Fremantle v Carlton

Fremantle should be well rested after half their team was left out of their dismal 116 point defeat by Hawthorn last round.

Carlton’s world came crashing back to earth with a sobering 42 point defeat at the hands of reigning premiers Geelong.

Fremantle Ins: Hasleby, Pavlich, McPhee, Hayden, Sandilands, Mundy, Hill, Mayne, Morabito, Fyfe
Out: Kepler Bradley, Byron Schammer, Steven Dodd, Ryan Murphy, Rhys Palmer, Clayton Hinkley, Tim Ruffles (knee), Clancee Pearce, Justin Bollenhagen, Zac Clarke

Carlton Ins: Joseph, Hampson, Yarran
Outs: Richard Hadley, Andrew Walker, Sam Jacobs

Who will win

A home elimination final is up for grabs and there may be method to the madness of the Dockers resting some key players in the lead up to September.

Fremantle are definitely missing the influence of Michael Barlow since he went down with a broken leg and in the past month only have one win to speak of.

Carlton’s form of late hasn’t exactly set the world on fire either but look the more settle lineup, the only problem is the game is at Subiaco which gives the Dockers the edge.

Fremantle by 9 points

Geelong v West Coast

Geelong rose to the challenge last Friday against a cocky Carlton outfit and showed the cream surely rises to the top with a classy 42 point win over the Blues.

West Coast put up a fight but the experienced Roos got the better of a young Eagles outfit by 16 points.

Geelong Ins: Ling, Lonergan, Mackie, Ottens
Outs: James Podsiadly (suspension), Josh Hunt (suspension), Taylor Hunt, Daniel Menzel

West Coast have no changes

Who will win

Geelong at home against a young, inexperienced Eagles side really is a no brainer. The Cats will be missing the goalfreak that is JPod but have some handy ins with Ling, Lonergan, Mackie, Ottens to come back into the team.

Geelong by 95 points

Hawthorn v Collingwood

The Hawks are hitting some form leading into the finals but its hard to judge how good they’re traveling with a 116 walkover win against the absent Dockers.

Collingwood are their own worst enemy snatching a 3 point victory over Adelaide. Time and time again the Magpies underestimate teams that appear inferior and leave themselves open to a ‘shock’ loss.

Hawks Ins: Young, Hooper
Out: Luke Hodge (knee), Grant Birchall (hamstring)

Collingwood Ins: Fraser, Reid, McCarthy
Out: Leigh Brown (suspension), Alan Didak (shoulder), John Anthony

Who will win

Hawthorn will be hoping Luke Hodge recovers in time for some finals action but he is a crucial out this weekend.

Josh Fraser finally gets to 200 games, while Alan Didak will be missing from the Pies’ lineup they still have enough arsenal to defeat Hawthorn.

Collingwood by 21 points

Adelaide v St Kilda

Adelaide led for most of their match against Collingwood last weekend but eventually went down by 3 points, and Neil Craig got a little annoyed.

The Saints had a slow start and looked less convincing in their 21 point win over Richmond last weekend.

Adelaide In: Martin
Out: Will Young (shoulder)

St Kilda Ins: Dawson, Jones, Gardiner, Hayes
Out: Adam Schneider (inj), Sean Dempster, Adam Pattison, Nick Heyne

Who will win

St Kilda will be looking at the bigger picture with a eye on the first week of finals but will looking to fine tune some teething problems.

While Adelaide will be using their last game of the season as a swansong to their retiring champions so don’t be surprise to see them come out all guns blazing.

Adelaide by 8 points

Western Bulldogs v Essendon

Both teams were disappointing last weekend, the Doggies looked sub-par against a spirited Swans outfit that gave them a 44 point thrashing.

Essendon looked like a busload of passengers in their 27 point loss to Brisbane last round.

Western Bulldogs Ins: Addison, Everitt, Roughead
Out: Adam Cooney (hamstring), Dale Morris (back), Brad Johnson (ankle)

Essendon Ins: Colyer, Ryder, Winderlich, Lonergan
Out: Jobe Watson (ankle), Mark McVeigh (knee), Jay Neagle, Michael Quinn

Who will win

Essendon are suffering from a lack of depth and a coach under siege from the pressure that comes from every loss.

The Dons have a lot to prove but so do the Doggies.

The Bulldogs look to be limping into finals action with injuries to Cooney, Morris and Johnson but Rocket Eade should have them fired up to beat the Bombers.

Western Bulldogs by 35 points

Brisbane v Sydney

Brisbane gave Jonathan Brown a proper reception for his 200th game with a 27 point win over Essendon.

Sydney also celebrated the services of Captain Kirk and coach Roos with 44 point thumping of the Dogs.

Brisbane Ins: Collier, Proud
Out: Jonathan Brown (groin), Troy Selwood (ribs)

Sydney Ins: O’Keefe, Moore
Out: Shane Mumford (knee), Gary Rohan

Who will win

Brisbane will be missing the services of Jonathan Brown this game and have had a disappointing end to the season after a promising start.

Sydney go into this match on a 3 game winning streak and are looking to finish strongly to give Paul Roos a sendoff as his coaching career comes to a end at the Swans.

Sydney by 10 points

Richmond v Port Adelaide

Richmond put up a fight early but the experience of the Saints saw the Tiges go down by 21 points.

Port Adelaide had a strong 29 point win over the Demons in front of their home crowd last round.

Richmond Ins: White, Polo, Nason, Browne, Grimes
Out: Will Thursfield (leg), David Astbury (hip)

Port Adelaide Ins: Logan, Pettigrew, Banner, Davenport
Out: Brett Ebert (knee)

Who will win

Richmond will be trying to give Ben Cousins a send off in his last game of AFL in front of a home crowd.

Port Adelaide will be missing Brett Ebert up forward and have a less than impressive record away from their home ground this year.

Richmond by 22 points

Melbourne v North Melbourne

Melbourne were inaccurate in front of goals and paid the price going down by 29 points to Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium.

The Kangaroos pulled out all stops to give Brent Harvey the victory he deserved in his 300th game, to win by 16 points.

Melbourne Ins: Johnson, Macdonald, Sylvia, Bate
Out: Jamie Bennell

North Melbourne Ins: Jones, Campbell, Tarrant, Goldstein, Macmillan
Out: Leigh Adams (concussion), Lachlan Hansen (hamstring)

Who will win

Melbourne have had a much improved season this year and when playing their running, attacking brand of football look capable of beating the top sides.

North have also improved under coach Scott in their typical no nonsense, workman like manner.

Not much separates these two teams on the ladder and this will be played as their finals, after both teams came so close to making the cut.

Melbourne by 12 points