Carlton went after Josh Daicos last time it played Collingwood in Round 10 this year, to no avail. Photo: AFL MEDIA

COLLINGWOOD v CARLTON (MCG, Friday 7:50pm local time)
It wasn’t so long ago that this match looked like it was going to be a lopsided affair, and while that still may be the case, at least Carlton has increased interest by winning its past five matches by an average of 59 points to storm into finals calculations. The Blues looked dead and buried when they were wallowing in the bottom four with a 4-8-1 record, but now percentage is the only thing that is keeping them outside of the top eight. However, to keep their best winning run in 23 years going, they face the biggest task in footy today – Collingwood. If you didn’t think the Magpies were the outright premiership favourites before last weekend, the ladder leaders surely would’ve put paid to those doubts at Adelaide Oval where they pipped the second-placed Power by two points in another come-from-behind masterpiece. It’s hard to remember an AFL team possessing such incredible self-belief, and since coach Craig McRae took over last year, their record in games decided by a goal or less is now a staggering 11-3. Although Carlton will be without Sam Walsh (hamstring) and Jack Silvagni (knee), its cause will be boosted by the returns of captain Patrick Cripps, Adam Cerra, Jack Martin, Matt Owies and Marc Pittonet, not to mention Collingwood losing livewire Bobby Hill to illness. But despite all of that, the Magpies seriously look invincible at the moment and it’s hard to envisage them losing to anyone the way they’re travelling.
RONNY’S TIP: Collingwood by 17 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Collingwood by 6 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Collingwood by 35 points.

GEELONG v FREMANTLE (Kardinia Park, Saturday 1:45pm local time)
The Cats might’ve failed a crucial test of their premiership credentials in going down to the Lions in Brisbane last week, but they were gallant in defeat after being outplayed for large portions of the match. And now they return home where they are an infinitely better team than on the road. At Kardinia Park, their percentage this year is a whopping 173.7 compared to 102.7 at all other grounds. They are a different beast down at the Cattery and with a finals spot to play for, as they cling onto eighth spot, the Dockers look set for a painful afternoon. Fremantle has been the biggest disappointment of 2023 as it finds itself in the bottom four with five games remaining after making it to the semi-finals last year. Incredibly, the Dockers actually beat the Cats at Kardinia Park last year, but Justin Longmuir’s men are a shadow of that confident, bold side some 15 months later. Having now lost six of their last seven games, including their past four, it would take something extraordinary for the Dockers to get within six goals of Geelong this week.
RONNY’S TIP: Geelong by 41 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Geelong by 40 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Geelong by 59 points.

WESTERN BULLDOGS v GWS (Mars Stadium, Saturday 1:45pm local time)
What a cracking contest this promises to be. Who would’ve thought six weeks ago that this would be a top-eight blockbuster? Back then, the Giants were mired in the bottom four with a 4-8 record, but have since won six in a row for the first time since 2016 when they made it all the way to the preliminary final. Ironically, they lost that grand final qualifier to their next opponents in what was one of the great September matches of the modern era. First-year coach Adam Kingsley has got his team humming along beautifully, and has it on the verge of winning seven matches on the trot for the first time in its 12-year history. But GWS is certainly going to be made to earn it, because the Bulldogs looked ferocious last week for the first time in a long time. Led by the magnificent Tom Liberatore and Marcus Bontempelli, the Dogs dismantled Essendon’s midfield, and while GWS has a more talented and experienced on-ball brigade than the Dons, the Bulldogs are going to be very hard to stop with their midfielders in the form they’re in. And their only loss in Ballarat in their last seven outings there was to Adelaide by one point last year. Jason Johannisen is also a huge inclusion to their backline.
RONNY’S TIP: Western Bulldogs by 11 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Western Bulldogs by 16 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Western Bulldogs by 5 points.

GOLD COAST v BRISBANE (Carrara, Saturday 4:35pm local time)
Unfortunately for the Suns, this season is following a similar script to previous seasons. At 8-10 with five games left, they will need to win each of their remaining games to give themselves the best chance of qualifying for the finals. And that just isn’t going to happen. In fact, that flight of fancy will almost certainly be promptly quashed this week when they take on ‘big brother’ Brisbane in the 25th Q-Clash. Gold Coast held its own in the first eight years of the Queensland derby, winning six of the first 15 editions, but since 2018 it has all been one-way traffic with the Lions winning the last nine by an average of 47 points. Brisbane might be missing star youngster Will Ashcroft due to an ACL rupture, but it is once again firming as a flag contender under Chris Fagan, having won five of its last six games with the one loss in that stretch an inexplicable meltdown against Melbourne. The Lions will put the Suns out of their misery officially for season 2023.
RONNY’S TIP: Brisbane by 39 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Brisbane by 28 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Brisbane by 5 points.

ESSENDON v SYDNEY (Marvel Stadium, Saturday 7:25pm local time)
For the fourth time in four weeks, Essendon takes on an opponent adjacent to it on the ladder in a match that will have huge consequences for its finals hopes. The Bombers passed the first test with flying colours in trumping Adelaide, but failed the next two miserably against bogey sides Geelong and the Bulldogs. Can they square the ledger against the Swans? That is the $64,000 question. Essendon and Sydney might be 11th and 12th on the ladder respectively, but given how tight the competition is this year, a win for the Bombers could see them return to the top eight this week, while the Swans will probably only be half a game outside if they’re victorious. This is such a hard game to judge. After starting the year 8-5, the wheels look like they’re starting to fall off the Bombers who are now 9-9. Conversely, since starting the year 5-8, the Swans have found some form, losing just one of their last five outings. And just to make predicting a winner even more difficult, these two rivals have split their last eight meetings 4-4. The Bombers have been dealt a hammer blow with the losses of brilliant defender Jordan Ridley (quad) and Jake Stringer (foot) who has been clearly hampered in recent weeks. And in terms of momentum, Sydney appears to be gaining a considerable amount while Essendon is running out of puff at the wrong time.
RONNY’S TIP: Sydney by 6 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Sydney by 2 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Sydney by 21 points.

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ADELAIDE v PORT ADELAIDE (Adelaide Oval, Saturday 7:10pm local time)
It’s do or die for the Crows now. They’ve been a team that has promised and teased so much this year, but time and time again have failed the big tests, especially on the road where they now have an insipid 1-7 record. They’ve left their run to the finals very late, and they could hardly have picked a tougher opponent to play against, or a bigger occasion play in, in order to keep their September dream alive. The Power might’ve lost their last two games, but wouldn’t have lost many admirers last week after leading Collingwood by three goals at three-quarter time before losing by a couple of points – a fate which has befallen so many teams before them in the last two seasons. Adelaide will also take some confidence from the fact that it has been just one of three sides to topple the Power this year, but while it regains Rory Laird and Max Michalanney, it loses key duo Izak Rankine (hamstring) and Nick Murray (knee). The Power will have to make do without important trio Scott Lycett (managed), Willie Rioli (suspension) and Travis Boak (managed), but regain Darcy Byrne-Jones. The Showdown is always a must-watch affair, and the 54th edition between these two fierce rivals should prove no different with Adelaide’s finals hopes on the line. Port Adelaide would love nothing more than to knock its arch nemesis out of the race, and should have enough firepower to do so.
RONNY’S TIP: Port Adelaide by 16 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Port Adelaide by 36 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Port Adelaide by 13 points.

HAWTHORN v ST KILDA (Marvel Stadium, Sunday 1:10pm local time)
The Saints might be sitting in sixth spot at the moment, but they are in far from convincing form and this match has “banana skin” written all over it. Their only two wins in their past six games have been against strugglers West Coast and North Melbourne by just eight points both times. On each occasion, the Eagles and Kangaroos were in match-winning positions. And as the Saints well know, the Hawks on their day can be an extremely tricky proposition for a bottom-four side, as evidenced by their last meeting in Round 11 which resulted in a shock 10-point loss for St Kilda. Richmond found out last week just how plucky the Hawks are when they trailed Hawthorn by six goals, only to storm home and clinch a one-point win. With Brad Hill (lungs) and Dougal Howard (hand) joining the Saints’ injury list, it certainly makes them look that bit more vulnerable. However, the Hawks also lose an important duo in Karl Amon (TBC) and Ned Reeves (suspension). The Saints will be tested, but should ultimately scrape over the line.
RONNY’S TIP: St Kilda by 7 points.
ROCO’S TIP: St Kilda by 8 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Hawthorn by 11 points.

RICHMOND v MELBOURNE (MCG, Sunday 3:20pm local time)
Like the Giants and Blues, the Tigers are another of the league’s Lazarus stories, rising from their 3-7-1 hole to win six of their last seven games and be outside of the top eight on percentage alone. The Demons haven’t been overly impressive in their last three games, but the main thing for them is that they have all ended in victory against the Saints, Lions and Crows. And importantly, in the past fortnight, they have registered their two highest scores from their past nine games. They’ve done so by sacrificing some of their defensive structure to become more potent in attack, which has meant that also in the past fortnight, they’ve conceded their two biggest scores in their last 13 games. It’s been a brave decision by coach Simon Goodwin, but it’s yielding the results so far. Interestingly, the Demons have added Brodie Grundy to their squad after dropping Ben Brown. But Harrison Petty is also named, and he has been used as a key forward from time to time, so it remains to be seen whether Grundy will get the nod or not. Melbourne has also included Michael Hibberd, Charlie Spargo and James Harmes, while Tom Sparrow (calf) is out injured. The Tigers regain Jayden Short and they won’t die wondering against Melbourne, but the Demons just look like a stronger, more well-rounded unit.
RONNY’S TIP: Melbourne by 15 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Melbourne by 18 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Melbourne by 15 points.

WEST COAST v NORTH MELBOURNE (Optus Stadium, Sunday 2:40pm local time)
It’s the mockbuster of all mockbusters. It’s hard to recall an AFL match being played between two worse teams. The combined records of the last-placed Eagles and second-last Kangaroos this year is 3-33 with a percentage of 57.0. And if you want to be really sadistic and include their records from last year, they’re going at 7-73 with a percentage of 57.4. It truly is the stuff of nightmares. North Melbourne certainly has been the better team in 2023 – sorry, make that “less worse” team in 2023 – but this game takes place at the Eagles’ home ground. West Coast has actually shown some signs of life there recently in gallant defeats to Richmond and St Kilda, and they also put up a fight at Optus Stadium against Collingwood and Essendon before being overrun. The Eagles have named Elliot Yeo and Josh Rotham in their squad, but once again lose captain Luke Shuey (hamstring) to a soft-tissue injury. Meanwhile, the Kangaroos bolster their midfield with Jy Simpkin and Hugh Greenwood after losing Liam Shiels to a calf complaint. Both teams head into this game on the back of 16-game losing streaks, but the Eagles have been downright uncompetitive this year far more often than the Kangaroos, who have looked closer to a win in the past couple of months than West Coast. North also has a decent recent record at Optus Stadium, winning two of its last three games there, including a one-point thriller against Fremantle in Round 2.
RONNY’S TIP: North Melbourne by 10 points.
ROCO’S TIP: West Coast by 4 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: North Melbourne by 7 points.

SEASON TOTALS
RONNY 111
ROCO 110
ROCKET 104