We have a couple of cracker games to look forward to this weekend, as the fifth round of the AFL is ready to kick off and mesmerise us yet again.
Here are the big issues ahead of the weekend of footy.
How good is North Melbourne?
After a quick and quite brilliant rebound for the Kangaroos, North Melbourne faces another test in Collingwood at the MCG on Saturday afternoon.
With the first round being a shocker and the second unconvincing for North Melbourne, they have powered out impressive and unexpected wins against Port Adelaide and Sydney, breaking a ten-year curse.
But standing in the way is Collingwood, who have balanced their close loss to Geelong in Round 3 with a great start that culminated in an easy victory against Richmond last Friday night.
Even though the Tigers are proving to be disappointing this year, a win is a win and the Pies outshone their opponents easily on a big Friday night. Brent Macaffer will face up against his probable opponent in Brent Harvey after a controversial week.
Whoever wins the game on Saturday at 1:40 will have a good chance of making the finals, with early wins being crucial.
Will Richmond and Carlton rebound?
Both teams faced critical moments in not just this season, but in their recent history. Both sides exceeded expectations by making the finals last year, but now both teams are staring down the barrel of a poor 2014 record.
Richmond face Brisbane on Thursday night in what should be a win for the Tigers against the worst team in the league. Brisbane are hampered by injuries and don’t look like putting up a fight, whereas Richmond need to record a second win.
Carlton have it a lot harder, with the Blues taking on the Bulldogs after a tragic and shattering loss to the Dees last week. The Blues would love to be 1-4, but if the Lions upset the Tigers and the Blues lose to the Bulldogs like their form suggests they will, the Blues will be at the bottom and under huge scrutiny.
Can the Cats reapply the Kennett Curse?
Geelong really faces a huge game on Easter Monday. After years of dominance over the Hawks they lost in last year’s preliminary final to the eventual premiers Hawthorn. Now that the curse is broken, will the ladder leaders in Hawthorn create something special for themselves, or will the Cats find a way to reapply the curse after last year’s heartbreak?
We will find out on Monday in the match of the round.
Tips
Brisbane v Richmond – Richmond by 22 points
Collingwood v North Melbourne – Collingwood by 8 points
Sydney v Fremantle – Fremantle by 49 points
West Coast v Port Adelaide – Port Adelaide by 4 points
Essendon v St. Kilda – Essendon by 71 points
Adelaide v GWS – Adelaide by 17 points
Melbourne v Gold Coast – Gold Coast by 28 points
Bulldogs v Carlton – Bulldogs by 14 points
Geelong v Hawthorn – Hawthorn by 10 points
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