Dean Kent, now out injured, celebrates better times when St Kilda beat his old club Melbourne in Round 5. Photo: AFL MEDIA

COLLINGWOOD v RICHMOND (MCG, Friday 7.50pm local time)
What a way to kick off the round! Two heavyweight Victorian clubs battling it out for a top-four spot in front of 80,000 screaming fans. It doesn’t get much bigger than that. Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley even admitted during the week how big this contest would be in terms of shaping either side’s double-chance ambitions, something you rarely hear from an AFL coach at a midweek press conference. The Magpies (fourth) look the more vulnerable of the two teams, having fallen in a heap in the past month with just one win from four attempts – and that was by just one point. Conversely, Richmond (fifth) is building very nicely towards September with four wins in a row and finally has almost a full bill of health. Common sense suggests Richmond will make it five on the trot, but there’s been nothing orthodox about season 2019, and given the Magpies took the Tigers to the cleaners in their past two meetings – most notably in that famous preliminary final win last year – it would not surprise at all to see them score an upset victory this time around.
RONNY’S TIP: Collingwood by 9 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Richmond by 18 points.

HAWTHORN v BRISBANE (Launceston, Saturday 1.45pm local time)
The Hawks are doing their best impersonation of Al Pacino in “The Godfather III”, because just when you think they’re out of finals contention and about to start rebuilding, coach Alastair Clarkson drags them back within touching distance of the top eight. It’s interesting to note that they were eighth this time last year before storming towards a surprise top-four finish. They’ve just put three wins together for the first time in 2019 and look every bit a new team under Clarkson’s close watch as they now sit just a game outside the top eight. Making it four wins in a row will be very tough, though, because they are taking on arguably the in-form team of the competition in the second-placed Lions, who have won five consecutive games for the first time since 2007. They haven’t won six in a row since 2003-04, but Tasmania should hold no fears given they’re 5-4 on the road this year and have won their last three games interstate. But, again, if this year has taught us anything, it’s to expect the unexpected, and the Hawks are capable of keeping their finals hopes alive.
RONNY’S TIP: Hawthorn by 11 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Brisbane by 12 points.

CARLTON v ADELAIDE (MCG, Saturday 2.10pm local time)
Adelaide’s season is hanging by a thread, and things don’t get any easier for the Crows this week as they run into a red-hot Carlton. That’s right, you didn’t misread what I wrote – Red. Hot. Carlton. The transformation of the Blues under caretaker David Teague has been remarkable, with four wins from six games and two losses by less than a kick. The Crows are clinging on to eighth spot, but you get the distinct feeling that they’ll lose their grip on the weekend. Don Pyke’s men have now lost three of their last four games, and are looking anything but finals material. Things are getting so drastic at West Lakes that they’ve taken the extraordinary step of dropping Eddie Betts, just two weeks after he kicked six goals. The Crows definitely need the win more, but the momentum Carlton has generated is becoming irresistible.
RONNY’S TIP: Carlton by 19 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Adelaide by 6 points.

WEST COAST v NORTH MELBOURNE (Optus Stadium, Saturday 2.35pm local time)
All of a sudden, the Eagles look vulnerable again without Nic Naitanui in the team. You realise what a difference he makes when he’s absent and the way North Melbourne is playing under caretaker coach Rhyce Shaw, this is no “gimme” for the home side. The Kangaroos are unquestionably in better form than the Eagles and they could so easily be in the top eight right now if not for consecutive last-gasp heartbreaking losses to Essendon and the Lions. West Coast should win this one, but the Eagles have hardly been out of second gear all season, and if that’s the case on Saturday, it could prove to be a recipe for disaster for Adam Simpson’s men.
RONNY’S TIP: West Coast by 12 points.
ROCO’S TIP: West Coast by 32 points.

ST KILDA v MELBOURNE (Marvel Stadium, Saturday 7.25pm local time)
It’s hard to go past this game as the tipster’s nightmare of the round. How do you pick a winner here? Last week, the Saints finally had something to cheer about as they upset finals hopefuls the Western Bulldogs. Unfortunately, it took the sacking of their coach Alan Richardson to jolt them into action. They’ve only won three games since starting the year 4-1 – the best of those wins arguably coming against their next opponents. But injuries have conspired against St Kilda, and Dean Kent (pictured) is a good example of how their fortunes have gone in 2019 – suffering a season-ending quad injury at training, of all places, a month ago. However, Brett Ratten made it three from three for caretakers in their first games this year, and judging by how well the Blues and Kangaroos have fared since sacking their coaches, who’s to say the Saints won’t finish the year strongly, too? Melbourne has also been ravaged by injuries this season, but skill level and decision-making has also let them down badly and they now sit 17th on the ladder. It’s probably the smart thing to do to stick with team that has a caretaker coach in charge.
RONNY’S TIP: St Kilda by 22 points.
ROCO’S TIP: St Kilda by 10 points.

PORT ADELAIDE v GWS (Adelaide Oval, Saturday 7.10pm local time)
This is also one of the hardest games of the round to tip. In one corner, you’ve got the wildly inconsistent Port Adelaide, which is capable of beating the best teams when it’s switched on, and in the other corner you’ve got the Giants, who looked done and dusted after three losses in a row but then pulled a scintillating thumping of Collingwood out of their hat last weekend. Like their crosstown rivals Adelaide, the Power haven’t been afraid to make big calls at the selection table this year, and they’ve made another one with Charlie Dixon dropped. Paddy Ryder returns. Meanwhile, GWS has bolstered its team with star defenders Phil Davis and Adam Kennedy. Given the Power are such an emotional team that fully embraces the unpredictable rollercoaster approach, with their finals hopes on the line, it wouldn’t come as a shock if they toppled the Giants.
RONNY’S TIP: Port Adelaide by 15 points.
ROCO’S TIP: GWS by 4 points.

WESTERN BULLDOGS v FREMANTLE (Marvel Stadium, Sunday 1.10pm local time)
September has come early for the Bulldogs and Dockers – another pair of sides that have split personalities. Both teams are sitting a game outside the eight in 12th and 11th spots respectively. The winners might find themselves just percentage behind eighth spot at the end of the round, while the losers could be two games adrift with just a month left in the season. The Dockers have collapsed after their brilliant mid-season form with four losses in a row all but delivering a fatal blow to their year. A scrappy one-point win against Sydney maintained their faint pulse, and they do regain star captain Nat Fyfe. Meanwhile, the Dogs have been in great form recently before running into yet another team that announced it had parted ways with its coach. How unlucky have they been from that perspective? Freo has won eight of its past nine against the Doggies, but with the indestructible Dale Morris back in the team, Luke Beveridge’s men should be too good.
RONNY’S TIP: Western Bulldogs by 25 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Western Bulldogs by 36 points.

SYDNEY v GEELONG (SCG, Sunday 3.20pm local time)
Geelong is another team that has hit the skids and after starting the year 11-1, including an eight-game winning streak, the ladder-leading Cats have inadvertently breathed new life into the season by losing three of their last five to teams all outside the top eight. But losing to a team in the bottom four is another thing altogether, and that’s where the Swans find themselves after three losses in a row. They’ve been competitive, but they’ve just lacked that extra bit of class and polish to get positive results more often than not like they had done in the last decade. The Cats should prove too big a challenge for the Swans on this occasion.
RONNY’S TIP: Geelong by 21 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Geelong by 22 points.

GOLD COAST v ESSENDON (Metricon Stadium, Sunday 4.40pm local time)
The Suns are enduring their worst streak of losses (13) since their formative years, and it’s really hard to see where their next win is coming from. However, if there’s one team that has no right to take a game against the bottom side lightly, it’s the Bombers. In the past four seasons, they’ve lost to the last-placed team on five occasions, so Essendon fans know all too well about “banana skin” games. It must be said, though, that the Bombers are enjoying arguably their best patch of form since John Worsfold took over, with four wins in a row for the first time since 2013. Complacency is the only thing that can stop the Dons this week, because with their new-found hard edge and gritty determination to see out matches, there aren’t too many teams they won’t be able to beat if they bring the same attitude to every game.
RONNY’S TIP: Essendon by 30 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Essendon by 40 points.

RONNY’S SEASON TOTAL: 90
ROCO’S SEASON TOTAL: 98