Brisbane star Lachie Neale gang-tackled by Adam Cerra (left) and Jack Martin when the Lions last played Carlton in Round 21, last year. Photo: GETTY IMAGES

CARLTON v BRISBANE (Marvel Stadium, Friday 7.50pm local time)
The Blues and Lions are back under the prime time lights after three- and four-week breaks respectively, and this match promises to be another test of Carlton’s legitimacy as a finals contender. The Blues failed their last two such tests dismally against Adelaide and St Kilda, who both scored comfortable wins, before Carlton dined out on an easy kill in West Coast last week to get its confidence back up. But despite a reported sellout crowd set to cheer them on, the Blues are going to have their work cut out for themselves. The Lions might be heading into battle without star veterans Dayne Zorko (hamstring) and Daniel Rich (calf), but they have been humming along beautifully and after a sluggish start to the season, have won their last four games to validate pre-season prognostications which had them vying for the premiership. And they actually have the means to potentially keep Carlton star forward duo Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay quiet, with Harris Andrews and Jack Payne both enjoying good seasons. Down the other end of the ground, the Blues also have a solid backline, headlined by Jacob Weitering, Lewis Young and Mitch McGovern, but Brisbane still has one of the most formidable forward lines in the league with various effective avenues to goal. Suffice to say, Nic Newman, one of the competition’s best small negating defenders this year, will have his hands full trying to stop the red-hot Charlie Cameron.
RONNY’S TIP: Brisbane by 17 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Carlton by 6 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Brisbane by 11 points.

RICHMOND v WEST COAST (MCG, Saturday 1.45pm local time)
If the Tigers were playing almost any other team this week, you’d struggle to bring yourself to tip them to win. But luckily for Richmond, it comes up against the decimated Eagles who are languishing at the foot of the ladder following their frightful 108-point massacre at the hands of Carlton. The Tigers are only two spots above the Eagles in 16th spot, having lost five games in a row for the first time since 2016 and reaching their nadir last week with a humbling loss to Gold Coast in Melbourne. But they will get some much-needed reinforcements in premiership stars Dion Prestia and Jack Graham, as well as the spritely Hugo Ralphsmith, and should comfortably take care of a team that is quickly resembling Fitzroy in its dying years.
RONNY’S TIP: Richmond by 44 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Richmond by 32 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Richmond by 27 points.

GEELONG v ADELAIDE (Kardinia Park, Saturday 2.10pm local time)
The Crows may look back on their loss to Collingwood last week in the months to come and pinpoint it as a golden opportunity missed to make a serious run at a top-four spot. They’re certainly not the first team to be overrun by Collingwood in the final quarter, and probably won’t be the last either, but instead of being 5-2, and equal on points with the teams occupying positions two to five on the ladder, they are 4-3, inside the top eight on percentage and face a very tough road over the next four weeks, starting with the Cats in Geelong. After this game, Adelaide takes on St Kilda, the Western Bulldogs and Brisbane, but first things first – the reigning premiers are looking every bit the team that held the cup aloft last year. Having now won their last four games by an average of 63 points, and with their star players whose abilities were being questioned at the start of the season – namely Patrick Dangerfield and Tom Hawkins – pretty much all firing on all cylinders now, they well and truly have that premiership glint back in their eyes. The Crows have been one of the biggest improvers this year, and came within a whisker of downing premiership favourite Collingwood last week, but down at Geelong against one of the in-form teams in the competition, they’re going to find it very tough to avoid back-to-back losses.
RONNY’S TIP: Geelong by 24 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Geelong by 18 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Geelong by 21 points.

GOLD COAST v MELBOURNE (Carrara, Saturday 4.35pm local time)
For the first time this year, the Suns have generated some meaningful momentum with back-to-back wins over North and Richmond, but assignments don’t get much tougher these days than an in-form Melbourne outfit, and that’s exactly what confronts Stuart Dew’s men this week. After suffering a stunning loss to Essendon in Round 5, the Demons have rebounded with impressive wins over Richmond and the Kangaroos. And their victory over North, in particular, illustrated once again that their killer instinct is well and truly intact this year with their average winning margin now nine goals. When they get on a run, they are almost impossible to stop, and the Suns will find that out for themselves this week.
RONNY’S TIP: Melbourne by 25 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Melbourne by 20 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Melbourne by 25 points.

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GWS v WESTERN BULLDOGS (Manuka Oval, Saturday 7.25pm local time)
These two teams do not like each other. And that is evident by way of the fact that they have built up one of the best modern-day AFL rivalries. The Giants might only be 11 years old, but in that short amount of time, they have built up an abundance of bad blood with the Bulldogs. And with both teams heading into this game with their tails up, this promises to be one of the games of the round. GWS is still riding high following its miraculous comeback win over Sydney last week, instigated by the inspirational Toby Greene, while the Bulldogs have won four of their last five games. Both teams will have big inclusions this week as well with Callan Ward and Tom Liberatore both returning for the Giants and Dogs respectively. But GWS would probably prefer this match to be held at its true home in west Sydney, because it has lost its last eight matches in Canberra by an average of six goals. With enough supply, and if his kicking boots are on, Aaron Naughton could have a big night against the Giants’ undersized defence.
RONNY’S TIP: Western Bulldogs by 16 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Western Bulldogs by 10 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Western Bulldogs by 19 points.

FREMANTLE v HAWTHORN (Optus Stadium, Saturday 5.30pm local time)
If it’s one team that could do with a chop-out right about now it’s the Dockers. They have been the biggest disappointments so far this year comfortably, and back-to-back eight-goal thumpings at the hands of the Bulldogs and Brisbane have consigned them to 14th spot on the ladder. However, they seem to have been done a favour by the Hawks, one of only four teams below Freo, who have rested Luke Breust and Changkuoth Jiath. And in an extra boost, former captain Nat Fyfe will return to the Dockers’ line-up as the starting substitute after seven weeks out with a foot injury. Fyfe has only played eight of Fremantle’s last 31 games. The Dockers are the furthest thing from a reliable proposition, and at no stage this year have they looked anything like the team that made it to a semi-final last year, but by default, and by virtue of the team they’re facing this week, should surely register their third win.
RONNY’S TIP: Fremantle by 22 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Fremantle by 2 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Fremantle by 5 points.

PORT ADELAIDE v ESSENDON (Adelaide Oval, Sunday 12.40pm local time)
The one thing you can’t say about the 2023 version of the Bombers is that they don’t have a crack. In each of their seven games so far this year, they have either been knee-deep in the contest, or they at least haven’t thrown the towel in. That consistency of performance has been a welcome change, but will it be enough to take down one of the in-form teams in the competition on their home deck? It remains to be seen. The Power are riding the wave of a four-game winning streak, including the scalps of Sydney, the Bulldogs and St Kilda, and the only team to beat them at Adelaide Oval so far this year is their crosstown rival Crows. With key bookends Tom Marshall and Tom Jonas back in the team, they’re going to be hard to stop again this week.
RONNY’S TIP: Port Adelaide by 18 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Port Adelaide by 16 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Port Adelaide by 21 points.

COLLINGWOOD v SYDNEY (MCG, Sunday 3.20pm local time)
Richmond is a close second behind Fremantle as the biggest disappointment of 2023 so far, and Sydney is closing in on the Tigers with a bullet. What a disastrous last couple of home games the Swans have endured, losing to Port Adelaide and GWS after enjoying healthy final-quarter leads. Throw in a pair of massive defeats at the hands of premiership contenders Geelong and Melbourne, and these past five weeks have been horrific for them. They now sit precariously in 11th spot with a 3-4 record and if they thought they were going to enjoy some respite this week, they were sadly mistaken, because they must now do battle with the flag favourites on their home ground. The Magpies’ cloak of invincibility from last year is back in action in a big way and after two Houdini acts in the last two rounds against Essendon and Adelaide, they find themselves atop the ladder a game clear of the chasing pack. And the Pies will be further bolstered by the returns of evergreen champion Scott Pendlebury and ruckman Mason Cox. The Swans also receive a boost in the form of Justin McInerney and Robbie Fox being added to their squad, but as Collingwood coach Craig McRae says, to beat his team, you need to play every single minute against it, and right now Sydney does not appear equipped to do so.
RONNY’S TIP: Collingwood by 32 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Collingwood by 2 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: Collingwood by 15 points.

NORTH MELBOURNE v ST KILDA (Marvel Stadium, Sunday 4.40pm local time)
The Kangaroos’ season continues to spiral out of control, and it only gets worse for them this week with Charlie Comben (ankle), Callum Coleman-Jones (concussion) and Tom Powell (ankle) all unavailable due to injury. While they do get back Luke Davies-Uniacke, it’s going to take a lot more than the young superstar’s presence in the midfield to take down one of the in-form teams in the competition. The Saints are one of the hardest teams to play against, and their only two losses this year have been by six and seven points respectively. The Kangaroos look set for another harsh football lesson.
RONNY’S TIP: St Kilda by 44 points.
ROCO’S TIP: St Kilda by 36 points.
ROCKET’S TIP: St Kilda by 45 points.

SEASON TOTALS
RONNY 41
ROCKET 37
ROCO 36