Richmond’s Tom Lynch marks in front of Bulldog pair Caleb Daniel and Zaine Cordy in last year’s MCG clash. Photo: AAP
PORT ADELAIDE v MELBOURNE (Adelaide Oval, Thursday 7.10pm local time)
It’s officially crisis time at Alberton, and the Power probably couldn’t have picked a worse team to have a must-win game against than the reigning premiers. Port Adelaide finds itself in a massive hole at 0-3, having suffered the ignominy of an after-the-siren loss to arch rival Adelaide in Showdown 51 last weekend. For the first time in four years, the Power have lost three games in a row at Adelaide Oval, and the pressure is slowly building on 10-year coach Ken Hinkley. And the news gets worse for them with important forwards Charlie Dixon (ankle) and Robbie Gray (knee/COVID) still unavailable, as well as Orazio Fantasia (knee) who remains a long-term proposition – that’s a lot of goalkicking power out of action. They do get Tom Clurey back, but he’s no Aliir Aliir (ankle) who remains at least two weeks away. Conversely, the Demons couldn’t be more spoiled for choice at the selection table with Jake Lever (foot) coming back for his first game of the year, but Ben Brown left out of the side in favour of Tom McDonald, Bayley Fritsch and Sam Weideman who starred with a career-best four goals against Essendon. Melbourne is humming along in second gear, while Port Adelaide is on the verge of breaking down completely. It could get particularly lopsided in the middle of the ground.
RONNY’S TIP: Melbourne by 21 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Melbourne by 28 points.
GEELONG v BRISBANE (Kardinia Park, Friday 7.50pm local time)
This promises to be a Friday night doozy. And while the Lions did beat the Cats in their return game last year comfortably by seven goals at the Gabba, there is no doubt that to some degree they would still be seething about the last time these two sides met at this venue a year ago. Who could forget how Brisbane were basically robbed after Zac Bailey caught Mark Blicavs stone dead just metres out from the Lions’ goal in dying stages of the match, but inexplicably not being paid a free kick for holding the ball. The subsequent loose ball got rushed through for a behind, and the Cats won a controversy-laden match by a solitary point. The bust-up between rival coaches Chris Scott and Chris Fagan on the ground post-match summed up the feelings between the two clubs at the time. Suffice to say there is unfinished business for Brisbane down at the Cattery. And the good news for the visitors is that they are seemingly an even stronger team than the one that last travelled down to Geelong, while the Cats seem to have gone down a peg or two, despite their incredible comeback against Collingwood last week. Their stirring win over the up-and-coming Magpies appeared to paper over the cracks, though, and their performance against Sydney the week prior wasn’t too flattering either. Conversely, Brisbane couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season, with a pair of impressive comeback wins over finalists from last year, and a 108-point win over North Melbourne – their biggest victory in 15 years. And Kardinia Park isn’t exactly the happy hunting ground that it once was for the Cats, who have lost two of their last three there. Brisbane seems to have more avenues to goal as well, and with a burning desire to right the wrongs of the injustice that befell them down there last year, it could very well be a memorable night for Fagan’s men.
RONNY’S TIP: Brisbane by 9 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Brisbane by 8 points.
SYDNEY v NORTH MELBOURNE (SCG, Saturday 2.40pm local time)
It looks like season 2022 is going to be another one filled with pain and misery for the Kangaroos who were uncompetitive against the Lions last week. The scary thing is that 108 points probably was a flattering margin in the end considering the Lions kicked 23.18 and had almost 40 more inside 50s. However you dice it, it was a train wreck of a performance, hot on the heels of another uninspiring effort which saw North scrape past a decimated West Coast team which looked more like a WAFL outfit. And it doesn’t get any easier for them this week, travelling up to Sydney to face another side that looks like it will be there when the whips are cracking later in the season. The Swans have started the season strongly too, and came close to making it three wins from three games against a wasteful Western Bulldogs outfit last week. This promises to be another long afternoon for the Shinboners.
RONNY’S TIP: Sydney by 61 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Sydney by 36 points.
COLLINGWOOD v WEST COAST (Marvel Stadium, Saturday 4.35pm local time)
It’s just too hard to pick the Eagles with any conviction at the moment. This writer must admit he got sucked in by the prospect of so many players potentially returning for them against Fremantle last round, but the tremendous upheaval that they continue to experience at the selection table – 14 changes one week, 13 the next, and a potentially similar amount this weekend – is certainly not the recipe for success. Adam Simpson’s team remains far too unsettled, and it didn’t even look like a finals contender before the season began, let alone with all these massive disruptions added to the mix. Conversely, the enthusiastic and exciting Magpies are playing very attractive footy, and were a quarter away from going 3-0. In Melbourne, under the roof at Marvel, it should be a comfortable win for Craig McRae’s men, especially with key defender Jordan Roughead a strong chance to return from shoulder surgery.
RONNY’S TIP: Collingwood by 23 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Collingwood by 34 points.
RICHMOND v WESTERN BULLDOGS (MCG, Saturday 7.25pm local time)
The alarm bells are ringing loud and clear for the Tigers who, twice already this year, have found themselves on the wrong end of an avalanche of goals at the wrong time of a game. In Round 1, it was Carlton which piled on the final seven goals of the match to completely steamroll the Tigers, and last weekend it was St Kilda which slammed home 10 consecutive majors to totally overwhelm Damien Hardwick’s men. And the worrying thing for Richmond is that this is a trend which has carried over from last year to this year. In 2021, GWS (five), Sydney (five), St Kilda (five), Geelong (seven), Melbourne (seven), Collingwood (seven) and Geelong (eight) all kicked big clumps of goals in a row against Richmond. Most of us thought it was just the Tigers having a down year after so much success and they’d be back to their uncompromising ways this year. But there has been no change. The only thing that can save Richmond this week is if the Western Bulldogs’ kicking for goal is poor again, because if the Dogs manage to kick straight, and with Richmond key defender Dylan Grimes (hamstring) injured again, it’s going to make things very difficult for the Tigers, even if they regain Dion Prestia (hamstring) and Jack Riewoldt (thumb). The Bulldogs have also got a superior midfield to the one that the Tigers are fielding, and Luke Beveridge’s men are more than capable of running Richmond off its feet.
RONNY’S TIP: Western Bulldogs by 33 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Western Bulldogs by 16 points.
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FREMANTLE v GWS (Optus Stadium, Saturday 5.25pm local time)
The Giants did get off the mark last week, but how much can really be made of their victory given it was against an insipid Gold Coast outfit? Meanwhile, Fremantle was victorious in Round 3 too, but again, it came against a severely depleted and disrupted West Coast team. Combine those elements together, and you’ve got yourself a real headscratcher of a contest from a tipping perspective. The things that probably sway the pendulum in Freo’s favour are the fact that the game is being played in Perth (despite St Kilda beating them there already this year) and their smaller injury list. The Dockers’ look like they’ll potentially only be without Nat Fyfe (back) from a best 23 perspective, while the Giants head across the country without Toby Greene (suspended), Jacob Hopper (knee), Phil Davis (hamstring), Jack Buckley (knee), Brent Daniels (foot) and Daniel Lloyd (shoulder) while Nick Haynes (ankle) is in doubt. By default, the Dockers should get the win, if they want to be taken seriously.
RONNY’S TIP: Fremantle by 11 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Fremantle by 22 points.
ESSENDON v ADELAIDE (Marvel Stadium, Sunday 1.10pm local time)
The Crows are riding high after one of their greatest Showdown wins in their history, but they return to the scene of one of their darkest chapters. It was only nine months ago, at this very stadium, against this very opponent that Adelaide was held to its lowest ever score (2.9.21), so to say it has a lot to atone for would be an understatement. The Bombers might be on the bottom of the ladder, but they’ve been far from the worst team in the league after three weeks. Putting their Round 1 debacle against Geelong aside, they’ve actually been quite commendable in defeat against another pair of premiership contenders in Brisbane and Melbourne. It’s been a rough start to the year for the Dons, facing three of the strongest teams in the competition, but their fixture does get a bit easier from here. However, wins won’t just be handed to them, and if they harbour ambitions of making it back to the finals, a win on Sunday is a non-negotiable. They’ll be hoping to recall Harrison Jones (ankle), Nik Cox (ankle) and Will Snelling (calf), which would serve as a huge boost. Adelaide will regain Taylor Walker (suspension) and is a strong chance of welcoming back Rory Sloane (adductor) as well as Andrew McPherson (hamstring). But at home, and in desperate need to break their 2022 duck, the Bombers should get up.
RONNY’S TIP: Essendon by 17 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Essendon by 16 points.
HAWTHORN v ST KILDA (MCG, Sunday 3.20pm local time)
This game has ‘coin flip’ written all over it. A strong contender for game of the round, these two sides have clearly shown already this season that they back themselves in from any position, and are never out of a contest. The Saints’ last two wins have been brilliant, coming off the back of a pair of sensational second-half comebacks. And after Hawthorn accounted for North Melbourne and Port Adelaide in convincing fashion, it almost pipped Carlton after erasing its seven-goal lead, before being edged out by one point in the end. Suffice to say, the Hawks and Saints are two of the more exciting and watchable sides going around at the minute, and their fans are loving every bit of it. While the Hawks are hopeful Jack Scrimshaw (shoulder blade) will be right to play, the absence of ruckman Ben McEvoy (neck) in this contest could prove pivotal. Yes, the Saints are still missing Jack Billings (hamstring), Nick Coffield (knee), Hunter Clark (shoulder), Jarryn Geary (concussion), Dan Hannebery (calf) and Zak Jones (personal leave), while Jack Higgins (concussion) is the latest addition to that unavailable list, but crucially, their ruck pairing of Rowan Marshall and Paddy Ryder could have an enormous say on this contest up against the raw Ned Reeves. And to their credit, the Saints have managed to cover those significant outs, with the likes of Brad Crouch, Jack Steele, Jade Gresham, Jack Sinclair, Brad Hill and Seb Ross all standing up. Hawthorn’s backline was tremendous after quarter-time last week, but if they endure extended periods of vulnerability, such as what they experienced in the first quarter against Carlton with the Blues’ key forwards running amok, Max King could prove to be the matchwinner again for the Saints.
RONNY’S TIP: St Kilda by 7 points.
ROCO’S TIP: St Kilda by 2 points.
GOLD COAST v CARLTON (Metricon Stadium, Sunday 4.10pm local time)
The Suns lived up to their reputation as strong starters in the first two rounds this year, with a win over West Coast and a gallant loss to Melbourne, but it didn’t take them long to pull out an old classic from their vintage collection of stinkers against GWS. Yep, Gold Coast turned up its toes a lot earlier than usual this season compared to previous years, and worryingly it suggested that things just continue to stay the same at that beleaguered expansion club. And things don’t get any easier for the Suns this week, coming up against a red-hot, although at times shaky, and undefeated Carlton outfit which is 3-0 for the first time in 10 years. As the Giants showed last week, all you have to do is shut down Touk Miller to guarantee a win against the Suns, and in George Hewett, the Blues have the perfect guy for that role. And when you take into account just how powerful Carlton’s midfield and forward line have been so far in 2022, the Blues are every chance of going 4-0 for the first time since 1995 – and we all know what happened that year…
RONNY’S TIP: Carlton by 35 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Carlton by 26 points.
RONNY’S SEASON TOTAL: 17
ROCO’S SEASON TOTAL: 17
