Nine rounds down, fourteen to go, and while Richmond copped a reality check at the hands of the new competition pacesetters, the West Coast Eagles, last Sunday, the comforts of home should spur them on to hit back this weekend.

A lot has been said about the Tigers’ soft fixture, which has seen them feast on lowly opponents such as Carlton, the Brisbane Lions and Fremantle in the opening seven rounds of their premiership defence.

They will get no better chance to bounce back when they host struggling St Kilda at the MCG this Saturday afternoon.

Other matches will see Buddy and Luke Hodge face off outside of the boundaries of Hawthorn for the first time, while another long week could loom for Carlton when they head down the highway to face the Geelong Cats on Saturday night.

Here is your full preview to Round 10.

Collingwood versus Western Bulldogs
With both sides outside of the eight, Friday night’s clash between Collingwood and the Western Bulldogs threatens to turn into a mockbuster for varying reasons.

For the balance of the season so far, the Pies appear to be punching well above their weight, winning five of their four matches, including defeating the Adelaide Crows by 48 points at the Oval in Round 4.

Last Saturday night, as the rest of Australia tuned into the Royal Wedding, those who attended Etihad Stadium saw the Pies overcome a stern challenge from St Kilda to win by 28 points and keep in touch with the eight.

It marked their fifth win in their past seven matches and is continued proof that the decision to reappoint Nathan Buckley as coach could be the right one.

Meanwhile, the Western Bulldogs had a three-match winning streak ended last Friday night when it went down to the Adelaide Crows by 37 points in atrocious conditions at the Oval.

In kicking just two goals (as well as 14 behinds), the Dogs booted their lowest score ever against the Crows, as well as in any match since Round 16, 1996. It was also the second time, after Round 12, 1965, that they had failed to kick more than three goals in a match.

Perhaps they must be relieved to be back under the roof at Etihad Stadium, where three of their four wins for the season so far have come.

Also in their favour is a recent good record against the Pies, having won their past five clashes dating back to mid-2014, a match best remembered for the breakthrough performance of Marcus Bontempelli.

However, I think the Pies will get up in this one.

Prediction: Collingwood by 14 points.

Richmond versus St Kilda
After a tough loss on the road last week, it will be a case of home sweet home for Richmond who will contest its seventh match at the MCG already this season when they face struggling St Kilda this Saturday.

The Tigers proved to be no match for the West Coast Eagles at Optus Stadium last Sunday, going down by 47 points in what was their heaviest defeat since July last year.

Following that defeat, many have argued that the Tigers have capitalised on what has been perceived as a soft draw, with all of their victories so far coming against teams that did not reach the finals in 2017.

Their only other loss was against the Adelaide Crows, whom they beat in last year’s grand final, in Round 2, and as was the case against the Eagles, it came away from the comforts of home.

A return to form against a St Kilda side which has struggled to perform up to expectations in 2018 is a non-negotiable if the Tigers are to continue to prove that they are still the team to beat.

The Saints battled gamely in the first half against Collingwood at Etihad Stadium last Saturday night, but capitulated after half-time to go down by 28 points, dropping their seventh match for the season in the process.

Inaccuracy and poor goalkicking has been the Saints’ Achilles heel in 2018 – only once, in their Round 1 win over the Brisbane Lions, have they kicked more goals than behinds in a match.

And judging by their poor form so far this season, there will be no respite against a Richmond side expected to hit back hard this weekend.

Prediction: Richmond by 30 points.

Brisbane Lions versus Sydney Swans
Not in over a decade has a match between the Brisbane Lions and Sydney Swans attracted any interest than Saturday night’s contest will.

This is because former teammates Luke Hodge and Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin will be going head-to-head outside the boundaries of their original club, Hawthorn, for the very first time.

Inside knowledge from Hodge and coach Chris Fagan, who spent time at the Hawks as an assistant coach and general manager of football, helped the Lions record their first win of the season against their old club to the tune of an unthinkable 56 points.

It was the Lions’ first win over the Hawks since 2009, and with one hoodoo buried, they’ll want to bury another when they face the Swans, whom they haven’t beaten since that same year, at the Gabba this Saturday night.

With Buddy back on board, the Swans recorded just their second win at home for the season, thrashing a dismal Fremantle side by ten goals with the man himself returning to form after three weeks out with a heel injury.

He also came under scrutiny for elbowing Fremantle defender Joel Hamling out of the game in the second quarter, but escaped any action from the Match Review Panel as it was deemed that he was trying to shake off his opponent in a tackle.

The corresponding game between the two sides last year saw him kick eight goals as the Swans registered their first win of the 2017 season, so if the Lions are to have any chance of an unlikely win at home this Saturday night, they’ll have their work cut out in trying to negate his influence on the game.

It will also remain to be seen whether the Lions can back up their big win over the Hawks with an even bigger win over their NSW rivals in what has been dubbed a mini State of Origin, though without a shield on offer for the winning team, or whether the honeymoon will wear off after a six-day break.

In the end, the Swans should fly back home with the points.

Prediction: Sydney Swans by 25 points.

GWS Giants versus Essendon
After three straight losses, the last thing the GWS Giants want is to face an Essendon side that has rebounded after a month of dismal losses to arch rivals Collingwood, Melbourne, Hawthorn and Carlton.

Three poor quarters of football proved to be the Giants’ downfall in their 43-point loss to North Melbourne, with one pivotal moment coming when Jeremy Cameron gave away a free kick just as Rory Lobb was lining up at goal close to half-time.

They remain outside the eight with a modest 4-1-4 record, and a loss to the Bombers on Saturday night would see them crash to four consecutive losses for the first time since late in the 2014 season, when they were still in their infancy.

After the week from hell following their 13-point loss to Carlton (made even more embarrassing after the Blues lost to Melbourne by 109 points last week), the Bombers came out with a nothing-to-lose attitude and upset the star-studded Geelong Cats by 34 points at the MCG last Saturday night.

Key recruit Devon Smith has proven to be a consistent performer for the Bombers, and the decision by the Giants to trade him to Windy Hill at the end of last season could come back to bite if he again performs well in his return to Spotless Stadium.

As was the case when Adam Treloar returned to the ground and inspired his new club, Collingwood, to a 32-point victory in 2016, it’s hoped Smith’s inside knowledge of the Giants will inspire the Bombers to break a three-game losing streak against that club, and a seven-match losing streak in Sydney.

This Saturday night’s clash will also mark six years to the day since the Giants played their first ever game at the Sydney Showground, which coincidentally was against Essendon in 2012.

On that occasion, the Bombers won by eleven goals, but it also came at a time when their controversial supplements program was in effect, and we all know what happened thereafter.

While the Bombers have endured a recent dismal record interstate, I believe that their win over the Cats might be the fire-starter they need if they are to make a mid-season charge towards the eight.

Prediction: Essendon by 15 points.

Geelong Cats versus Carlton
Things could get even uglier when Carlton makes the long trip down the highway to face the Geelong Cats at Kardinia Park for the first time since 1997.

On a high after scoring their first win for the season against bitter rivals Essendon in Round 8, the Blues were sent crashing all the way back down to earth in the hardest manner possible, going down to Melbourne by a whopping 109 points.

It was their heaviest defeat under coach Brendon Bolton and casts doubts as to where the club is at in what seems to be a long and painfully never-ending rebuild.

Many have suggested that the Blues have been rebuilding since the turn of the century, even during the years when they managed some sustainable success such as in 2011 when it spent the entire season inside the top five.

Their predicament is threatening to become the AFL’s biggest headache since Melbourne’s uncompetitive performances five years ago led to them self-proclaiming they were “an impediment to the industry”.

Their opponents, the Geelong Cats, are also coming off a heavy loss, though at the hands of the Essendon side which Carlton had beaten, by 34 points at the MCG last Saturday night.

It continues what has been an inconsistent season for Chris Scott’s men, who despite the hype surrounding Gary Ablett Jr’s return to the club have not yet been able to notch three wins in succession this season.

Many believe that the Cats also got too ahead of themselves, believing that they would beat a side which had been battered from pillar to post over the past month.

Against the Blues on Saturday night, the Cats will not want to make the same mistake of taking their opposition lightly.

Prediction: Geelong Cats by 70 points.

Hawthorn versus West Coast Eagles
On the back of eight straight wins, the West Coast Eagles will head into Sunday’s game against Hawthorn at Etihad Stadium with every chance of retaining their well-deserved place on top of the ladder.

In front of 57,616 fans at Optus Stadium – the biggest ever crowd for an AFL match in Western Australia – the Eagles put the cleaners through defending premiers Richmond, winning by 47 points to prove that it is indeed the real deal in 2018.

Their achievement comes following a major clean-out of their playing list at the end of last season, which included the retirements of Brownlow Medallists Matt Priddis and Sam Mitchell, as well as Drew Petrie.

That, and a season-opening loss to the Sydney Swans at home, appeared to vindicate many experts’ beliefs that they would fall to the lower part of the ladder this season.

While they have achieved their best start to a season in over a decade, they will face their toughest opponent yet when they face a Hawks side which will be playing a rare home game at Etihad Stadium.

The Hawks are coming off a surprise 56-point loss to the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba last round in a scenario not many could have ever imagined – facing former teammate and club hero Luke Hodge for the first time.

Their fourth loss for the season leaves them outside the eight with a 5-4 record, but they still remain in with a shot of finishing in the top four, having held that same win-loss record after nine rounds in 2015.

In their favour, however, is the fact they haven’t lost to the Eagles in either Victoria or Tasmania since 2006, and while they are coming off a heavy loss, they should put the Eagles in their place on Sunday.

Prediction: Hawthorn by 24 points.

Melbourne versus Adelaide Crows
The second match on Sunday sees Melbourne face the Adelaide Crows in what has been dubbed the unofficial start of the Indigenous Round (which is actually next week).

While this will be the Dees’ first home game since Round 5, this Sunday’s game will technically be their fifth (of six) straight away game, with their game against the Crows to take place in Alice Springs.

After back-to-back losses to Hawthorn and Richmond in rounds four and five saw them fall to a 2-3 record, many questioned the direction they were heading under coach Simon Goodwin, the Dees having missed the finals last year in the most cruellest of ways.

However, the club has since improved in more ways than one, winning their last four matches (albeit against weak opposition), the most recent of them by 109 points against Carlton at the MCG.

A pair of Jakes, Melksham and Lever, both played their best games for the club, with the former kicking a career-high five goals.

It was their biggest winning margin since they beat the Blues by 105 points early in the 2004 season; in the intervention, they had lost nine matches by triple-figures, the worst of them a near-record 186-point loss to the Geelong Cats at Kardinia Park late in the 2011 season.

Now they face a tough challenge in the Adelaide Crows, who despite missing key personnel including captain Taylor Walker, Rory Sloane and the Crouch brothers, managed to suffocate the life out of the Western Bulldogs with a 37-point win at the Oval in atrocious conditions last Friday night.

Having been the highest-scoring team of the past two seasons, the Crows’ attack is well down this year; they have not yet scored over 20 goals in a match, having done so four times in the opening six rounds last year.

While they did beat the Western Bulldogs last week, their score of 9.9 (63) was their lowest in a match so far this year, with the persistent rain during the match being a factor.

Lighting the fuse for this Sunday afternoon match, to be televised by the Seven Network, will be the presence of Jake Lever in Dees colours after he requested to be traded to Melbourne at the end of last season.

His departure from West Lakes left many within the Crows’ inner sanctum publicly fuming, with a furious captain Taylor Walker going on record as saying that Lever chose money over success.

Fortunately for Lever and the Dees, Tex will again be missing for the Crows due to injury, and accordingly the home team should start favourites to continue their impressive rich vein of form.

Prediction: Melbourne by 12 points.

Fremantle versus North Melbourne
The final match of Round 10 sees Fremantle return home to face a North Melbourne side which has also been punching well above its weight in 2018.

The Dockers’ road woes continued last Saturday night when it was thrashed by the Sydney Swans at the SCG, but at home, the story is totally different, having won all but one of its matches at Optus Stadium.

To be fair, that one loss was against the West Coast Eagles in Round 6, meaning that only the Sydney Swans (who defeated the Eagles in Round 1) have visited the ground from outside Perth and left victorious.

It also means that no Victorian team has yet won at Burswood, but North Melbourne has the chance to break that duck on the state’s behalf if they can continue their impressive form so far in 2018.

The Roos took full advantage of playing to the wind in the first and third quarters last week to defeat the GWS Giants by 43 points, breaking into the top eight in the process.

Five third quarter goals from Coleman Medal leader Ben Brown saw the match turn his side’s way, as they continued to prove that they are not the easybeat many believe they would become in 2018.

That, as well as prior victories against Hawthorn and the Sydney Swans, is proof that the Roos can match it with the best in the competition.

However, while their opposition sits in 12th place on the ladder, they will not want to take a side that is otherwise hard to beat at home, lightly.

The Roos’ recent record in Perth is also very poor, having lost their past four matches in the west, including in the corresponding match last year where they lost by just less than a kick.

All that being said, the Dockers should continue their strong form at home this Sunday afternoon.

Prediction: Fremantle by 22 points.

Byes: Gold Coast Suns, Port Adelaide.