Jack Viney and Josh Battle compete for the ball in Round 2 last year when the Demons and Saints last met. Photo: GETTY IMAGES

PORT ADELAIDE v WESTERN BULLDOGS (Adelaide Oval, Friday 7pm local time)
What a difference a couple of weeks can make. When the Power started the year 0-5, they were widely ruled out of finals contention and coach Ken Hinkley’s papers had basically been stamped. Now, both of those things might still ultimately happen, but at least the team is going down swinging, with impressive wins in their last two games. It’s hard to argue that they’ve stopped playing for Hinkley, as well. And the Power’s run of good fortune continues into a third week with inspirational Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli being rested for this match. Is that a sign that the Dogs have pencilled in this match as an ‘easier’ assignment? Who knows, but you can bet your bottom dollar that Hinkley will frame it that way in the lead-up to the match. The Dogs have had a similarly rocky start to the year, and while they did what they had to against Essendon last week, the Bombers made them look much better than perhaps what they actually are. Port showed true grit and determination to down 2022 surprise packet St Kilda in Round 7, and with their preliminary final humiliation against the Dogs at this very venue still fresh in their minds, the Power will have plenty of motivation to get the job done.
RONNY’S TIP: Port Adelaide by 3 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Port Adelaide by 2 points.

FREMANTLE v NORTH MELBOURNE (Optus Stadium, Friday 6.40pm local time)
The Dockers might be missing Griffin Logue, Blake Acres, Travis Colyer, Rory Lobb, Lloyd Meek and Michael Frederick, who have all entered COVID protocols this week, but the Kangaroos are going to need a lot more going their way than that to secure an upset win in Perth. Besides, the Dockers don’t exactly welcome back a bunch of slouches in Sean Darcy, Hayden Young, Heath Chapman and Liam Henry. Fremantle announced itself as the genuine article last week with a brilliant victory over the Cats down in Geelong, conquering the AFL’s version of ‘Mission: Impossible’ in the process. Justin Longmuir’s side now sits third on the ladder with a sparkling 6-1 record and while North did score a surprise win at this ground last year against West Coast, unfortunately for the bottom-two outfit, it has sadly regressed further this year, having lost their last five games by an average of 59 points.
RONNY’S TIP: Fremantle by 40 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Fremantle by 60 points.

RICHMOND v COLLINGWOOD (MCG, Saturday 1.45pm local time)
There’s nothing quite like a clash between two rival Victorian powerhouse clubs on a Saturday afternoon at the MCG, especially when they’re both in form. The Magpies have won their last two games against Essendon and Gold Coast, while the Tigers are fresh from handing West Coast its second biggest loss in Perth in a 109-point massacre. The Pies are eighth and Richmond is ninth, and to cap it all off, superstar Dustin Martin is making his long-awaited return for the Tigers after seven weeks away from footy to first deal with personal issues and then get himself back up to full fitness. Former captain Trent Cotchin also returns, in a further boost for Richmond. Collingwood has been decent in the past fortnight, but the Tigers are a step up in quality and will probably prove to be too strong in the end, especially if they implement a similar brand of footy which blew the depleted Eagles off the park.
RONNY’S TIP: Richmond by 22 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Richmond by 18 points.

SYDNEY v GOLD COAST (SCG, Saturday 1.45pm local time)
No matter how badly the Suns are going, and trust us, they’re going badly right now, taking on the Swans at the SCG will give them an automatic pep in their step as a reminder to them that anything is possible in footy. It was four years ago when Gold Coast travelled to the Harbour City to cause one of the biggest upsets in modern AFL history, downing the (at the time) top-four Swans by four goals – a result that still baffles scientists to this day. Granted, Sydney’s record at its home this year hasn’t been totally convincing – after beating Geelong, the Swans scraped past lowly North and just recently lost to Brisbane – but it would be a real shock, even taking into account the 2018 result, to see Gold Coast emerge triumphant again. Importantly for the Swans, key bookends Paddy McCartin and Logan McDonald return. And in one of the feelgood stories of 2022, Gold Coast key defender Rory Thompson makes his long-awaited return to footy after spending almost four years sidelined due to serious knee injuries. Wil Powell (hamstring) also comes back for the Suns.
RONNY’S TIP: Sydney by 25 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Sydney by 36 points.

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GWS v GEELONG (Manuka Oval, Saturday 4.35pm local time)
Are the Giants back? It’s hard to say for sure. But what’s undeniable is that when Toby Greene is up and running, they are a completely different side – as evidenced by their 10-goal thumping of the in-form Crows at Adelaide Oval last weekend. Suffice to say, we’ll get a much clearer idea this week if Greater Western Sydney’s campaign is back on track. The Cats might not be what they once were, but they certainly will provide a very stern test. After all, they almost beat the red-hot Dockers last week. Geelong loses captain Joel Selwood to a quad injury, but regains another champion in Patrick Dangerfield whom the Cats will hope returns in better form than what he showed in the opening five weeks. At 2-5, the Giants’ season is on the line, but Geelong will be doing them no favours.
RONNY’S TIP: Geelong by 12 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Geelong by 16 points.

ESSENDON v HAWTHORN (Marvel Stadium, Saturday 7.25pm local time)
As if Essendon’s season couldn’t become even more of a dumpster fire, its explosive match winner Jake Stringer will be sidelined for about another month with a fresh hamstring injury. It really is becoming a sad state of affairs for the Bombers who produced yet another dismal display against the Bulldogs last week. Conversely, the Hawks are energised and motivated under new coach Sam Mitchell, and while they didn’t get the results they would’ve liked in the last couple of weeks, their performances against premiership favourite Melbourne and top-four hopeful Sydney were commendable. When you throw in their Easter Monday win over Geelong, their past three weeks have been quite decent. If they bring even 80 per cent of the output they’ve produced in recent times, they’d still be able to take care of Essendon who would find some way to beat themselves in the end anyway.
RONNY’S TIP: Hawthorn by 36 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Hawthorn by 22 points.

BRISBANE v WEST COAST (Gabba, Saturday 7.25pm local time)
Get the record books ready, because some rewriting might take place in this contest. The Eagles, already broken down and battered, having just suffered their second-biggest home loss to Richmond, and lost their last three matches by an average of 85 points, must now head up to the Gabba to face the in-form premiership threat Brisbane on its home deck. Compounding matters for the hapless Eagles is that COVID continues to ravage them, reducing them to 22 available senior-listed players, and robbing them of senior coach Adam Simpson. Matthew Knights will take over the reins in a caretaker capacity. Top-ups will have to be used again with eight players in COVID protocols, including Greg Clark, Alex Witherden and Jackson Nelson, while Luke Shuey (hamstring), Willie Rioli (hamstring) and Xavier O’Neill (knee) have been added to their extensive injury list as well. When you line that up against how hot the Lions’ recent form has been, and the fact that, even without Joe Daniher (shoulder), they have one of the most potent attacks in the AFL, the forecast wet weather might be the only thing that saves the decimated Eagles from another triple-figure shellacking.
RONNY’S TIP: Brisbane by 88 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Brisbane by 72 points.

MELBOURNE v ST KILDA (MCG, Sunday 1.10pm local time)
The Demons have got to lose some time, right? Sure, but it probably won’t happen this week. Not with premiership stars Harrison Petty, Luke Jackson, Alex Neal-Bullen, Tom Sparrow and Kysaiah Pickett all returning from COVID protocols, as well as senior coach Simon Goodwin. The Saints blew a golden opportunity last week to make it six wins on the trot as woeful goalkicking undid them. In the past two weeks, St Kilda has kicked a combined 14.35 at a shocking 29 per cent. While the Saints do welcome back Rowan Marshall and Zak Jones for his first game for the year, if they continue to squander chances in front of goal, Melbourne certainly is not the team that will let you off the hook like the Giants did a few weeks ago. The Saints have shown they can play some pretty exhilarating footy in patches this year, but the Demons are a well-oiled machine and should make it 15 wins in a row.
RONNY’S TIP: Melbourne by 27 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Melbourne by 20 points.

CARLTON v ADELAIDE (Marvel Stadium, Sunday 4.40pm local time)
The Blues returned to the winners’ circle last week with a second-half demolition of lowly North Melbourne, and by the same token, Adelaide returned to earth with a massive thud against the Giants. The Crows started the season in really impressive fashion, splitting their first six games 3-3, with four of those matches decided by a combined total of just 20 points. Their thumping loss to the Giants aside, they have proven to be a hard nut to crack, and a team full of grit and fight, for the majority of the season to date. However, with Carlton skipper Patrick Cripps in Brownlow-winning form and twin towers Harry McKay and Charlie Curnow humming along nicely in attack, the Crows are going to have their work cut out for themselves to avoid a 3-5 scoreline after eight rounds.
RONNY’S TIP: Carlton by 22 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Carlton by 28 points.

RONNY’S SEASON TOTAL: 42
ROCO’S SEASON TOTAL: 42