Round three is shaping as a grudge match with some clubs set to resume traditional rivalries early in season 2018. Carlton meet Collingwood on Friday night in what should be a blockbuster at the MCG.
The Brisbane Lions travel to Adelaide to do battle with the Power. North Melbourne then take on the Demons on Saturday afternoon in what is sure to be a cracking local derby.
The Suns will have the opportunity to go for consecutive wins when they travel to Perth to take on the Dockers.
The Sydney Swans take on the Giants and the former premiers will be determined to show their younger cousins that the still have the desire to win another flag.
Richmond do battle with the Hawks on Sunday afternoon, and Hawthorn will be out to prove that their upset over the Cats wasn’t a fluke.
The round finishes with the Cats renewing their rivalry with the Eagles. These two sides went toe-to-toe in the nineties with the Eagles upsetting the Cats on two occasions for two flags.
Both Brendon Bolton and Nathan Buckley find themselves under immense pressure early in the season.
Melbourne’s oldest clubs find themselves both winless and at the bottom of the AFL ladder.
Carlton welcome back ruckman Matthew Kreuzer for the 255th meeting between the two sides.
Matthew Kennedy will join Kreuzer in the side and they’ll provide Patrick Cripps and Ed Curnow with better access to the ball across the midfield.
The Blues pushed premiers Richmond in their opening round loss and fell away completely in their clash with the Suns.
The Pies face a real test of their character under the Broadway lights of the MCG. A loss for the Pies would consign them to their first 0-3 start since 1999, the same year they picked up the wooden spoon.
Collingwood showed some improvement in their last start against GWS and how Brodie Grundy responds to the clash with Matthew Kreuzer will be critical to the Pies chances. This clash will go down to the wire and the Blues new belief in all-out attack will be able to see them sneak home by a goal.
The Power have been playing champagne football over the opening rounds of the competition and have the opportunity for the perfect start to the season for the first time since 2013.
Port Adelaide’s win against the Swans served notice to the competition that they’ll be a genuine premiership contender this season.
Charlie Dixon showed composure in the ruck taking over from the injured Paddy Ryder. The Ports midfield brigade will prove to be a real test for Chris Fagan’s young Brisbane side.
Despite going down to the Demons last weekend at the Gabba, the Lions are showing plenty of promise in 2018.
Brisbane were able to close within a goal of Melbourne before the Demons pulled away to record a comfortable win.
The Lions haven’t been able to win at the Adelaide Oval in their last six attempts and if Chris Fagan’s men manage to pull off an upset then it would rank as the performance of the season to date. The Power have won their last four meetings by more than ten goals and Robbie Gray has kicked six goals in his last two games against the Lions.
Brisbane will be full of enthusiasm in the first quarter but expect Port Adelaide to pull away to record a comfortable win by more than ten goals.
Jess Hogan is beginning to prove to the Demons that he was worth the trouble with an improved performance in 2018.
Melbourne choked in the opening round against Geelong before rebounding with a spirited performance against the Lions at the Gabba.
The Kangaroos are surprisingly sitting above Melbourne in 5th spot on the ladder. The Roos surprisingly were able to dominate a lacklustre St Kilda side in the second round to the tune of 52-points.
The Demons come into the match having never beaten the Kangaroos in their last seventeen encounters, with the losing streak stretching back to 2006; the second longest in club history.
Ben Brown looms as a key man for North Melbourne, with the Kangaroos spearhead coming off a six-goal performance against the Saints. The Demons are a young side and this could be a season-defining win that puts the pain of the first round loss to the Cats in the rearview mirror.
The Demons have youth on their side and their variety across their forward line should be enough to see them home and break their hoodoo against the Kangaroos.
Widely tipped by many league pundits for the wooden spoon, the Suns currently sit third on the premiership ladder.
The Gold Coast sold the hosting rights to Fremantle for this clash and the Suns have shown that they will be hard to beat this season.
The Suns opening two wins have both been on the road in Cairns and in Melbourne.
Tom Lynch was in terrific form last round with an eight-goal performance that put the Blues to the sword.
The full-forward is yet to commit his future to the Gold Coast and his performance last week will have put the Melbourne clubs on notice.
The Dockers head into the clash with their first win against the Bombers under their belt. The Dockers were buoyed by the combinations in their midfield with Nate Fyfe, David Mundy, Lachie Neale all performing admirably in a win that would have restored some confidence to the purple haze.
The Suns have lost nine of their last ten outings in Perth and their first outing at the new Optus Stadium gives them a chance to wipe the slate clean. David Swallow will play his 100th game for the Suns who have been in irresistible form on the road. The Suns have shown a real commitment to the contest and will be able to come over the top of the Dockers in a close contest.
St Kilda were disappointing in their loss to North Melbourne and will be desperate to prove their credentials against the Crows.
The Saints showed no commitment to the contest last week and were unable to hit a target in the forward line.
A repeat of the performance will heap immense pressure on the St Kilda coaching staff after a promising pre-season.
The Crows will be looking to build on their performance last round and will start this clash as hot favourites.
Crows forward Eddie Betts has yet to open his account this season and the space provided by the St Kilda backline could open the door for the exciting small forward. The Crows have won their last seven clashes with the Saints, but St Kilda have a slight edge at Etihad stadium.
Saints coach Alan Richardson will face some serious questions if his side is unable to show some improvement against Adelaide. Expect the Crows midfield to dominate and Adelaide to score a big win to add to the Saints woes.
This high calibre match-up promises to be the match of the round with the Giants on top of the ladder and the Swans languishing in ninth place after a surprising loss to Port Adelaide at the SCG. The Swans were able to convert possession into points against the Power and will need to be more clinical in their delivery to Lance Franklin up forward.
The Giants struggled in the early stages of their clash with the Magpies and no doubt Leon Cameron will look to have his troops lift across the midfield to cover the loss of Tom Scully. Scully broke his ankle against the Magpies and there is no word yet on when the midfielder will return to the side.
Lachie Whitfield will play a pivotal role in unlocking the Swans backline and if he can fire early the Giants are every chance of grabbing the win. The Swans will need Lance Franklin to fire against their local rivals, Franklin was the difference in their last clash with the Giants, if he fires Sydney can win.
The Giants have too many scoring options across their midfield, even with the loss of Scully and should be able to run out winners by three goals in an exciting affair that has the makings of a potential grand final preview.
The Tigers will be looking to enhance their credentials when they come up against an improved Hawthorn side. Richmond were blown away by Adelaide in their last start to the tune of 36-points and the Tigers will be desperate for redemption.
The premiers were smashed across the middle of the park by the Crows and the clash against Alistair Clarkson’s men is the perfect opportunity to put themselves to the test.
The Hawks have been impressive across the opening rounds of the season with Tom Mitchell and Jaeger O’Meara in sublime form.
With their rebuild beginning to take shape, the Hawks will need to find a way to limit the influence of Dustin Martin. Dion Prestia and Kan Lambert have shown in the past that they are no slouches going after the contested ball and you have to give the Tigers premiership midfield the edge in what shapes as a tough encounter.
The 2016 premiership must feel like a lifetime away for Western Bulldogs fans. The Bulldogs have been crippled by a devastating injury to midfielder Tom Liberatore. The midfielder is gone for the season with an ACL injury.
The Bulldogs have suffered big losses in their opening two clashes and their ability to hit their targets with clean disposals is starting to eat into their confidence.
The Bombers started the year with a bang coming over the top of the Crows to claim a two-goal win but then fell apart last week in the loss to Fremantle.
Joe Daniher will be a key man for the Bombers, with the forward having booted six goals in his previous outing against the Dogs. This will also be a big moment for Jake Stringer as he faces his former side for the first time since he was traded to Essendon.
Essendon have lost their last three clashes with the Bulldogs but they’ll be confident of getting back in the winner’s circle this week.
The Eagles were able to pass their first test in Melbourne with flying colours, accounting for the Bulldogs in a massive win. The Eagles will need to keep the momentum going when they host traditional rivals Geelong at Optus Stadium.
The Cats will be looking to the likes of Patrick Dangerfield, Joel Selwood and Gary Ablett to put the brakes on the Eagles feel-good return to the winner’s circle. The Eagles are still without the services of Josh Kennedy, with the former Coleman Medallist recovering from injury.
The Eagles are searching for their first win at the new Optus Stadium after surrendering the advantage that they held at Subiaco Oval. If the Eagles can contain the Geelong midfield and replicate the enthusiasm they showed against the Bulldogs then they could do enough to pull off a tight win.