Melbourne’s Clayton Oliver gets a handball away in last year’s semi-final against Brisbane. Photo: AFL MEDIA

CARLTON v GEELONG (MCG, Thursday 7:20pm local time)
Suffice to say both of these teams had underwhelming starts to the 2023 season. The Blues threw away two points and had to settle for a draw with Richmond, while the incredibly accurate Cats were ultimately overwhelmed by the speed and class of the Magpies. For Carlton, it continued a very worrying trend from last year, as the Blues have now been denied victory in their last three games by goals kicked by the opposition in the last 11, 102 and 17 seconds respectively. If this game also goes down to the wire, you wouldn’t confidently back the Blues to get the job done. Tom Stewart’s absence due to a knee injury, on top of Jack Henry (foot) and Jake Kolodjashnij (concussion) also being sidelined, puts extreme pressure on Geelong’s backline, especially as the Cats have to contain the last two Coleman Medal winners Harry McKay and Charlie Curnow. As impressive as Esava Ratugolea was down back last week, he can’t do it all on his own. But George Hewett (hand) joins Sam Walsh (back) in the stands, further depleting Carlton’s midfield. It’s the old cliche, but whoever wins the midfield battle will come out on top. After being touched up by Collingwood’s engine room, the Cats’ on-ball brigade must rebound and do all it can to protect their weakened defence. If they can do that, even without Mitch Duncan (calf), then they should win a thriller.
RONNY’S TIP: Geelong by 4 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Geelong by 6 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Geelong by 17 points.

BRISBANE v MELBOURNE (Gabba, Friday 6:50pm local time)
In Round 1 against Port Adelaide, the Lions looked like a team which believed its own hype of being a premiership contender as their much-vaunted midfield, with the added inclusions of Josh Dunkley and Will Ashcroft, were shown up badly in the second half by the likes of Jason Horne-Francis, Ollie Wines, Xavier Duursma, Zak Butters and Sam Powell-Pepper. The subsequent nine-goal drubbing they suffered was sobering, and will no doubt elicit a strong response this week. But will it be strong enough to overcome the Demons? Melbourne was absolutely sensational in the manner in which it clinically disposed of another would-be flag contender in the Western Bulldogs. The Demons look every bit a legitimate premiership threat and while they will be without the suspended Kysaiah Pickett, they will regain star quartet Steven May, Bayley Fritsch, Christian Salem and Jack Viney.
RONNY’S TIP: Melbourne by 15 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Melbourne by 2 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Melbourne by 21 points.

COLLINGWOOD v PORT ADELAIDE (MCG, Saturday 1:45pm local time)
The Power’s performance after half-time against Brisbane was outstanding, and new recruits Horne-Francis and Junior Rioli were central to their surprisingly barnstorming victory. And in an added boost, star veteran Travis Boak (rib) could return for his first game of the year. But they’re going to have a much tougher time of it this week, because the Magpies were irresistible against the Cats last week. Craig McRae’s exciting team looks super fit and ran all over the reigning premiers. They will be without Jeremy Howe after his gruesome arm injury, but with the likes of Jordan De Goey, Nick Daicos, Scott Pendlebury and Josh Daicos firing on all cylinders, they’re going to be hard to beat again.
RONNY’S TIP: Collingwood by 22 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Collingwood by 12 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Collingwood by 7 points.

ADELAIDE v RICHMOND (Adelaide Oval, Saturday 4:05pm local time)
The Crows have already been stung by one that got away as they blew a 31-point lead against the Giants last week before going down by 16. We’ll get a good idea this week of how badly that result has affected their psyche. There were plenty of good things to take away from the match for Adelaide, namely the performances of forwards Josh Rachele and Izak Rankine, who could’ve won the game off his own boot had he kicked more accurately (2.5). But Richmond is definitely a level or two above the opposition Adelaide faced last week, and fresh from a taxing draw against fellow top-eight fancy Carlton last week, with their greater collection of top-line players, the Tigers will be aiming to improve their decent record at Adelaide Oval where they’ve won three of their last five games.
RONNY’S TIP: Richmond by 17 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Richmond by 22 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Richmond by 13 points.

FREMANTLE v NORTH MELBOURNE (Optus Stadium, Saturday 4:30pm local time)
Finally, there’s something to get excited about for the Kangaroos. Goodness knows they’ve waited a long time, but with new coach Alastair Clarkson and new recruit Harry Sheezel, all of a sudden things aren’t looking as glum at Arden Street. Sheezel produced one of the great VFL/AFL debuts last week as he gathered 34 disposals – the most of any first-gamer in 32 years – during their first-up win over West Coast. It was hard not to draw parallels with Nick Daicos last season, who also collected possessions at will in his rookie year. But while opposition teams seemingly let Daicos do his own thing, will they wise up a bit quicker in 2023 and potentially send a tag Sheezel’s way across half-back? We’ll soon find out. The Dockers were really disappointing last week against an injury-ravaged St Kilda outfit. Possibly another team that got sucked in by its own media coverage as a premiership darkhorse, they were duly brought back down to earth with a thud by the weakened Saints. Expect a much stronger showing this week from Fremantle in front of its home fans against one of the wooden spoon favourites.
RONNY’S TIP: Fremantle by 25 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Fremantle by 36 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Fremantle by 25 points.

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WESTERN BULLDOGS v ST KILDA (Marvel Stadium, Saturday 7:25pm local time)
The Saints were gutsy and admirable last week in the way they took down the more-fancied Dockers, in a defensive-minded performance that was straight out of the playbook of their returning coach Ross Lyon. But the revolving door in the Saints’ medical room remains in full swing as Jimmy Webster (hand) and Jack Bytel (knee) are added to their massive injury list, but could at least be replaced by Marcus Windhager (hand) and Seb Ross (calf). The Bulldogs are much better than they showed against Melbourne last week, and it remains to be seen how long Luke Beveridge will persist with his ultra tall forward line experiment. For this week, at least, it looks as though Beveridge’s hand will be forced, because Rory Lobb (ankle) won’t be available. The Bulldogs coach is definitely a bit of a mad scientist when it comes to strategy, but if he can just tweak a few things, his team should be good enough to get the win, even if Liam Jones (neck) is in doubt.
RONNY’S TIP: Western Bulldogs by 22 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Western Bulldogs by 16 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Western Bulldogs by 11 points.

SYDNEY v HAWTHORN (SCG, Sunday 1:10pm local time)
The Hawks were widely considered a wooden spoon contender this year, but the gravity of just how dire their situation might be came into sharp focus on Sunday when they were obliterated by another team not expected to finish above the bottom six in Essendon. The Bombers kicked nine consecutive goals for the first time in 10 years and were made to look like a top team by Hawthorn. Considering Sam Mitchell’s men next face a Sydney side which played off in last year’s grand final, and in Round 1 showed no lingering psychological ill-effects of its grand final annihilation by Geelong as it smashed Gold Coast first up, it could be another forgettable afternoon at the office for the Hawks.
RONNY’S TIP: Sydney by 52 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Sydney by 42 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Sydney by 37 points.

ESSENDON v GOLD COAST (Marvel Stadium, Sunday 3:20pm local time)
The Bombers couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season – a drubbing of the old enemy Hawthorn, some solid contributions from club debutants Sam Weideman, Will Setterfield and Alwyn Davey jnr, and, of course, the return of the prodigal son Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti. But aside from all the fairy tale storylines, there was a clear shift in game style that was evident under new coach Brad Scott. The Bombers’ pressure was absolutely relentless almost all game and, significantly, that heat was evident in their forward line as well – something the Dons sorely lacked last year. Their defensive structure was incredibly sound, too, which was a sight for sore black-and-red eyes. Granted, they weren’t playing a very strong team, but the Bombers look like they’re playing against another bottom-10 side this week, if last round is anything to go by. The Suns were really disappointing against the Swans and it’s hard to see them beating the Bombers at Marvel Stadium for the very first time. McDonald-Tipungwuti (quad) and Weideman (toe) are in doubt, but the return of Jake Stringer (hamstring) should ensure the Dons don’t lose much attacking potency after producing 13 individual goalkickers last week.
RONNY’S TIP: Essendon by 21 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Essendon by 46 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Essendon by 11 points.

WEST COAST v GWS (Optus Stadium, Sunday 3:20pm local time)
The Eagles were one of the most disappointing teams from the opening round, and while they did fight back hard in the second half, they were outplayed for large portions of the match by back-to-back wooden spooner North Melbourne. While they return home this week, and could even regain Nic Naitanui (Achilles) and Elliot Yeo (calf), how could anyone possibly tip them with confidence? After all, they’ve won just two of their last 27 games. The Giants head across to Perth with their tails up following their gutsy come-from-behind win over Adelaide. And while they have been hit hard by injuries, with Josh Kelly (concussion), Lachie Whitfield (concussion) and Harry Perryman (hamstring) all casualties from their first-up win, it still wouldn’t be surprising to see them secure the four points. New coach Adam Kingsley has them playing with an extremely competitive fighting spirit, while conversely, the Eagles don’t seem inspired by their long-time coach Adam Simpson at all anymore and appear to be just going through the motions.
RONNY’S TIP: GWS by 12 points.
ROCO’S TIP: GWS by 20 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: GWS by 17 points.

SEASON TOTALS
RONNY 5
ROCO 3
ROCKET 3

WEIGHTED SEASON TOTALS
RONNY 93
ROCO 49
ROCKET 48
*Weighted scores are based on weighted values given to teams according to their odds. The more fancied a team is, the lower its value, the less fancied a team is, the higher its value. ie. if a team is paying $1.85, its value will be 19, and if a team is paying $4.50 its value will be 45.