Essendon v Western Bulldogs

Essendon have now won two on the trot after defeating Richmond by 35 points in their ‘Dreamtime at the G’ game last week.

The Bombers definitely showed plenty of run and once again big man David Hille put together a dominant display with a 3 goal 26 touch effort.

They take on a Bulldogs outfit that smashed the Roos by 70 points in a heated match which saw Barry ‘Don’t poke the Bear’ Hall finally snap after being antagonized throughout the game by North’s serial pest Scott Thompson.

It overshadowed a comprehensive display by the Bulldogs led by Adam Cooney (36 disposals, 2 goals) and defender Brian Lake (41 disposals, 22 marks).

The Bombers have included Nathan Lovett-Murray while the Western Bulldogs have added Shaun Higgins.

Although Essendon have a reputation for being ‘Giant Killers’ I can’t see them beating the Bulldogs who are red hot on the back of a 3 game winning streak.

Western Bulldogs by 36 points

Geelong  v Melbourne

While many thought that Geelong might of been challenged last week, the Cats were able to break away in the 3rd quarter against Collingwood and run away with a 36 point victory.

It was a startling reminder that Geelong are very much still the benchmark team of the competition and there is daylight between them and the 2nd best team right now in the AFL.

While Gary Ablett (32 possessions) and Jimmy Bartel (30) put in another outstanding performance, it was the Cat’s defense pressure led by Harry Taylor and Tom Lonergan that kept the Magpies goalless, while they piled on the last 8 goals of the match.

Key Defender Matthew Scarlett injured a hamstring at training and will be replaced in the side by Simon Hogan.

Melbourne had a terrific 1 point victory over Port Adelaide up in Darwin last week after coming from as much as 33 points down at 3 quarter time.

Brad Miller booted 5 goals in a hot and humid conditions that were draining on the players, but at least the Dees were on the right side of the result after so many close defeats during the year so far.

A few of their starring youngsters ( Jack Trengove, Tom Scully ) have been rested and coach Dean Bailey seems to be resigned to the fact that the most the Demons can get out of the game is ‘ a great learning experience’.

It would be great to see Melbourne take it up to Geelong but on the back of energy sapping win over Port and Geelong’s clear dominance over the Magpies, this one is a certainty.

Geelong by 42 points

Port Adelaide v Richmond

Will the real Port Adelaide please stand up?

Last weeks yo-yo performance against Melbourne going from as much as a 33 point led at 3 quarter time to lose by 1 point, smells of signs that the rollercoaster ride that is Port Adelaide is far from over.

Once again the Power had an even spread of goalkickers ( Boak 3 goals, Hitchcock 3, Davenport 2, ) but they do lack that one person that can stand up and kick a bag of goals when needed.

Richmond looked out of their depth against Essendon in their 35 point defeat  but Jack Riewoldt stood tall kicking a career best 6 goals.

Both teams play pretty loose in defense but you would have to pick Port Adelaide to win this one purely on form alone.

Port Adelaide by 35 points

Brisbane Lions v Collingwood

A few rounds into the season and this would of been one of the highlight games- now fast forward to Round 10 with a mountain of injuries and 5 losses in a row, the Brisbane Lions are lucky to be treading water in 11th spot on the AFL ladder.

The Lions pretty much handed the Crows their second win of the season with wasted opportunities in the last quarter to go down by 12 points.

Jonathan Brown and Brendan Fevola look far from 100% even though the Fev kicked 5 goals, Brown had little to no impact on the game and would benefit more from time, off rather than pulling dead weight.

And it doesnt look to get any better as they face a Collingwood side looking to avenge last week’s disappointments against Geelong.

The Magpies are still by far the best team to challenge Geelong for the cup this year and shouldn’t be written off after last week’s loss to the Cats.

What would of been concerning though was the usual suspects going M.I.A when the Pies needed them.

But to look at the positives Dayne Beams and Shane O’Bree were clear stand outs for Collingwood and for a half of football the game was in the balance.

No doubt the Magpies will be looking to play out the full 4 quarters against Brisbane.

Collingwood by 46 points

St Kilda v Adelaide

St Kilda will be looking to put the off field distractions out of their heads when they play Adelaide, and focus on the fact they had a solid win last week beating the Eagles by 35 points to find some much needed form.

But a stable club wins premierships and when the off field dramas start to add up, the Saints have to be careful they don’t revert to being the old Saints with a poor club culture.

Maybe they should take a leaf out of ‘Teflon’ Eddie McGuire and the Pies where nothing that happens off the field seems to stick to Collingwood, or really bother them at all.

Lenny Hayes ( 35 disposals ) and Nick Dal Santo ( 27 possessions )  showed their class, and in Riewodlt’s absence Stephen Milne has been the Saints focus up forward with 3 goals last week .

Defensively against the Eagles the Saints had 21 more tackles and when attacking managed to put it inside 50 – 14 more times than West Coast.

Adelaide  would be encouraged by last week’s win against Brisbane and would want to show some fighting spirit, after Simon Goodwin‘s announcement of retirement at season’s end.

But around the ground there are just too many match ups that look to go the way of the Saints, who apply pressure at every contest.

That and the fact Adelaide have not beaten St Kilda in their last 4 encounters.

St Kilda by 22 points

Hawthorn v Sydney Swans

The Hawks were impressive last week beating Carlton at their own game to win by 50 points, and showing glimpses of the form that rekindled the memories of the 2008 season.

Luke Hodge put on a masterclass performance with 29 possessions and even Buddy Franklin came to the party with a slightly off radar, to finish with 5 goals 4 points.

The Hawks now have two wins in a row and against much more fancied opponents ( Melbourne and Carlton ) – could this be a return to form after a lackluster start to the season?

Sydney are struggling at the moment after a loss to Fremantle last week now means they have lost their last 3 games and injuries to key players Tadgh Kennelly (knee), Daniel Bradshaw (knee).

It seems to be a reversal of fortune as the Hawks are now starting to overcome a lot of the injuries they had at the beginning of the year, while Paul Roos does a player shuffle trying to fill the void left by injuries to key Swans’ players.

Hawthorn by 27 points

Carlton v West Coast Eagles

The Blues put in a disappointing performance against Hawthorn last week to get thrashed by 50 points and yet again the question has to be asked, whether they are able to maintain a level of consistency needed to challenge at the end of the year.

There are a host of ins for the Blues ( Houlihan, Hadley, Walker, McLean ) to name a few, and if these players are fit would definitely bolster Carlton’s lineup for their match against West Coast.

The Blues forward trio ( Eddie Betts, Jeff Garlett and Setanta O’hAilpin ) were kept quiet last week but don’t expect the same thing to occur this weekend against the Eagles.

After stringing together wins over Hawthorn and Melbourne, West Coast went into their game against the Saints full of confidence.

But after taking the lead into halftime, West Coast’s young squad couldn’t maintain the pressure for the rest of the match and they fell away by 35 points.

Ben McKinley kicked four goals but the usual combination of Josh Kennedy and Mark LeCras up forward made no impact on the game.

Time and time again the Eagles dominated the hit outs with Dean Cox and Nic Naitanui combining well, but West Coast are definitely lacking some class in their midfield to convert these stats into winners.

Carlton by 21 points

Fremantle v North Melbourne

Fremantle had a solid win against Sydney even if the Swans did suffer from key injuries, the Dockers were still without some key players themselves and managed to put their off field dramas to one side to be the victors by 37 points.

Matthew Pavlich has been outstanding for the Dockers and Aaron Sandilands is in All-Australian form, but they are not the only main reasons for the Docker’s success.

As shown on the score-sheet there has been even contributions from everyone in the team when the Dockers are on song, and even some of the more maligned players ( Bradley, Haselby, Tarrant ) have found form this year.

North Melbourne got pumped by 70 points by the Bulldogs last week and had to resort to cheap tactics when the going got a bit tough.

Brent Harvey continues to be the lone wolf in the wolf-pack with the kind of form and effort a lot of his team mates should aspire to.

Fremantle by 45 points

Your Round 10 Tips & Observations

So what are your tips & observations for round 9 of the 2010 AFL season? Do you agree with Johnnytruent? If yes or no please post your tips and observations about the round in the comments section.

We will keep a running tally of the tips throughout the year, so make sure you get your tips in on time & you never know there could be a prize for the winner. If you have not added your tips yet that is ok, please feel free to add them and what your ongoing tally is.