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It was a good round for our AFL experts (and The Crowd) last week, with top marks nearly all across the board. Can our experts keep up it up in Round 4?
Check out our expert’s tips and predictions for Round 4 below, and have your vote in The Crowd’s tips, to help out-tip the experts!
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Ryan Buckland
Richmond, St Kilda, Essendon, GWS, Hawthorn, Fremantle, West Coast, North Melbourne, Adelaide
Another danger game for Richmond, this time against Melbourne on ANZAC Eve. Deledio’s continued absence will be the talking point in the lead up. The Tigers will get the job done, and be on a comfortable 3-1 heading into a less powderpuff-ish four week stretch.
The Best Day Ever Header on ANZAC Day starts off slow, but gets good at the end. Trust me.
If a Saint beats a Blue in Wellington, does anyone notice? The Saints should get up in this one, which may be (??) an early season wooden spoon playoff given these sides don’t face off again.
The traditional ANZAC clash lacks some of the on-field sizzle it did a few years back, but that won’t stop a huge crowd (and TV audience) from watching. The Bombers are sneakily creeping their way into contention this year, while the Pies don’t really know what they’re doing. I’d be backing the Dons.
Ok now we’re getting somewhere. Gold Coast at GWS has major sleeper potential as a contest. Gold Coast have a case of first year coaching blues (hang on, doesn’t a new coach mean more winning? Damn those pesky narratives), while GWS are looking up and about. This game might just mark something of a step change in the “which team will make it to the top eight first?” long term betting line. I’m on the Giants, but the Suns may be one training session away from clicking under Rocket, so bettor beware.
No one will be watching by the end of it, though, given Hawthorn at Port Adelaide kicks off around the third quarter mark. Is Port’s slow start to the season signal or noise? And are Hawthorn playing the same sport as the rest of the competition? This one’ll be looked back upon as a statement game by both sides come September.
The Power have looked a shell of their 2014 selves for all but 20-odd minutes this season. Whereas Hawthorn, well, they’ve hit the scoreboard 92 times so far this year, second only to Adelaide who’ve played Melbourne, Collingwood, and a mass resembling the shape of the Kangaroos in Round 1. I expect the Hawks to win, and it’ll either be close or a blowout.
In a delightfully devilish bit of scheduling, what some are calling a Grand Final preview (I’d say it’s more likely a Preliminary Final preview) between Fremantle and Sydney gets underway just as the Adelaide Oval bathrooms switch to ‘occupied’. My views on The Dockers have been somewhat on the money so far, albeit against two teams that aren’t exactly killing it on the defensive end to this point. I think the Dockers’ new found attacking flair will get the over the line, even against Apex Team Defence Sydney.
Alright I’ve blown the word count so let’s wrap this up. Here’s Sunday’s tips, with a confidence indicator on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being less confident than Travis Cloke in front of goal, and 10 being more confident than Jasper Pittard and his pale, tattooed legs running off half back:
West Coast over Brisbane: 0.000001/10
North Melbourne over Geelong: 6/10
Adelaide over the Bulldogs (who my column seems to have cursed): 8/10
Sean Lee
Richmond, Carlton, Essendon, GWS, Hawthorn, Fremantle, West Coast, North Melbourne, Adelaide
Richmond to defeat Melbourne: The Tigers to record another win against dubious opposition. Winning games that they are expected to win is a start but they need to fire in the big games if they are to convince the sceptics that they are a genuine threat to the power teams.
Carlton to defeat St Kilda: Carlton will finally record their first win of the season but will it make any difference to Mick’s press conference demeanour? Probably not.
Essendon to defeat Collingwood: Promises to be a classic. The Pies are probably exceeding expectations right now while the Bombers are chock full of confidence and running. If it goes to script, Essendon will blow a big lead but manage to hang on in a thriller.
GWS to defeat Gold Coast Suns: A massive performance by the Suns last week for no reward, but still think that GWS have gone past them in the expansion team stakes.
Hawthorn to defeat Port Adelaide: Tough start to the year for Port just got tougher.
Fremantle to defeat Sydney: Neither team has put a foot wrong yet this year, but I reckon Freo has the edge in this one, especially at home. A good test for both sides.
West Coast to defeat Brisbane: Sorry Lions, but things look pretty bleak in the short term.
North Melbourne to defeat Geelong: Big game this and we will learn a lot about both teams. Geelong were courageous last week, as were North. One team won and the other didn’t. Same thing will happen this week! North by a point.
Adelaide to defeat Western Bulldogs: The honeymoon is over for the Dogs.
Cam Rose
Melbourne, Carlton, Essendon, GWS, Hawthorn, Fremantle, West Coast, North Melbourne, Adelaide
Richmond vs Melbourne: A loss here would see the Tigers confirmed as 2015’s great pretenders, and the Demons will be giving themselves every chance coming off good form and having won the corresponding clash last year. Richmond doesn’t traditionally do well under the weight of expectation. Melbourne by 11 points.
St Kilda vs Carlton: The battle of two genuine bottom four and wooden spoon contenders across the ditch. The Saints have had their win and struggle to find a reliable way inside fifty without Nick Riewoldt, while the Blues are due to get four points, and should do so here. Carlton by 22 points.
Essendon vs Collingwood: The Bombers have established themselves as a genuine top four aspirant, while the Pies are yet to convince as potential finalists. Anything can supposedly happen in this ANZAC day clash, but I’d struggle to see Collingwood take this one down. Essendon by 27 points.
GWS vs Gold Coast: Are the Giants ready to overtake the Suns in the battle of the expansion sides? Everything points to it, with a better spread of consistent talent and discipline across the ground. Fascinating Saturday twilight contest that will get lost amid the three huge profile matches either side. GWS by 18 points.
Port vs Hawthorn: Suspicion lingers that the competition has caught up with the Power, and if it’s true, there’s every chance they’re going to be 1-4, and the top four “lock” of many pundits won’t be finishing with a double chance. The Hawks will go through the year winning easy games against lesser teams, but will surely set themselves for these marquee match-ups. I’d be surprised if they don’t turn up razor-sharp. Hawthorn by 26 points.
Fremantle vs Sydney: Based on early season form, this is a clash of the heavy-weights. Both sides played like they had one eye on this match last week, relaxing against their opponents after establishing comfortable match-winning leads. Both teams have guns on every line, and are playing with confidence and authority. Fremantle by 8 points.
Brisbane vs West Coast: The runt of the ANZAC weekend litter, in that it comes a long last in order of interest. I was at the Gabba last week to see the Lions in all their ordinariness, and the Eagles should be able to handle them, and Josh Kennedy should get another chance to have flat-track bully accusations thrown his way. West Coast by 28 points.
Geelong vs North: The cracks have appeared in the Cats line-up, and now it’s time for other teams to widen and slam through them. First thing for teams to do is forget about Simonds Stadium as a fortress, which it won’t be if Geelong become an average side. Do the Roos have the fortitude to win this sort of game that they really should? We’ll find out, but they’re the great pretenders if they don’t. North by 24 points.
Adelaide vs Western Bulldogs: The Crows are short odds to continue their winning run, but are coming off a torrid game against Melbourne last round. The Dogs will be keen to bounce back after last week’s loss, and this match could produce the most exciting pure football of the weekend. We’ll see high pressure on the ball carrier, but plenty of run and dare when players break into space. Adelaide by 19 points.
| Round 4 | Cam | Ryan | Sean | The Crowd |
| RIC v MEL | MEL | RIC | RIC | RIC (83%) |
| STK v CAR | CAR | STK | CAR | CAR (68%) |
| ESS v COL | ESS | ESS | ESS | ESS (86%) |
| GWS v GC | GWS | GWS | GWS | GWS (82%) |
| PA v HAW | HAW | HAW | HAW | HAW (73%) |
| FRE v SYD | FRE | FRE | FRE | FRE (66%) |
| BL v WC | WC | WC | WC | WC (70%) |
| GEE v NM | NM | NM | NM | NM (75%) |
| WB v ADL | ADL | ADL | ADL | ADL (88%) |
| LAST ROUND | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 |
| OVERALL | 20 | 18 | 18 | 20 |
The Crowd’s tips correct as of 1:00pm Thursday April, 23 (90 votes).
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