Carlton vs West Coast

Frida Night football has been a disappointment this season and this game will continue that trend with what I see as a one sided game in favour of Carlton who sit just out of the eight compared with the Eagles who are treading water down the bottom end of the table.

Both are coming off a 6 day break (thanks Jermayn) so there’s real no advantage to either team even though Carlton just had to travel a smaller journey to South Australia. But lets face it, West Coast have been terrible away from home this year with their only wins coming from home games.

Carlton have been in patchy in form since a solid start to the season, with only 2 wins from their past 5 games.  A season ending injury to Jarrod Waite (ACL) will further strain the playing stocks down at Carlton.  The Blues really struggled against the Crows defensive pressure last week in their loss.

I don’t think the Eagles can maintain that kind of intensity that will stop Carlton’s classy midfield.

This one’s a no-brainer…

Carlton by 34 points.

Bulldogs vs Sydney

The game is being played at Manuka Oval which as a venue doesn’t really set the world on fire. The AFL’s experiment with playing at Manuka hasn’t really taken off and it shows, with the head honchos making a bee-line for the sunnier sands of the Gold Coast. When they last played here, the Western Bulldogs took the honours over the Swans and overall in recent times have a better record over Sydney.

The Western Bulldogs came oh so close last week with Brad Johnson kicking  point after the siren, when the Bulldogs just needed a goal. And it pretty much just sums up the Western Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs have great run and skills when moving the ball around the ground but sometimes lack that finishing polish that is need when it’s crunch time. I don’t know what it is but some teams have a habit of winning thses games by the smallest of margins rather than losing them.

Sydney is one such team that usually gets over the top in very close games.  They have the experience to buffer and weather the storm when a team surges and ride the game out for a win.

Sydney often get criticised for not being very attacking but they have shown this season they can kick big scores and defend big margins. Last week’s 55 point win over Port Adelaide just goes to prove that.

The Westen Bulldogs also have significant injuries with question marks over Lindsey Gilbee and a few other players. But I think they can match it with Sydney especially at Manuka which is a much larger ground than the SCG.

Western Bulldogs by 14 points

North Melbourne vs Brisbane

Norths have won two of their last three games and seem to have found some of that grunt and grinding play that they are capable of. But lets face it the Kangaroos don’t have  the greatest team or the most talented. These wins have come against average opponents in Port and Fremantle. The only thing in their favour would be that they are playing at Docklands Stadium where they have a decent record.

Brisbane played pretty good against St Kilda when you consider the fact that the Saints are unbeaten this year. Some say Brisbane should of won after having the lead halfway through the last quarter.

Brisbane have a very handy midfield when you consider that Simon Black is still tearing  it up, matched with some second year players like Jared Brennan and Jed Adcock and Sherman. Their forward line is also handy when you have the likes of Jonathan Brown and Daniel Bradshaw at your disposal.

Even though Norths have a solid record at the Docklands I can’t see them getting over Brisbane.

Brisbane by 20 points

Fremantle vs Richmond

I wish the Dockers did have Swine flu because at least their supporters would have something to blame their poor form on. But they don’t and in all serious its good to see that they are okay even though their football skills are not as healthy.

North Melbourne’s skill errors rather than Fremantle’s silky skills (or lack of it) let the Dockers back into the game before the Kangaroos smartened up and got their act together. It is good to see Mark Harvey blooding young players  but it really shows Frmantle lack depth in their playing list if their more established players are just not good enough.

Richmond were just over run by the Bombers last week and it was interesting to find out that it was their first loss to Essendon in two years. Too many skill errors and inaccuracies and too much of the same from the Richmond players.

Fremantle should win with a home game tipping them marginally in my favour.

Fremantle by 8 points.

St Kilda vs Melbourne

The Saints managed to hold on for a win against Brisbane as did Geelong against the Bulldogs last week. This give Melbourne some hope and others than these two teams are human and are capable of being beaten.

Melbourne definitely are more competitive than most of the bottom 8 at the moment but with so many young players, they find themselves lacking the maturity of seasoned players to play out a whole 4 quarters of football.

Colin Sylvia was a one man team last week for the Dees racking up 30 odd possessions and kicking 4 goals and hopefully in  few more years the Demons will have more than just one star contributer battling it out.

St Kilda have too many contributer at the moment with Stephen Milne playing the goal sneak as Justin Koschitzke and Nick Riewoldt use their tall frames to dominate in the forward 50.

St Kilda by 44 points.

Adelaide vs Hawthorn

I don’t know if it is Adelaide’s ‘new gameplan’ that saw them triumphant over Carlton last week but what definitely stood out was their defensive pressure. I thought Carlton would have too many holes for the Crows to plug. But somehow Neil Craig’s men nullified the effects of Judd, Gibbs and Murphy to out score them by 44 points.

It was a very even contribution from the Crows and it should be interesting to see how they go against the Hawks who seem to be finding form at the right time.  Lance Franklin is starting to find his range and if you combine him with the likes of a few others like Roughead  and Muston, it might stretch  Adelaide’s stopping power.

Adelaide are playing at home off a strong victory and Hawthorn didn’t fully convince me with a win against Melbourne, who were worthy but weak opponents.

Crows by 25 points

Essendon vs Geelong

Geelong held onto a win after Western Bulldogs’ superhuman effort last week to get within a couple of points. It just goes to show that at times Geelong can be vunerable and ultimately beaten. The fact that they are able to string together wins also highlights how good they really are.

Essendon had a resounding win over Richmond in last week’s Dreamtime at the G -a tribute to the contribution Aboriginal people have made to the game of Aussie Rules. The match featured six indigenous players from the Bombers.  (Patrick Ryder, Leroy Jetta, Andrew Lovett, Courtenay Dempsey, Alwyn Davey and Nathan Lovett-Murray).

With a wealth of talent Essendon have surprised me this year and currently sit 4th on the AFL ladder after 9 rounds. But I can’t see them maintaining this towards the end of the season as the young players’ bodies tire.

Geelong by 35 points.

Collingwood vs Port Adelaide

Collingwood are struggling and really needed that win last week against West Coast to keep within reach of the Final 8. Leon Davis has been stepping it up in recent weeks for the Magpies and really someone needed to for the sake of Collingwood’s season.

Port Adelaide have struggled with indifferent form with their two most recent wins coming against weaker opponents in Adelaide and Richmond. They are in the top eight but as the season goes on, they will gradually slip down and settle near the bottom of the pond.

Collingwood should win.

Collingwood by 18 points.

Your Round Ten Tips & Observations

So what your tips for the tenth weekend of AFL in 2009? Do you agree with Johnny? if yes or no please post your tips and observations about round ten in the comments section.

Last week we were asked to include the total correct tips of the Kick2Kick writers, so hear they are (will be updated every week). If your doing better than us, let us know…

1. Deano’s Wife: 52
2. Craig: 50
3. Michael: 48
4. Deano: 47
5. Jermayn: 47
6. JohnnyTruent:46

Related K2K Posts

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• 2009 AFL Preliminary Finals Tips (8)
• 2009 AFL Semi-Finals Tips (9)
• 2009 AFL Finals Week One Tips (11)
• 2009 AFL Round Twenty Two Tips (12)