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Round 2 was really not a great week for tipsters, so don’t feel bad if, like most of our panel, you picked up a three-out-of-nine. Can we do better in Round 3? I really do hope so.
The round kicks off with two 0-2 teams going head to head, traditional rivals Carlton and Collingwood at the MCG.
If you were to pick on last week’s form alone, you’d pick Collingwood, but I don’t think we can trust these teams to perform at the same level one week to the next.
My gut says that with a mounting injury toll and falling short of a confidence-boosting win last week Collingwood will regress while Carlton can bounce back and sneak away with a win here.
Seventeen times in a row North Melbourne has bettered Melbourne, the Dees haven’t defeated the Roos in more than a decade of footy.
Twice last year I said it was time for Melbourne to finally break the streak, twice they failed. I’ll tip them for it again now, but I won’t really mind if they botch it yet again.
Fremantle and the Suns both had very impressive performances last week. While the Suns are 2-0, the home ground advantage at Optus Stadium – despite the fact that it is technically the Suns’ home game! – should get the Dockers a win.
The Saturday night Sydney Derby is in the mix for match of the round. Both of these sides have impressed during the first two weeks but both also have questions over them. I’m tipping the Giants but without much confidence.
Of course the other match of the round contender is Richmond and Hawthorn the next day at the MCG, again a very hard match to pick a winner in.
I’m worried that I’m being lured in by Hawthorn hype, but I will pick the Hawks as they seem to be in better form.
West Coast would fancy themselves a decent chance at upsetting Geelong on their home deck, but I suspect the Cats will be too determined after last week’s disappointment to let this one slip.
If Josh J Kennedy was available for the Eagles, given Geelong’s lack of fit key defenders, it might well be a different story.
Port Adelaide over Brisbane, Adelaide over St Kilda and Essendon over the Bulldogs all look like fairly straightforward tips this week, and I will back in Port as my lock of the week.
Adrian Polykandrites
Collingwood, Port Adelaide, Melbourne, Fremantle, Sydney, Adelaide, Richmond, Essendon, Geelong
Port Adelaide look every bit as powerful as the Power optimists thought they would. They’re a chance to crack 150 points against the Lions, who are improved but still too easy to score against.
North Melbourne showed why they’re not a team to be taken lightly but I expect Melbourne to snap the Roos’ 17-game (!!) win streak in this match-up.
Good on the Suns for finding a real coach and scoring a couple of early wins, but I’m not buying it just yet. Fremantle should beat them.
The Sydney derby looks like the game of the round. I’ll take the Swans at home with no confidence whatsoever.
If St Kilda have any substance they’ll be better after their pathetic Good Friday effort, but the Crows are a much better team.
Richmond and the Hawks play in the round’s other mouth-watering match-up. The Hawthorn forwards will have it a bit tougher against the Tigers than they did against the undermanned Cats. I’ll take the Tigers in a close one.
Joe Daniher will feast on the baby Bulldogs defenders and the Dons will do it easy. Jake Stringer might even find some form against his former side.
The Cats would be grateful that Josh Kennedy is on the sidelines. They should win in Perth, but it won’t be easy.
(Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)
Cameron Rose
Collingwood, Port Adelaide, Melbourne, Fremantle, Sydney, Adelaide, Hawthorn, Essendon, Geelong
Collingwood have had tougher match-ups than Carlton on the way to a 0-2 start for both, and have been more competitive, so the Pies should open their account for 2018 in the Friday night mockbuster.
To kick off Saturday, Port to beat Brisbane and Melbourne to finally throw off the North hoodoo.
Have to side with Freo in Perth over Gold Coast; this game looks a brighter prospect than it did a week or two ago.
Adelaide should be too professional for St Kilda, but the Saints will be stung into action after the heat they’ve copped this week. They’re a definite threat against a Crows side battling injuries on a few fronts.
Sydney vs GWS is the match of the round. A win for Giants would see them go 3-0 and the Swans 1-2, while both would be 2-1 if Sydney win. The stakes are high for a Round 3 game. Swans, just.
Hawthorn has looked sharp in its opening two matches, while Richmond has struggled to get going and is coming off a poor performance.The Tigers defence has been leaky and the Hawks forward-line dangerous. It’s a combination that suggests a Hawthorn win.
It’s impossible to tip the Dogs at the moment, so Essendon should beat them, and it could be by a big margin.
Geelong should create too many opportunities against West Coast, but it’s very much a danger game for the Cats given the Eagles have been playing well.
(AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts)
TomC
Collingwood, Port Adelaide, Melbourne, Fremantle, GWS, Adelaide, Richmond, Essendon, Geelong
The wounded Pies to outlast the mercurial Blues in what probably won’t be a Friday night classic.
Gold Coast have made a strong start to the year, but a long trip to Perth for this ‘home’ game is a tall order. Cairns, Melbourne and Western Australia in the span of fourteen days is a tough ask for anyone, that gives the Dockers the edge.
The Sydney derby is the match of the round, and while it’s tight the Giants have been the more convincing of the two teams so far.
Richmond and Hawthorn at the MCG might tell us quite a bit about two teams. It seems counterintuitive to tip against the Hawks after their superb performance on Monday, but then the Tigers have also looked pretty good and that extra couple of days break might be significant.
Geelong at West Coast is another toss-up. It’s a long trip for the Cats after a sapping game on Monday, but the huge gap in the quality of the two midfields makes it hard for me to tip against them.
Elsewhere, Port to pound the Lions, Melbourne too strong for North, Adelaide to continue the Saints’ miserable start, and the Bombers to run riot over the sleeping Dogs.
| Round 3 | Josh E | Adrian P | Cam R | TomC | The Crowd |
| CAR vs COL | CAR | COL | COL | COL | COL |
| PA vs BRI | PA | PA | PA | PA | PA |
| MEL vs NM | MEL | MEL | MEL | MEL | MEL |
| GCS vs FRE | FRE | FRE | FRE | FRE | FRE |
| SYD vs GWS | GWS | SYD | SYD | GWS | GWS |
| STK vs ADE | ADE | ADE | ADE | ADE | ADE |
| RIC vs HAW | HAW | RIC | HAW | RIC | RIC |
| WB vs ESS | ESS | ESS | ESS | ESS | ESS |
| WCE vs GEE | GEE | GEE | GEE | GEE | GEE |
| Last week | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Total | 8 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 11 |