AFL Preview: Richmond v Melbourne
AFL Preview: Essendon v Collingwood
AFL Preview: Fremantle v Sydney
St.Kilda vs Carlton, Saturday Morning 11am, Westpac Stadium
What a joy to roll out of bed on Saturday morning, bleary-eyed after a night out on the town to some footy. With media pressuring rising (and rightly so) on the future of Mick Malthouse, it’s a game that could deflate the talk of his demise for a week or two if successful in this fixture. Hard to get a read on how teams will handle the unfamiliar conditions, but Carlton should get it done, although not without a fright.
Blues by 6.
GWS vs Gold Coast, Saturday Twilight 4:45pm, Star Track Oval
Huge opportunity for the Giants to lay one into their currently poor performing expansion rivals. The Suns saved face last week, but still botched an attempted at beating a Cats side that wasn’t that much better. Giants to keep em at arm’s length.
Giants by 12.
Port Adelaide vs Hawthorn, Saturday Night 7:40pm, Adelaide Oval
Outstanding fail by whoever’s running fixtures by putting this on at the same time as Swans v Freo. Should be a cracking game of high-scoring footy and I doubt any neutral will be disappointed with the outcome. Port dropping this and heading into the Showdown 1-3 could be a big talking point.
Hawks by 15.
Brisbane Lions vs West Coast, Sunday Afternoon 1:10pm, GABBA
Incredibly poor starts to the year by both these teams, especially the Brisbane Lions who’s efforts in the first three weeks have resembled training runs with sloppy ball use and poor disposal. Heat may get turned up again on Leppa if this is another shellacking.
Eagles by 24.
Geelong vs North Melbourne, Sunday Afternoon 3:20pm, Simonds Stadium
Honestly, a game North should win. If they could pull an effort like that against the Power last week as depleted as they were, then this is a fixture they should win. The reality is won’t be easy for them, as they’ll probably struggle to keep the twin towers of Hawkins and Clarke at bay, but they should get it done.
North by 17.
Western Bulldogs vs Adelaide, Sunday Twilight 4:40pm, Etihad Stadium
The Dogs were humbled last week in Tassie, shown just where the benchmark is by Hawks side looking to power through. The Crows on the other hand faced resistance from the Dees and still got away with points. Should an interesting game of footy to close out the round, but the Crows should have it in a canter.
Crows by 31.