Shai Bolton gets a break on Dan Houston during Richmond’s Round 13 clash with Port Adelaide at the MCG. Photo: AFL MEDIA

MELBOURNE v COLLINGWOOD (MCG, Friday 7.50pm local time)
If someone said before the season began that in Round 21, these two teams would be involved in a top-four blockbuster, they’d be institutionalised. Yet here we are, and the 2022 Cinderella story Collingwood locks horns with Melbourne in a bid to leapfrog the reigning premier into second spot on the ladder. It’s stranger than fiction. But the Magpies fully deserve to be in their position, having won their last 10 games, seven of which have been by seven points or fewer in what has been a remarkable run in close contests. In all, Collingwood is 9-1 in games decided by 11 points or fewer this year after it emerged from yet another nailbiter against Port Adelaide last week victorious. And while the knockers will point to the fact the Pies have fallen over the line against bottom-10 teams in the last six games, it must be remembered that their current winning streak contains the scalps of Melbourne, Fremantle and Carlton. So Craig McRae’s men aren’t just flat-track bullies. Having said that, this is the biggest test they’ve faced since they last took on Melbourne on Queen’s Birthday. And following their most recent performance against Fremantle, the Demons look like a much different team to the one that took the field in Round 13. Their clinical victory over the Dockers was straight from the 2021 playbook, and it appears as though they have flicked the switch just at the right time with finals around the corner.
RONNY’S TIP: Melbourne by 23 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Melbourne by 16 points.

HAWTHORN v GOLD COAST (Launceston, Saturday 1.45pm local time)
Where there’s life there’s hope, and while the Suns’ season is still technically alive (after surviving a close shave against lowly West Coast last week), they will keep giving it everything they’ve got as they pursue an unlikely finals appearance. Adding to the motivation for Gold Coast this week is that if it beats Hawthorn, it will equal its best-ever season (10 wins) which would further validate the club’s decision to re-sign coach Stuart Dew. The Hawks have been far from ordinary in the past month, but after beating up on bottom-four teams Adelaide, West Coast and North Melbourne in successive weeks, their bubble was burst by a finals contender in St Kilda last week. The Suns are 0-6 in Tasmania, including five defeats in Launceston – all to Hawthorn – by an average of 51 points. But there’s a first time for everything, and if we are to believe that Gold Coast has come such a long way this season, as it appears it has, it should have the Hawks’ measure this time around and register its first triumph on the Apple Isle.
RONNY’S TIP: Gold Coast by 13 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Gold Coast by 6 points.

GWS v ESSENDON (Giants Stadium, Saturday 2.10pm local time)
Like clockwork, Essendon’s form in the second half of the year continues to go from strength to strength. The Dons have now won five of their last seven games after losing 10 of their first 12, and unimpeded by the pressure and burden of the opportunity to qualify for the finals, they are playing freely and getting the results. And while it is an indictment on the club that the team is performing so well long after its campaign was done and dusted, it can’t be denied that they’re going to be hard to beat for the remainder of the year. Further strengthening the Bombers’ hopes of an eighth win of the year this week is the fact that they’re coming up against a team that caretaker coach Mark McVeigh basically conceded has checked out for the season. It’s hard to argue with McVeigh’s assessment given how much talent the Giants are putting out on the park juxtaposed against their awful performances especially in the last month.
RONNY’S TIP: Essendon by 27 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Essendon by 22 points.

WESTERN BULLDOGS v FREMANTLE (Marvel Stadium, Saturday 4.35pm local time)
After looking so good for 17 rounds as they sat perched in third spot, only percentage off the top of the ladder, the Dockers have fallen in a trough at the most inopportune time of the season. With just a draw to show from its last three games, Freo has slipped to sixth spot and now has a battle on its hands to earn the double chance that looked a fait accompli for much of the season. Conversely, the Bulldogs have given themselves a fighting chance at making the finals with some crucial recent wins against St Kilda and Melbourne, although they were brought back to earth by a dominant Geelong last week. The Dockers have really struggled to kick a decent score in the last three weeks, averaging just 52 points over that stretch. The Dogs might have been a taught a lesson in finals-like intensity last week, but their form has been a lot more encouraging in recent times than Freo’s.
RONNY’S TIP: Western Bulldogs by 18 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Western Bulldogs by 12 points.

GEELONG v ST KILDA (Kardinia Park, Saturday 7.25pm local time)
Saints coach Brett Ratten boldly declared during the week that the Cats can’t continue winning forever. It was a line reminiscent of Leigh Matthews’ famous “if it bleeds we can kill it” from yesteryear, when his Lions were facing the then-all-conquering Bombers. And while Ratten’s observation is factually correct, Geelong’s winning streak will probably last at least another week. Full credit to the Saints, who have snuck back inside the top eight, but the Cats have been in sensational form, having won their last 10 matches to sit atop the ladder and be installed as premiership favourites by bookmakers. It’s been 23 years since the Saints last won down at the Cattery, and it’s hard to see that drought being broken on Saturday night.
RONNY’S TIP: Geelong by 39 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Geelong by 32 points.

PLEASE HELP US CONTINUE TO THRIVE BY BECOMING AN OFFICIAL FOOTYOLOGY PATRON. JUST CLICK THIS LINK.

PORT ADELAIDE v RICHMOND (Adelaide Oval, Saturday 7.10pm local time)
This promises to be a close-run thing. The Power’s finals hopes have been shot to ribbons, but despite losing their last three games, they were all against the current top-three teams, and their average losing margin across those matches was only 11 points. Meanwhile, Richmond is still alive in the battle for eighth spot, sitting just two points adrift in ninth. And the Tigers seem like they’ve turned the corner following embarrassing losses to Gold Coast and North Melbourne by drawing with Fremantle and beating Brisbane in recent weeks. But the Power have proven tough to beat at home in the last eight games, with their only losses in that period to premiership contenders Melbourne and Geelong. Ken Hinkley’s men might not have as much to play for as Richmond, but they will still prove a challenging quantity at Adelaide Oval.
RONNY’S TIP: Port Adelaide by 11 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Richmond by 4 points.

NORTH MELBOURNE v SYDNEY (Marvel Stadium, Sunday 1.10pm local time)
There’s no doubt that the Kangaroos have been having a dip in the past month, but the issue is that even taking that into consideration, they’ve still copped a pair of heavy defeats in the last fortnight. Their tally of losses by at least 46 points this year has now reached 14 games. And while they did give Sydney a huge fright back in Round 4 at the SCG in one of their few impressive performances of the season, the Swans that they’re confronting this time around are a different beast. Having won seven of their last nine games to enter the top four, John Longmire’s men have well and truly ironed out the chinks that threw the odd spanner in their works this year and look set for a big finals series. Bottom-placed North will be nothing more than roadkill on Sydney’s journey towards September.
RONNY’S TIP: Sydney by 62 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Sydney by 42 points.

BRISBANE v CARLTON (Gabba, Sunday 3.20pm local time)
Did both of these teams blow it last week or what? After looking like a top-four contender for a large portion of the season, Carlton shot itself in the foot majorly against Adelaide, losing to the bottom-four outfit by five goals to put its finals hopes in a degree of jeopardy, never mind its ambition of a double chance. All of a sudden, the seventh-placed Blues are fighting to qualify for the top eight and must beat one of Brisbane, Melbourne or Collingwood to guarantee a finals spot – no mean feat. And the Lions suffered a crushing blow against Richmond last round, squandering a 42-point lead to slip outside the top four for the first time since Round 2 and stretch their losing streak at the MCG to 11 matches on the eve of the finals. It really was a disastrous day for Brisbane. This game looms as a fascinating battle between one team that cannot defend (Brisbane) and another that cannot score (Carlton). But the Gabba has provided one of the strongest home ground advantages in the league in recent years, and the Lions should rebound strongly in front of their home fans.
RONNY’S TIP: Brisbane by 25 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Brisbane by 20 points.

WEST COAST v ADELAIDE (Optus Stadium, Sunday 2.10pm local time)
The Eagles haven’t been in the worst form recently. Yes, they’ve lost their last five games, but they have been quite competitive in the last three against Hawthorn, St Kilda and Gold Coast. They seem to be on the precipice of their third win of the year, and the retirement of champion full-forward Josh Kennedy might just be the thing that pushes them over the edge and back into the winners’ circle. In fact, their last game against Adelaide in Round 12 sparked their transformation from an uncompetitive rabble to a moderately competitive team. The Crows produced their best performance of the year last week against Carlton, but it remains to be seen what kind of impact the latest revelations of the club’s bizarre 2018 pre-season camp will have. For all intents and purposes Adelaide should win, but West Coast’s desire to send off Kennedy in his final game in style could be decisive.
RONNY’S TIP: West Coast by 4 points.
ROCO’S TIP: West Coast by 2 points.

RONNY’S SEASON TOTAL: 117
ROCO’S SEASON TOTAL: 122