Geelong made short work of St Kilda with a crushing 59-point win over the Saints last time they met in 2020. Photo: AAP

ST KILDA v GEELONG (Marvel Stadium, Friday 7.50pm local time)
Are the Saints back? Not exactly. Sure, they’ve cobbled together a couple of victories against bottom-seven sides Hawthorn and Gold Coast, but to make it three in a row, they’re going to have to pull out by far their best performance of the season. Aside from their win against West Coast, they’ve failed significant tests against flag fancies Melbourne, Port Adelaide and Richmond and if they are to live up to their pre-season billing as a top-eight contender by year’s end, they’re going to have to prove themselves against one of the top teams. Unfortunately for St Kilda, it’s unlikely it will be able to achieve that goal this week. The Cats have gone to another level ever since Jeremy Cameron has entered the side, smashing West Coast, falling painfully short against Sydney despite dominating every key stat, and then pummelling reigning premier Richmond. To expect the Saints to rein Chris Scott’s men in seems like a quantum leap for them.
RONNY’S TIP: Geelong by 34 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Geelong by 20 points.

SYDNEY v COLLINGWOOD (SCG, Saturday 1.45pm local time)
The Magpies got a morale-boosting result over last-placed and winless North Melbourne last week, but wouldn’t have derived a whole lot of nourishment from the unconvincing 18-point victory. They’ve got a much tougher task this week, and while they historically have a fantastic record in Sydney, it’s hard to make a case for them toppling the Swans, who have returned to form in recent weeks with a thrilling win over Geelong and a nail-biting loss to the undefeated Demons in Melbourne. These two sides are no strangers to producing thrillers, with their last four meetings decided by a total of just 19 points, Collingwood winning three of them. But with Isaac Heeney (ankle) and George Hewett (concussion) available for the Swans this week, the Magpies will struggle to continue that trend.
RONNY’S TIP: Sydney by 24 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Sydney by 8 points.

HAWTHORN v NORTH MELBOURNE (Launceston, Saturday 2.10pm local time)
After putting up a decent fight for the most part in the opening six rounds, Hawthorn is starting to show signs that it is slowly lurching towards uncompetitive territory on the back of consecutive comprehensive defeats to St Kilda and West Coast. Meanwhile, despite sitting in 18th spot without a victory, North Melbourne has been showing gradual signs of improvement in the last five rounds, especially in its last two games against Melbourne and Collingwood. This is the second week in a row that the Kangaroos have faced the second-last side. Will it be a case of second time lucky? It’s going to be tough, especially with Jaidyn Stephenson (wrist) and Aidan Bonar (ankle) fresh additions to North’s massive injury list. Conversely, the Hawks could potentially regain Jack Gunston (back), Jaeger O’Meara (hip), Shaun Burgoyne (ankle) and Jon Ceglar (ankle) all in one hit this week, which would massively boost their chances of victory. Even if they only get back two or three of that group of players, it should be enough to tilt the result in their favour. As a sidenote, given these are the two sides which use Tasmania for home matches, it will be interesting to see if fans vote with their feet as the unrest in the Apple Isle continues to simmer regarding its ambition for its own AFL team.
RONNY’S TIP: Hawthorn by 11 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Hawthorn by 32 points.

GOLD COAST v BRISBANE (Metricon Stadium, Saturday 4.35pm local time)
The Suns let slip a golden opportunity to make it three wins in a row last week after leading St Kilda by three goals at three-quarter time, but failing to finish the deal in the final term. And to add insult to injury, they now have to face one of the most in-form teams in the competition, local rival Brisbane. The Suns have certainly been a tougher proposition to deal with since round five, but the Lions are a few levels above them at this juncture in time and should have no troubles making it five wins in a row, and five Q-Clash victories in succession for the first time since 2013, as they continue to press for entry in the top four after a slow start to the season.
RONNY’S TIP: Brisbane by 30 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Brisbane by 44 points.

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RICHMOND v GWS (Marvel Stadium, Saturday 7.25pm local time)
The Tigers seem to be under more scrutiny this year than at any other time during their golden run – and that’s saying something given all the off-field dramas they endured in 2020. Richmond is accustomed to winning the flag after making a scratchy start to the season, but the manner in which it has lost to fellow top-eight hopefuls Sydney, Melbourne and Geelong has been quite alarming. However, interwoven in those performances are convincing wins over St Kilda and the Bulldogs, as well as a gallant loss to Port Adelaide. So what do we make of the Tigers? At 4-4, in eighth spot and without Shai Bolton (wrist), Trent Cotchin (hamstring), Shane Edwards (ankle), Kane Lambert (calf), Dion Prestia (calf) and Ivan Soldo (knee), it wouldn’t be an overstatement to say they are up against it. And backline general Dylan Grimes (concussion) is no certainty to play this week either. This is a massive game because the Giants (4-4) are ninth, having won four of their last five games and seem like a rejuvenated bunch of players. However, Lachie Keeffe (knee) is the latest casualty for GWS which is already without Stephen Coniglio (ankle), Brent Daniels (hamstring), Phil Davis (calf), Matt De Boer (hamstring), Nick Haynes (hamstring), Adam Kennedy (shoulder), Braydon Preuss (shoulder) and Sam Reid (hamstring), while Jeremy Finlayson is also unavailable due to suspension. Jesse Hogan (calf) might return, though. This is a good old-fashioned ‘eight-pointer’ and Richmond should be good enough to bounce back from its woeful performance against Geelong, as it has done many times before.
RONNY’S TIP: Richmond by 15 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Richmond by 22 points.

PORT ADELAIDE v WESTERN BULLDOGS (Adelaide Oval, Saturday 7.10pm local time)
The Power predictably hit back hard against an easy kill last week with a 49-point win over Adelaide, but they face another heavy hitter this week, and their record against such teams hasn’t been overly convincing so far in 2021. They’ve suffered two huge losses to West Coast and Brisbane, and just managed to sneak past Richmond at Adelaide Oval. That’s music to the Bulldogs’ ears because, at 7-1, they are well and truly one of the big boys and they showed how devastating they can be in the second half of their match with Carlton last week, piling on eight consecutive goals to storm to victory after trailing by 27 points. Luke Beveridge’s team is the reverse of Port Adelaide, with wins over Brisbane and West Coast to go with a loss to Richmond this season. The Power are still without Zak Butters (ankle) and Xavier Duursma (knee), while doubt surrounds Dan Houston (shoulder). Crucially they will also be without the suspended Scott Lycett, which cancels out the absence of Bulldogs big man Stefan Martin (achilles). The Doggies could regain Bailey Williams (collarbone), Tim English (concussion), Laitham Vandermeer (back) and Ryan Gardner (shoulder) while, incredibly, Lachie Hunter has not been ruled out after breaking his hand last week. This promises to be a fantastic clash between two heavyweights which looks poised to go down to the wire.
RONNY’S TIP: Port Adelaide by 3 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Port Adelaide by 6 points.

ESSENDON v FREMANTLE (Marvel Stadium, Sunday 1.10pm local time)
You’d be hard-pressed to find an unluckier side than Essendon this season. The Bombers are 2-6, but three of their losses have been by a combined total of six points. The Dons are not far away from winning games consistently, but unfortunately on too many occasions they’ve just lacked that final bit of polish to convert encouraging performances into victories. While they’ve proved they can score well, they have struggled to tighten up their leaky defence. Incredibly, they have a better percentage than Fremantle, which is 4-4, indicating just how competitive the Bombers have been. But good efforts must be put to the side this weekend, because there are no excuses for Essendon to lose to Fremantle. Yes, it has lost match-winner Jake Stringer (hamstring), but the Dockers are as banged up as the Dons, if not more so. At Marvel Stadium, a venue where Essendon has not lost to Freo in 11 years, in front of their home fans, the Bombers must convert their recent good form into a victory.
RONNY’S TIP: Essendon by 17 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Essendon by 2 points.

MELBOURNE v CARLTON (MCG, Sunday 3.20pm local time)
For a side that had designs on being a 2021 finalist, this season has not gone very well at all for the Blues, who now sit 3-5 after failing yet another test against one of the competition’s heavyweights. David Teague’s side has now lost to the Bulldogs, Port Adelaide, Brisbane and Richmond this year, and is running out of chances to prove itself against a top side. Another opportunity presents itself this week, but it’s hard to mount a meaningful case for Carlton to topple the unbeaten ladder-leading Demons. Granted, Simon Goodwin’s side has maybe shown a few signs of fatigue in recent performances against North and Sydney, so it could be entering a little bit of lull in terms of output, but it still managed to get the job done both times, whereas Melbourne sides of yesteryear would have crumbled in similar situations. This is clearly a different Demons team to the ones we’ve become accustomed to for the better part of 15 years, and they should improve their record to 9-0 for the first time since 1956, delivering a hammer blow to Carlton’s September aspirations in the process.
RONNY’S TIP: Melbourne by 21 points.
ROCO’S TIP: Melbourne by 24 points.

WEST COAST v ADELAIDE (Optus Stadium, 2.40pm local time)
The injury-hit Eagles have got their campaign back on track with emphatic back-to-back wins against Fremantle and Hawthorn. While the opposition might not have been fearsome, it’s been an important response from Adam Simpson’s men after that 97-point shellacking from Geelong. The Eagles are 5-3 and could now regain Jeremy McGovern (groin), Tom Barrass (shoulder) and Mark Hutchings (hamstring), while they remain hopeful that Josh Kennedy (calf) will line up, too. They showed against the Hawks that once they get their delivery inside forward 50 right, they’re a very hard team to stop, and back at home in Perth against the struggling Crows, they should make it a hat-trick of victories and also four wins in a row against Adelaide for the first time in 14 years.
RONNY’S TIP: West Coast by 45 points.
ROCO’S TIP: West Coast by 50 points.

RONNY’S SEASON TOTAL: 45
ROCO’S SEASON TOTAL: 50