The Crows kick-start the action on Friday night under lights at the Adelaide Oval against the Magpies. Both these sides were last round winners and the Magpies are playing with a point to prove after an underwhelming start to the season.
The Giants will be looking to rebound from their loss to the Swans when they host the Dockers in Canberra and premiers Richmond will clash with a young Brisbane side, eager to impress. The Bulldogs will tackle the Swans and the Blues will be out to turn around their slump against the Kangaroos.
Essendon will take on the Power and the Hawks will close out the round when they come up against an improved Melbourne side.
The Crows have been suffering from leather poisoning after their first-round slip-up against the Bombers and the Magpies will have their backs against the wall as they attempt to get a win at the Adelaide Oval under lights.
These two sides were involved in an epic duel in their last clash with the Crows storming back from a 38-point deficit to level the scores after the final siren.
Don’t expect the Crows to be as merciful this time around with the Crows midfield beginning to hit their straps.
Former Carlton midfielder Bryce Gibbs has formed an outstanding midfield partnership with Rory Sloane and their combination with Tom Lynch could prove to be a key against a Collingwood side that have failed to live up to expectations.
The Magpies haven’t defeated Adelaide in five years and the Crows enjoy the surroundings of the Adelaide Oval, winning 12 of their last 15 clashes at the venue.
Nathan Buckley will need to think outside the box and that could mean mixing things up in the midfield to frustrate their slick opposition.
Collingwood have been average, at best over the early rounds of the season and expect Nathan Buckley to be back under the microscope if they can’t show some passion against the Crows.
Despite the loss to the Swans last round the Giants remain in second place on the AFL ladder. The Giants will have to contend with a red-hot Dockers side that have been encouraged by the red-hot form of star duo Nate Fyfe and Aaron Sandilands. The Fremantle ruckman was able to escape a suspension for his collision with Suns midfielder Jarryd Lyons.
The Dockers are still outside the top eight and are sitting in 10th position despite the win last week over the Gold Coast. Fremantle have lost their last three games to the Giants and have been close to unbeatable in Canberra, winning their last seven games.
The Dockers will be relying on the influence of Sandilands across the middle of the park and with Nate Fyfe back to the type of form that nabbed him a Brownlow, the Dockers should be able to get the edge in the stoppages with the Giants struggling with injuries in the ruck department.
While Fremantle have won their last two games, it’s difficult to imagine them getting over the Giants in Canberra.
With the Giants coming off the back of a loss to the Swans expect them to rebound and grab the win in what could be a tight contest.
The Lions are searching for their first win of the season and won’t daunted by attempting to steal a win off the premiers in Melbourne.
Richmond have been methodical across the opening few weeks of the competition and expect them to pick up the pace as the season progresses. After an opening round win, the Tigers were trounced by a slick Adelaide side. Richmond are still coming to terms with the idea that the rest of the competition will be gunning for them.
The Lions are under the astute leadership of former Hawthorn skipper Luke Hodge and it won’t be difficult for them to move off the bottom of the AFL ladder with an exciting young roster available to coach Chris Fagan.
The Lions coach has plenty of reasons to be excited by the improvement with his side going down to the Power last round by less than a goal.
Richmond have won their last eleven games against the Lions and Brisbane haven’t won at the MCG since 2014. The Tigers will get the better of the Lions in this cat fight, with the Brisbane side still a work in progress.
The Tigers should run out comfortable winners by at least four goals.
While Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge will be happy his side were able to notch their first win of the season against a dismal Essendon side, a clash against the Swans is a whole new proposition. The Swans were back to their best with a gritty win over the Giants, thanks to a solid contribution from Lance Franklin and re-establish themselves as a premiership contender.
The Dogs won’t be reading too much into their win against Essendon last week and with a smaller backline expect Lance Franklin to apply some real physical pressure to the Bulldogs backline.
Lance Franklin has enjoyed his clashes with the Bulldogs, kicking 22 goals in his last six outings. The Bulldogs look a shadow of the side that won the premiership in 2016 and the Swans will be out to put some real pressure on the Bulldogs defence. Lance Franklin has averaged 4.6 goals per game this year and the big forward will stamp his authority on this clash to help the Swans to a big win.
North Melbourne have the advantage when they clash with Carlton at Hobart Blundstone Arena.
The Blues have never played a premiership match in Hobart and the Kangaroos have won 11 of their last 15 games in the Apple Isle.
The Kangaroos have won their last three games against the Blues and will be confident of their extending Carlton’s poor start to the season.
After promising so much over the opening two-quarters of the season against the Tigers, the Blues have quickly gone downhill. Carlton have lost twelve of their last 13 games and remain without a win in 2018.
Carlton have looked promising in patches but have yet to deliver on a consistent four quarters of football. North Melbourne should be able to use the conditions to their advantage and grind out an 18-point win.
The Eagles have made a surprisingly good start to the season and find themselves in fifth place on the ladder after winning their last two games.
West Coast were expected by many league pundits to miss the finals this year following the retirements of a number of key veterans.
The clash with the Suns looms as a massive individual milestone for Eagles pair Mark LeCras and Nic Naitanui, with the pair playing their 200th and 150th games for the club.
The Suns have showed some passion for a physical contest this season with the side suffering their first loss of the season only last week against the Dockers in Perth. The Suns were disappointing against Fremantle and will need Tom Lynch to stand-up if his side are to win only their second game ever in the WA capital.
The Eagles are set to welcome back dual Coleman medallist Josh Kennedy into a line-up that has been in outstanding attacking form in their last two games.
The Eagles have averaged over 100 points in their last two fixtures and they will be out to ensure that the Suns head back to the Gold Coast without a much-needed victory.
Essendon were unable to put any type of physical pressure on the Bulldogs last week and may struggle to compete with Port Adelaide’s tough brand of football.
The Power are enjoying their first unbeaten start to the season since 2007 and will be wary of an Essendon side that were boosted by a number of key recruits during the offseason.
The Power were able to survive a spirited fightback from the Brisbane Lions last week and will need to use their advantage at the stoppages to get the edge in the contest.
Robbie Gray remains a key man for the Power, with the diminutive midfielder putting in an outstanding performance against the Lions.
Port Adelaide have lost four of their last five games against Essendon at Etihad but on their current form, they would be good value to easily reverse that trend.
I’m expecting the Power to run riot after Essendon’s performance last week and there will be plenty of goals in what should be an easy win for Port.
Melbourne fans have been rewarded with their side enjoying one of their best to the season since 2005 and this could be the year we finally see the Demons back in the finals.
The Hawks are benefitting from the class of Jaeger O’Meara and Tom Mitchell on the ball and the work of Ben McEvoy in the ruck. Despite a slip-up against the Cats, Melbourne head into this clash in good form with Jesse Hogan and Christian Petracca in outstanding form early in the season.
The Hawks have dominated their clashes with the Demons, winning 14 of their last 15 fixtures. In the corresponding game last year, the Hawks were able to get over the line by 3-points, despite a long list of injuries.
Former Hawks star Jordan Lewis has the chance to get a win against his former side. Lewis was a vital member of the Hawks squad that claimed four premierships.
The Demons are talented, but the lack of big game experience has left the side vulnerable in tight clashes. The Hawks will be looking to climb up the ladder against a side that they have had the wood on for some time. Hawthorn’s quality across the middle of the park is too difficult to ignore and expect them to extend their streak over the Demons.
The Cats will be without veteran Gary Ablett this week, with the star midfielder struggling with injury.
Geelong are off to a poor start to the season by their standards and will be looking to take advantage of the Saint’s poor record at GMHBA Stadium; the Saints have not won at the venue since 1999.
Saint Kilda have struggled in-front of goal this season kicking only 12 goals in their last two games and will need to contend with Patrick Dangerfield and Joel Selwood taking the advantage of the holes in the Saints midfield.
Geelong won’t be troubled in their own backyard and expect them to record an easy victory as the Saints have struggled to get on the scoresheet in a lacklustre start to 2018.