginning when they suffered that stunning upset loss to Richmond, and they just haven’t been able to right the ship ever since. Their last three losses to North Melbourne, Port Adelaide and Collingwood have been totally unacceptable, and they seem incapable of breaking the cycle of mediocrity. With all of that misery as a backdrop, and their coach Michael Voss under enormous pressure, they probably couldn’t have asked for a worse team to play against this week than the reigning premier. Brisbane is second on the ladder and firmly in the race for back-to-back flags, which spells disaster for Carlton.
RONNY’S TIP: Brisbane by 40 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Brisbane by 32 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Brisbane by 41 points.

GOLD COAST v COLLINGWOOD (Carrara, Friday 7:40pm)
‘Big boy month’ has begun for the Suns, and it kicks off with a blockbuster match against premiership favourite Collingwood. Gold Coast faces Adelaide and Brisbane in the following two rounds as well, but its focus will be solely on the Magpies this week in what is arguably the biggest match in the club’s 15-year history. The Suns are as close to a finals berth as they’ve ever been, but if they want to prove that they finally belong in the top eight, they have to do so in games like this. And bolstering their hopes will be the return of ruckman Jarrod Witts (rested) as well as the likely inclusion of Sam Collins (calf). Meanwhile, Steele Sidebottom (illness) and Lachie Schultz (hamstring) are closing in on recalls for the visitors. The Magpies are 10 points clear on top of the ladder for a reason. They want for very little in terms of personnel and are the most well-drilled side in the AFL that plays within a meticulously regimented system. However, Gold Coast has shown in games against the Dogs, Hawthorn and Adelaide this year it is capable of taking a big scalp, and it might just be ready to take the biggest one of all this week.
RONNY’S TIP: Gold Coast by 2 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Gold Coast by 8 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Gold Coast by 11 points.

WESTERN BULLDOGS v ADELAIDE (Marvel Stadium, Saturday 1:20pm)
Speaking of taking scalps, the Bulldogs have basically done everything this year but that. They have looked downright scary against the bottom 10 this year, and their last seven wins against such teams have been by a staggering average margin of 11 goals. Granted, they were battling an enormous injury list in the first part of the year, but the fact is their record against top-eight sides is 1-5 and that sole victory came all the way back in Round 7 against eighth-placed GWS. This weekend they are presented with a big chance to frank their impressive form by taking down the third-ranked Crows, who have experienced similar struggles against the top eight this year (2-5). And the loss of Josh Rachele (knee) is a big blow for Adelaide. The Bulldogs absolutely love Marvel Stadium, having now won 12 of their last 13 matches there, and will be hard to stop in what will be the Crows’ first visit to the Docklands venue for the year.
RONNY’S TIP: Western Bulldogs by 17 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Western Bulldogs by 10 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Western Bulldogs by 15 points.

GWS v GEELONG (Giants Stadium, Saturday 4:15pm)
If there’s one team in the league that doesn’t fear the Cats, it’s the Giants. Earlier this year, they became the first visiting side in 22 years to string together five consecutive wins against Geelong at Kardinia Park and all told they have won six of their last eight encounters with the Cats. GWS is in pretty decent form as well, having now won six of its past eight games of the season, including victories over the Lions in Brisbane, Cats in Geelong and Gold Coast. And they could be boosted by the returns of Jesse Hogan (foot), Lachie Whitfield (concussion) and Stephen Coniglio (glute), although Jack Buckley (foot) is in doubt. Geelong isn’t exactly in terrible form either with six wins from its past seven outings, and it could welcome back Bailey Smith (illness), Sam De Koning (shoulder) and Tyson Stengle (personal) in one hit. But the Giants almost always rise to the occasion against Geelong and will want to put on a show in what will be the first meeting of these two clubs at Giants Stadium in front of a crowd since their drawn match in 2017.
RONNY’S TIP: GWS by 11 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Geelong by 2 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Geelong by 21 points.

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RICHMOND v ESSENDON (MCG, Saturday 7:35pm)
It’s fair to say the young Tigers are officially cooked for season 2025. In hindsight, they probably used up their remaining energy stores when they almost upset GWS in Round 12. Since then, they’ve lost four in a row by an average of 66 points for an overall losing streak of seven games. Granted, their last three losses have all been against finals-bound teams, and the Bombers aren’t exactly world beaters either as they head into this contest on the back of five consecutive defeats. However, despite being smashed by injuries and fielding extremely inexperienced sides, on the whole the Dons have shown a lot more fight and grit than the Tigers recently, and against a bottom side like Richmond, they should finally break through for that elusive win.
RONNY’S TIP: Essendon by 21 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Essendon by 20 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Essendon by 15 points.

FREMANTLE v HAWTHORN (Optus Stadium, Saturday 6:10pm)
After putting together a solid stretch of form that saw them win six games in a row, the Dockers dropped one they probably should’ve won last week against Sydney and, so ruthless is this competition, that was all it took to see them drop out of the top eight. It’s for that reason that this week’s match is massive for them. Was the loss to Sydney a hiccup? Or the start of a late-season catastrophe similar to the one they experienced last year? All will be revealed in the next month or so. The Hawks, meanwhile, are building nicely heading into the home stretch of the season, with four consecutive wins now under their belt. And they have the option of bringing back Mitch Lewis and/or Calsher Dear into their forward line. Sam Switkowski (hamstring) looms as an important inclusion for Fremantle. The Dockers historically can be pretty untrustworthy in games like this against top-four contenders, but with so much on the line, they might just dig deep and pull out a big performance.
RONNY’S TIP: Fremantle by 8 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Hawthorn by 12 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Hawthorn by 7 points.

MELBOURNE v NORTH MELBOURNE (MCG, Sunday 1:10pm)
From one match with huge top-eight implications for both sides, to one with none. Pride is all that’s at stake for the Demons and Kangaroos this weekend and not many would’ve thought before the season that just half a game would be separating these clubs heading into Round 18. Of course, the last time they met, North did a number on Melbourne, winning by 10 goals and absolutely running the Demons off their feet. Well, Simon Goodwin’s men are reeling, having lost their last five games, and the Kangaroos are actually in better form with two wins in that same period. They’ll go close doing the double on Melbourne this week, but with Luke Davies-Uniacke (concussion) unavailable, and Nick Larkey (knee), Charlie Comben (shoulder), Luke Parker (ribs), Jack Darling (groin) and Luke McDonald (shoulder) all uncertain to line up, the pendulum swings back in favour of the Demons who started like a house on fire against the Crows in Adelaide last week.
RONNY’S TIP: Melbourne by 15 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Melbourne by 24 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Melbourne by 17 points.

ST KILDA v SYDNEY (Marvel Stadium, Sunday 3:15pm)
The Saints did a lot right again last week in their 20-point loss to Hawthorn. Their pressure was frenetic all game and they won the territory battle, but their delivery to their forward line was horrendous, as was their goalkicking efficiency. Those key factors brought them undone. But if they’re able to improve their midfield-forward connection, and with superstar Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera running amok, they’ll be a decent shot of taking down the Swans. Sydney has looked revitalised recently with multiple key players back from injury, but they’ve once again been hit with Tom Papley (hamstring) and Joel Amartey (hamstring) ruled out. Dane Rampe (calf) could return for Sydney, but the Saints have been competitive recently without getting the desired result, and after registering just one win from their last eight matches, they’re due for some reward.
RONNY’S TIP: St Kilda by 13 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Sydney by 22 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Sydney by 7 points.

PORT ADELAIDE v WEST COAST (Adelaide Oval, Sunday 4:10pm)
It’s been another horror season for the battling Eagles, and while they’ve shown some fight recently against Collingwood and North Melbourne, they just consistently lack the required quality to meaningfully challenge for wins. And that trend looks set to continue this week against a Port Adelaide side that might also be experiencing a season to forget, but has shown multiple times this year that it is more than capable of taking care of the teams in its vicinity on the ladder or lower. It’s hard to imagine Ken Hinkley’s side allowing bottom-of-the-ladder West Coast to stroll in to Adelaide and make a fool of it by registering its second win of the year.
RONNY’S TIP: Port Adelaide by 44 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Port Adelaide by 40 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Port Adelaide by 29 points.

SEASON TOTALS
ROCO 109
RONNY 99
ROCKET 96

*all times are local