Darcy Parish was outstanding in last year’s Anzac Day clash. Will he be able to drag his Bombers to another unlikely win this year? Photo: GETTY IMAGES

GWS v ST KILDA (Manuka Oval, Friday 7.50pm local time)
Heeeee’s baaaack! After six games out due to a brain fade which saw him walk into umpire Matt Stevic in last year’s elimination final against Sydney, GWS superstar Toby Greene makes his first appearance for season 2022, and St Kilda is the team that draws the short straw in facing the diminutive match winner first up. But luckily for the Saints, they are playing some very impressive football, inspired by the likes of Jack Steele, Max King, Jade Gresham, Jack Sinclair, Brad Crouch, Brad Hill and Jack Higgins. They’ve now won four on the trot and find themselves sitting pretty in the top four. Conversely, the Giants have been a shadow of the team that made it all the way to the semi-finals last year. They put up the white flag in the second half against Melbourne last week in what was their most alarming performance of the year to date. Is the sole inclusion of Greene enough to cover up all of those cracks and take down one of the in-form teams of the competition? It’s a tall order.
RONNY’S TIP: St Kilda
ROCO’S TIP: St Kilda

WESTERN BULLDOGS v ADELAIDE (Ballarat, Saturday 1.45pm local time)
The Bulldogs head into this match with their tails well and truly up after their second Good Friday smashing of North Melbourne in as many years. Will that be the catalyst for their faltering season to be kickstarted? Coach Luke Beveridge will certainly hope so. Perhaps the most pleasing aspect of the win was that they dismissed the appalling goalkicking yips which plagued them in the previous fortnight. However, they do head into this contest without key duo Tim English (hamstring) and Lachie Hunter (personal reasons). But the Crows have their issues too with captain Rory Sloane out for the rest of the season due to a ruptured ACL. Adelaide was fantastic against Richmond last week, and its tall timber up forward in Taylor Walker and Elliott Himmelberg could potentially prove a handful for the Dogs’ undersized backline. But it seems as though the Bulldogs are back on track, and if their powerful midfield gets on top of Adelaide’s, then it won’t matter how much weaponry the Crows possess in attack – especially with Aaron Naughton and Cody Weightman in such good form down the other end of the ground. The Dogs have won their last four games in Ballarat, including two meetings with Adelaide, and they should make it five in a row this weekend.
RONNY’S TIP: Western Bulldogs
ROCO’S TIP: Western Bulldogs

PORT ADELAIDE v WEST COAST (Adelaide Oval, Saturday 4.05pm local time)
West Coast’s turbulent season hit a new low last week when it suffered its worst ever defeat at Optus Stadium, and heaviest home loss in nine years, to Sydney. With a game under their respective belts, one would expect Elliot Yeo, Jamie Cripps, Luke Shuey and Tim Kelly to be better for the run, but the absence of the crucially important Jeremy McGovern and Nic Naitanui still seems way too hard for the Eagles to overcome. They’re not exactly taking on a world beater this weekend, after all Port Adelaide has made its worst start to an AFL season (0-5). But the Power came agonisingly close to producing one of the best comeback wins in VFL/AFL history last week, showing that there is at least some fight still left in them. The return of Ollie Wines is a huge boost too. West Coast has a phenomenal record at Adelaide Oval (9-2), and has never been beaten by the Power there in five meetings, but Ken Hinkley’s men look to be on the verge of breaking their duck for season 2022.
RONNY’S TIP: Port Adelaide
ROCO’S TIP: Port Adelaide

FREMANTLE v CARLTON (Optus Stadium, Saturday 5.40pm local time)
Before the season began, if someone was to suggest that the Dockers and Blues were going to earn ‘match of the round’ status at some stage during the year, that person would have been laughed out of the room. Yet here we are with both sides 4-1 – Freo second and Carlton sixth. It seems to be all coming together for Fremantle in coach Justin Longmuir’s third year at the helm. The Dockers’ backline is sound (ranked second only behind Melbourne), their full-of-run midfield is one of the fittest on-ball units in the league and they’re starting to put big scores on the board. And aside from a few heart-in-mouth matches which saw them almost cough up massive leads, there’s also a lot to like about the Blues all over the ground. This promises to be a fascinating contest between a side that has a habit of starting matches all guns blazing before fizzling out (Carlton), and a team that takes a while to get going but finishes matches strongly (Fremantle). The return of Patrick Cripps is huge for the Blues who have the wood over Freo, winning their last four meetings. But Fremantle will be keen to avenge the last time these two sides met at this ground – a match which was decided by a Jack Newnes goal after the siren.
RONNY’S TIP: Fremantle
ROCO’S TIP: Fremantle

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NORTH MELBOURNE v GEELONG (Blundstone Arena, Sunday 1.10pm local time)
There’s no doubt that the Kangaroos are a better side down in Hobart. Even during their recent struggles, they find something extra on the Apple Isle to really challenge their more-fancied opponents. Their next foe is a great example – it took the Cats until the final quarter last year to finally shake North off their tail down there. And the Kangas are set to be boosted by the returns of Cameron Zurhaar and Tarryn Thomas, although Jaidyn Stephenson (illness) and Aaron Hall (hamstring) make way. North was left reeling by yet another Good Friday smashing, but it showed only a couple of weeks ago that when it puts its collective mind to it, it can come close to causing huge upsets, as Sydney found out. The Cats were left stung by their shock defeat to Hawthorn on Easter Monday and should respond, but something tells this writer that it’s not going to be an easy day at the office.
RONNY’S TIP: Geelong
ROCO’S TIP: Geelong

GOLD COAST v BRISBANE (Metricon Stadium, Sunday 4.10pm local time)
To the Suns’ credit, after their shocking showing against GWS in Round 3, they have put in a pair of impressive performances – a win over Carlton and a loss to St Kilda which saw them test the Saints for large periods. But this week they’re up against one of the premiership favourites who, despite not being in the greatest form the last couple of weeks, really enjoy beating up on their younger cousins from down the highway. Brisbane has won its last six meetings with Gold Coast, the last five of which by an average of 61 points. In that same span, the Lions’ average score has been 117. The Lions have also won their last four games against Gold Coast at Carrara. Brisbane also gets an extra boost from the return of emerging defender Keidean Coleman.
RONNY’S TIP: Brisbane
ROCO’S TIP: Brisbane

RICHMOND v MELBOURNE (MCG, Sunday 7.25pm local time)
The Tigers seem a lot like a dying star about to go supernova. After a bright shining era which produced three premierships, this year we’re seeing erratic behaviour – bursts of great form, which have lead to wins over GWS and the Dogs, sandwiched in between concerning defeats. As a result, Richmond is now 2-3, having started the year loss-win-loss-win-loss. And the Tigers probably couldn’t have picked a worse team to come up against in their bid to iron out their dramatic inconsistency. Melbourne has quickly emerged as the competition pace-setter for the second year in a row. The Dees had been in cruise control for much of the first month, but last week they returned to the ruthless ways which they showcased so spectacularly throughout last year’s finals series. The Giants were put to the sword mercilessly and Richmond is going to find it very hard to avoid a similar fate this week against the well-oiled red-and-blue machine, even if the Demons are missing Jack Viney and Jake Lever due to COVID protocols.
RONNY’S TIP: Melbourne
ROCO’S TIP: Melbourne

HAWTHORN v SYDNEY (Launceston, Monday 12.30pm local time)
This game is a close second behind Fremantle-Carlton for match of the round – a credit to rookie Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell. Not many people tipped the Hawks to be overly competitive this year, but after five rounds they are sitting in the top eight with a 3-2 record. Fresh from their best performance of the year – a two-goal win over Geelong on Easter Monday – they head into this clash full of confidence against another flag contender in Sydney. Although they have been hit hard by injury with key forward Mitch Lewis (hamstring) and ruckman Ned Reeves (shoulder) out. After an unconvincing fortnight, the Swans hit back hard last week with a demolition job on the Eagles, and they regain Lance Franklin who sat out last week due to a broken finger. As impressive as the Hawks were last week, their Launceston home is no longer the fortress it once was with four of their last seven games there ending in defeat. Sydney will be made to earn it, but should be good enough to come out on top.
RONNY’S TIP: Sydney
ROCO’S TIP: Sydney

ESSENDON v COLLINGWOOD (MCG, Monday 3.20pm local time)
Whichever way you dice it, it’s been one hell of a tough season for the Bombers so far with just the one win by four points over Adelaide to show for it. They were embarrassed by Fremantle last week, and while star duo Jake Stringer (hamstring) and Zach Merrett (ankle) have been named for this contest, it would be genuinely surprising to see either of them play given they were listed as 1-2 weeks and 3-4 weeks away respectively on the club’s injury list. The Dons’ well-documented defensive issues are compounded by a host of key players remaining unavailable. While Collingwood has only one more win to its credit than the Dons, there’s been a lot more to like about the Pies’ performances this year, and they should consider themselves unlucky not to be 4-1 after blowing three-quarter-time leads against Geelong and West Coast. Collingwood also looks set to welcome back Brody Mihocek, Beau McCreery and Jack Ginnivan, who have all been named in the extended squad. The Magpies have been the dominant side in this most significant of home-and-away games, and you can expect them to extend their lead on the Bombers on Anzac Day to six wins.
RONNY’S TIP: Collingwood
ROCO’S TIP: Collingwood

RONNY’S SEASON TOTAL: 29
ROCO’S SEASON TOTAL: 29