Fremantle v Collingwood

Match of the round as 1st takes on 2nd and it kickstarts tonight in the west under lights at Subiaco.

Fremantle are itching at the bit to test themselves against one of the benchmark teams of the competion this season, the Collingwood Magpies.

Both teams sit on 6 wins – 1 loss ratio with Fremantle coming off another 6 day break and Collingwood having to travel all the way out west, instead of usual trip to the corner deli.

Mark Harvey knows this is a real test for his team and is trying everything in his little book of tricks to get some sort of edge.

Last week the Dockers managed to hold onto a 13 point win against Brisbane after squandering so many chances in front of goal.

It looked like the Fremantle of old  at times as they nearly snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, but the class of 2010 led by Steven Hill, Chris Tarrant and Luke McPharlin helped to steady the ship.

This week they’ll have to be better in front of goals especially against the Magpie’s defenders Harry O’Brien, Nick Maxwell and Heath Shaw who are the main reasons the Magpies have improved so much this year compared to last.

Their rebounding out of defense and their tenacity takes the pressure of the Magpie’s midfield who prefer to surge forward and pinch goals.

It should be a very interesting game  for Collingwood who see the Dockers as an unknown quantity.

And although the Magpies have a 4 game winning streak abeit Carlton, their recent opponents aren’t exactly top 8 contenders.

The big stage beckons for the Fremantle Dockers and led by Matthew Pavlich, are very chance of pulling it off.

Fremantle by 7 points

Western Bulldogs v Sydney Swans

The Bulldogs were less than convincing against the Demons last week just coming away with the win by 4 points.

Rodney Eade is hoping his side got the wake up call they needed as they face a Swans side that was humiliated by Geelong to the tune of 67 points.

Will Minson has been added to the team list and it will be interesting to see if Rocket Eade uses his big men to expose the Swan’s weakness in their ruck division.

Daniel Bradshaw for the Swans was kept quiet against the Cats, and this week it could be a shootout showdown as the Bulldog’s Barry Hall plays his first game against his old team.

The Western Bulldogs need to lift and on paper have a better team than Sydney who haven’t really faced strong opposition apart from Geelong and Brisbane.

But never write off the Swans especially off the back of a flogging, they need to redeem themselves.

Western Bulldogs by 14 points

Melbourne v West Coast

Melbourne have been the great improvers this season winning 3 of their past 7 games and really are unlucky not to have wins against Collingwood and the Bulldogs.

The Dees have proved they can mix it with the best but maybe due to inexperience have just faltered in the closer matches.

Those type of games steel a side into being stronger and Dean Bailey overall must be pleased with his group of young chargers like Jack Trengove, Tom Scully and Jamie Bennell.

Jack Watts has been added to the squad for his first game of the season and hopefully some of his teammate’s form can rub off on him.

They’ll be no pink debacle this week as the Dees face a West Coast Eagles outfit high in confidence coming off a scrappy 8 point win.

Josh Kennedy is developing into a fine forward player and took a huge step forward in his development with a matchwinning 6 goal haul.

He now has 23 goals for the season and together with Mark LeCras, combine perfectly in the forward 50 for the Eagles.

The Eagles have had a poor away record in recent times and Melbourne should come out of the blocks fired up after coming oh so close yet again.

Melbourne by 26 points

Brisbane Lions v Geelong

Brisbane are now sitting 9th after a hat-trick of losses compounded by the the amount of injuries the Lions have suffered in recent weeks, and in particular in last week’s 13 point loss to the Dockers.

Serious injuries to Jared Brennan and Josh Drummond will test the Lion’s depth of players and there are still question marks over the fitness of their skipper Jonathan Brown who has not looked at his best for awhile now.

But aside from the injuries last week, the Lions only performed in patches, and although they set themselves up for a final quarter fight, it was too little too late.

Now they face a Geelong side that has gone from strength to strength after suffering a defeat at the hands of the Dockers.

Matthew Stokes has come back from the wilderness and has been named to play but other than that inclusion, Geelong has made no changes to a side that has absolutely dominated its opponents in recent weeks.

If the Lions are to have any chance of challenging Geelong, Brendon Fevola needs to contribute more than just a handful of goals a week.

But he seems content on being a bit part player and Brisbane seem content on playing football in a similar fashion.

Geelong by 42 points

North Melbourne v Adelaide

North Melbourne were totally outclassed by the Magpies last week going down by 66 points and to add to the defeat suffered injuries to players Leigh Adams and Liam Anthony.

After an encouraging month of football, recording 3 wins from the past 5 games and genuinely being competitive, the Kangaroos lowered their colours against Collingwood.

In contrast Adelaide are crowing after finally notching a  50 point win under their belt against Richmond at home.

The game was riddled with errors and didn’t go much towards convincing the public that the Crows are back, after all they were playing the Tigers.

Graham Johncock injured his shoulder and a less than 100% Brett Burton has been dropped but in come Patty Dangerfield and Taylor Walker for the Crows, which are handy ins.

Who will win is anybody’s guess with Adelaide looking not even half the shadow of the team they were last year, and the Kangaroos relying on a just a handful of steady contributers.

North Melbourne by 11 points

Richmond v Hawthorn

Richmond for the better part of last week’s game were competitive and at times looked liked they might have pulled off their first win of the season.

But in the end they were overrun by Adelaide and the scoreboard showed they went down by 50 points, a somewhat unflattering way to end the game.

Hawthorn should be a lot better than they are but are playing some terrible, error riddled games of football and this was exposed in last week’s defeat to West Coast.

The Hawks have some experience to come back into the side this week ( Shaun Burgoyne, Wayde Skipper, Sam Mitchell, Buddy Franklin ), and that should be enough to see them get over the line against the ever suffering Tigers.

Hawthorn by 36 points

Port Adelaide v Carlton

Port Adelaide had a thrilling come from behind 3 point win over the Dons last week, and actually showed a lot of resolve to fight out a win when it looked like the Bombers might have the upper hand.

The only sour point was the injury to Warren Tredrea, who would of been real handy for the Power in this match against Carlton.

Both Port Adelaide  and Carlton play simliar brands of football and at times both clubs mirror each other with their inconsistencies.

This year though both the Power and the Blues are playing a lot better and this match looms as a pivotal tug of war, as these two teams strive for more consistent efforts.

The Blues belted the Saints by 61 points due to the fact they were able to play their running style of play which was supported by an even spread of goal kickers ( Betts 5 goals, Garlett 4, Waite 4, O’hAilpin 2 ).

Port Adelaide also had a similar amount of forwards contributing for them last week so this might be a high scoring free for all.

The Blues won’t be daunted by the fact they have to play in Adelaide or the fact that they had a short week to recover, so this should be a close one.

Port Adelaide by 9 points

St Kilda v Essendon

The Saints had a shock  61 point defeat last week against Carlton.

It was the biggest loss the team has endured in four years and you can bet this week the Saints will be looking to redeem themselves against the Bombers.

The game against the Blues exposed the Saints achilles heel and that is leg speed, something the Bomber have plenty of.

Forget about the Riewoldt factor for one minute and lets look at the fact that  the Saints still have players all of the highest calibre ( Lenny Hayes, Leigh Montagna, Nick Dal Santo, Brendon Goddard ).

All good accumulators of the ball, but they do lack the spark and quickness that the Blues posessed last week.

The Bombers probably should of won last week and maybe their hard running game just makes them suffer a little when it comes to running out a game.

It was encouraging to see an even spread of goal kickers for the Dons  ( Davey 3 goals, Gumbleton 3, Monfries 3 ) and Scott Gumbleton is starting to show some consistency to his game week in, week out.

Can the Bombers win with their hard running style of football and will Justin Koschitzke for the Saints stand up and be counted?

I’m thinking no and no.

St Kilda by 22 points

Your Round 8 Tips & Observations

So what are your tips & observations for round 8 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.

1) the_Tony: 42 (6)
2) Geaghs: 41 (6)
3) Johnnytruent: 38 (7)
4) Mike: 37 (7)
5) craig eyles: 37 (5)
6) Jermayn: 37 (5)
7) Martynkai: 36 (5)
8 ) Princess of the Cats: 36 (6)