The penultimate bye round sees the Lions, Bombers, Swans and Eagles off for a rest, leaving another short but all-important seven games to play out.
The top of the table Dockers host the Cats in the Thursday primetime slot over in Perth, while the Suns and Hawks occupy the Friday stage in what shapes as a must-win battle for both clubs.
The Crows and Dees can both take a step toward sewing up their respective finals spots on Saturday afternoon at the Adelaide Oval, while the Sunday afternoon fixture between the Saints and Dogs has blockbuster written all over it.
Big watch on the selection front ahead of this must-see 1st vs 4th clash.
Caleb Serong and Bernnan Cox are putting their hands up for a recall into the Freo side, while the Cats would be crazy not to at least consider recalling James Worpel following a huge performance at VFL level.
The Cats snapped a two-game skid against the Suns last week in comfortable fashion but still rued missed opportunities in front of goal. Inaccuracy won’t fly this week against a Freo side that punished North Melbourne by over 120 points a fortnight ago, although scoring opportunities have typically been far and few between when it comes to playing the Dockers.
It’s like splitting hairs when you compare these two sides side by side statistically, with the only real difference being Fremantle’s ability to rebound from their defensive 50 and score.
In what shapes as a big revenge game for the home side after blowing a comfortable lead to Geelong way back in Round 1, the Dockers should get done in low-scoring fashion.
An absolute must-win for the struggling Suns with an incredibly tough month of footy ahead.
For whatever reason, Damien Hardwick’s immensely talented list has underperformed for large parts of the season, and it seems no matter how many touches the likes of Noah Anderson or Christian Petracca accumulate, the Suns still can’t impact the scoreboard.
Similarly, the Hawks present a similar story after falling away two weeks ago in the second half to the Dogs. Sam Mitchell’s midfield has been hit and miss at times, while the usually unsocial Hawks – led by James Sicily – seem more interested in silly scraps off the ball.
The Suns have been a fiery side in the first quarter at times this year, and despite their Round 13 faults, the Hawks have typically come storming home in the second half to find some points.
With strong support expected on the Gold Coast and James Gunston a chance at playing, the Hawks look a nice bet to sneak home late.
Adelaide and Melbourne appear locks to play finals from here, but this is still a vital game for two sides looking to occupy a Top 4 spot.
The Crows were clinical in a 10 goal romp over the Bulldogs last week, proving they can win away from Adelaide. There are a couple of key names like Izak Rankine to watch on the injury front, but all in all, Matthew Nicks’ side is arguably the biggest threat to the likes of Sydney right now.
The Dees, meanwhile, enjoyed a comfortable win over the Bombers last week that again highlighted the individual brilliance of Kozzie Pickett. Melbourne hammered Essendon with a whopping 63 inside 50 entries to go with 15 tackles in their defensive half.
Numbers like the above are encouraging against a Crows outfit that ranks ninth in average goals scored on the year.
Home field advantage is a big factor in this one, but with the Dees looking to make up for a disappointing outing at the Adelaide Oval during Gather Round, they are a much better chance than the current two-goal line favouring the Crows suggests.
A real ‘line in the sand’ type game between two sides fighting to play finals. The Blues have won four in the trot and come in fresh from the bye, while the Giants were humbled last week in a loss to St Kilda, a game Adam Kingsley would probably like to have back.
The Giants are set for a boost with Jesse Hogan a good chance to return, while the battle down the other end between Sam Taylor and Harry McKay shapes as a fascinating one.
Much of this game will also be determined through the midfield with Toby Greene likely to spend more time looking to combat the likes of Patrick Cripps and Sam Walsh, while Clayton Oliver arrives in red-hot nick after collecting 35 touches last week.
The last four meetings between the two sides have gone Over the Total, and given both have been up and down all season, it’s worth playing a straight bat and avoiding the head to head markets.
Fitting matchup between a pair of sides that have respectievly lost close games in recent weeks.
The Pies fell by eight to the Dees on the King’s Birthday before the bye, while Port again put up a brave fight against a finals contender when taking Sydney right down to the wire in last week’s three-point defeat.
There’s big news on the injury front with Connor Rozee expected to miss the season for the Power, but we could see Jack Lukosius return after putting up big numbers in the SANFL.
The Pies are also set to regain Billy Frampton after his three-game suspension was overturned, but Brayden Maynard still appears a fortnight away from returning.
Betting-wise, Port has played to a tidy 9-6 mark on the back of a loss over the last calendar year but arrive looking to snap a horror five-game losing streak to Collingwood that dates right back to 2022.
While they’ve been a miss against lower teams and competitive against the top sides, the Power’s biggest strength this year has been their ability to control the flow of the game and limit opposing handball chains.
How that bodes against the Daicos boys, we wait and see. But on last week’s efforts, the Power are a decent shout to keep this close if the Pies are a little rusty coming off a spell.
Simply a game North just has to have.
Last week’s narrow one-point win over West Coast hasn’t done much for the anti-Alastair Clarkson mob, and with a chance to potentially leapfrog the Giants and move closer to the Wild Card picture, North supporters will be hungry for their side to make a statement on Sunday.
On paper, the Tigers are still struggling to find scoring opportunities, let alone points, but there were positive signs in last week’s 35-point defeat to the Lions with only three points separating the two sides at half time.
Jasper Alger and Tim Taranto were the two standouts down in Hobart and if the Tigers can bring some of that same pressure we saw over the first two quarters, they will be a genuine sniff against a Roos outfit that has lacked basic composure when it matters.
Another huge Sunday twilight game for a couple of clubs that are starting to run out of time.
The Saints may have bought Ross Lyon a longer leash with an encouraging win over the Giants last week, but the Dogs pose a different threat after they were humbled by the Crows in a game that got away from them well before it was over.
The selection decision surrounding Adam Treloar will be a fascinating angle to this game leading into the weekend, but the Dogs can find some solace in the fact knowing they’ve won their last three games against the Saints by a combined score of 383 to 181.
A bit has changed since their last meeting on the personnel front for St Kilda mind you, particularly around the ruck as Tim English now has his work cut out against Tom De Koning, who put up big numbers around the ground last week.
Given the Dogs’ forward talent, this is the type of game where the Saints would love to have Max King roaming inside 50, and their lack of scoring weapons could ultimately prove the difference here.
Providing they start fast – something that has alluded the Dogs in back to back weeks now – they look a nice bet to return to form and keep their season alive.