The first of the three split rounds is upon us, with only six matches to be played this weekend as the first lot of six teams serve their byes.

Friday night sees a showdown of dogs and cats at Marvel Stadium, with the Western Bulldogs looking to keep their winning run going under the roof against a side they have not beaten since 2018.

After five straight losses, the Adelaide Crows will look to get back on the winners’ list when they face the last-placed West Coast Eagles, while the Gold Coast Suns will play a second consecutive match in Darwin when they welcome North Melbourne to the Top End.

Fresh off their first loss of the season, Melbourne will attempt to bounce back against a Sydney Swans side that will be without Lance Franklin due to suspension, while a pair of Hawks will bring up their 250th games when they take on Collingwood at the G.

To round things off, Fremantle and the Brisbane Lions will square off in a potential finals preview in the west.

Here is your preview to Round 12.

Western Bulldogs versus Geelong Cats
After a poor start to the season not helped by the long-term knee to forward Josh Bruce, the Western Bulldogs’ form has lifted in recent weeks, winning their past three matches ahead of Friday night’s clash against the Geelong Cats.

Last Saturday night, the Dogs registered their biggest ever win over the West Coast Eagles, winning by 101 points in the west to break into the eight for the first time this season.

The club had 16 goal kickers on the night, with Aaron Naughton leading all comers with four majors, while Tim English was impressive in the ruck as the Dogs continue to build momentum heading towards the mid-way point of the season.

Their opposition goes up a notch on Friday night, when the Cats make the trip up the highway fresh off consecutive victories over the two South Australian clubs at home.

Jeremy Cameron continued his strong season up forward, booting four majors against the Crows, including a torp on the three-quarter-time siren, while Tom Stewart (40 disposals) marshalled an impressive defensive effort, which saw only seven goals coughed up.

The former Giant needs only two goals to notch up 500 career majors, and is a strong chance to do just that on Friday night.

The Cats’ seven-goal win not only reversed last year’s two-goal upset loss at the Adelaide Oval in Round 1, but also kept intact their near-two-decade undefeated streak against the Crows at Kardinia Park dating back to 2003.

Now they face the Dogs for the first time since last year’s post-siren thriller, in which Gary Rohan booted the match-winning goal after the death to secure his side the win, becoming just the second man (after Barry Hall) to kick a match-winner after the final siren for two clubs.

It promises to be another great clash under the roof this Friday night and I have the Cats winning it by three goals.

Prediction: Geelong Cats by 18 points.

Adelaide Crows versus West Coast Eagles
Just as it seemed the Adelaide Crows were starting to build in 2022, a season-ending knee injury to captain Rory Sloane and a five-match losing streak has seen them drop to 15th on the ladder.

But here lies the chance for Matthew Nicks’ side to regain some confidence when they face a West Coast Eagles side that has been ravaged by COVID-19 protocols and injuries at the Adelaide Oval this Saturday.

Last week they failed in their attempt to end a near-two-decade hoodoo at Kardinia Park, kicking only seven majors from 20 scoring shots as they lost by 42 points, though they did win more of the ball and were impressive in the clearances.

This Saturday, as the only South Australian team in action (with Port Adelaide having the bye), the Crows get the chance to put an end to their losing streak when they welcome the struggling West Coast Eagles to town.

Adam Simpson’s men come in on the back of seven straight losses, including conceding 20 goals or more in their past two matches, against the GWS Giants and Western Bulldogs.

While they were competitive in the first half, the absences of key players to injuries and COVID-19 protocols proved telling as they crashed to their second loss by more than 100 points this season.

Coach Adam Simpson has come out during the week saying that his side would never approach each match with a “defeatist” attitude and would surely love to extract the best from the side he sends out to battle this weekend.

But with the home-ground advantage, the Crows should put an end to their five-match losing streak, and extend the Eagles’ to eight.

Prediction: Adelaide Crows by 25 points.

Gold Coast Suns versus North Melbourne
Off the back of an impressive win over Hawthorn last week, the Gold Coast Suns will start hot favourites to make it four wins from their past five matches when they face North Melbourne in the Top End on Saturday night.

A controlled performance from start to finish saw the Suns record the third largest win in their history, with their good form of recent weeks alleviating the pressure off coach Stuart Dew and, for the moment, dousing speculation that he will be replaced at season’s end.

The win was highlighted by a three-goal haul from Malcolm Rosas, who will again be playing in front of family and friends this weekend, and Izak Rankine, who continues to stand out as one of his side’s best players.

Not only do the Suns get the chance to square their season ledger going into the bye next week, they’ll also want to toast Touk Miller, who will be playing his 150th game.

Next in the line of fire are North Melbourne, who head north on the back of a 53-point defeat to St Kilda in what was a disappointing outcome for Jack Ziebell in his 250th game.

It was another dramatic week at Arden Street Oval in which at least three key recruiters left the club. It culminated in their seventh straight loss by at least 40 points, and their tenth defeat from 11 starts.

It raises more questions about where the club is heading, however coach David Noble continues to retain the support of a playing group, which this week said they are “united”.

There have even been comparisons to Mark Neeld’s ill-fated tenure at Melbourne, in which he returned only five wins from 33 matches in charge before making way for Neil Craig, and eventually Paul Roos.

To this point of his coaching career, Noble has overseen five wins and a draw, giving him a slightly better record than Neeld had when he was sacked as Melbourne coach in June 2013.

In the long term, though, the club would not entertain the prospect of dismissing Noble. But if the results don’t improve in the short term, they could be forced to start acting as soon as the end of this season.

Unfortunately, it’ll be another difficult day in the office as the Suns are expected to show no mercy on Saturday night.

Prediction: Gold Coast Suns by 20 points.

Melbourne versus Sydney Swans
The finals will come early for the Sydney Swans when they face a Melbourne side that will be hellbent on redemption after suffering their first loss of the season against Fremantle at the MCG this Saturday night.

The Dees appeared set to cruise to victory when they led the Dockers by 25 points at half-time, only to kick just one goal thereafter to crash to a 38-point defeat in front of under 30,000 fans.

Compounding their woes was the concussion injury suffered by Steven May, who was subbed out of the match before half-time and must sit out Saturday night’s clash against the Swans due to these protocols.

His absence cancels out ‘Buddy’ Franklin’s, whose one-match suspension for striking Trent Cotchin has been upheld by the judiciary, meaning he too will also sit out Saturday night’s MCG blockbuster.

The Swans would be hoping to avoid a repeat of consecutive poor second quarters, first against Carlton in which they coughed up nine goals (their equal most in any quarter since 2006) and second against Richmond where they trailed by as many as 33 points.

With Franklin kicking five goals last week, his absence will be a huge blow as the Swans attempt to counter a strong Melbourne side that are a class above all else, last week’s loss aside.

As with all matches in Victoria this season, the Swans will wear their Red V jumper, honouring their South Melbourne heritage, which they will celebrate prior to the match.

Prediction: Melbourne by eight points.

Hawthorn versus Collingwood
A pair of Hawks will celebrate their 250th games when Hawthorn tackle Collingwood in the only match to be played in Melbourne on Sunday.

Liam Shiels and Luke Breust, who debuted in 2009 and 2011 respectively, will bring up the milestones. Along with Jack Gunston, they are the only players remaining from the club’s 2013-15 premiership era still at Waverley Oval today.

The Hawks will want to hit back hard after suffering a horror loss against the Gold Coast Suns in Darwin, being outplayed from the start as they suffered a 67-point defeat in testing conditions.

It was a far cry from the previous week’s upset win over the Brisbane Lions in Launceston, which was their third straight win against them dating back to the start of 2020. Only the Geelong Cats have beaten the northerners more times in that period.

Meanwhile, Collingwood continue to prove that they are real contenders in 2022, knocking off top-four hopefuls Fremantle (in the west no less) and Carlton in consecutive weeks to be sitting in tenth place on the ladder, though with a positive 6-5 record for the season.

Last week, despite being the underdogs, Craig McRae’s men managed to pull off a four-point win over the old enemy in front of over 80,000 fans, and for the club it also meant settling a score against Michael Voss, who two decades ago denied the Pies the ultimate prize not once, but twice.

The Pies feasted on a Carlton back line missing key defender Jacob Weitering, while Mason Cox produced his best individual performance for years as they continued to defy the naysayers who believed the club would be heading for their first wooden spoon since 1999.

But while they will start favourites against the Hawks on Sunday, it is worth noting that the brown-and-golds have been a bogey side for the Pies in the post-Mick Malthouse era, with only two wins for the men from Victoria Park in this period (2017 and 2020).

With the opportunity to push for a berth in the eight, the Pies should take the points on Sunday.

Prediction: Collingwood by 14 points.

Fremantle versus Brisbane Lions
Again we have to wait until the end for the match of the round, as the second-placed Brisbane Lions make the long trip west to face third-placed Fremantle in what shapes as a potential finals preview.

Stopping the season and bringing the finals forward to now means that this fixture would be the second qualifying final, and so both teams will want to test each other’s finals credentials three months out from September.

The Dockers go in on the back of their biggest win of the season, coming from 25 points down at half-time to hand reigning premiers Melbourne their first loss of the season at the MCG, kicking the final ten goals of the match without reply in the process.

It put an end to a poor fortnight of footy, which included being upset by the Gold Coast Suns on the holiday strip, as well as being outplayed by Collingwood in wet conditions at home.

Meanwhile, the Brisbane Lions go in having beaten the GWS Giants at home by 14 points but not without a major scare as they fell behind by five goals midway through the first quarter.

It took a spray from Chris Fagan and a mid-match change in attitude to lift the club as they completed their 44-point turnaround by the final siren, with Lachie Neale again being the best on ground as he stakes his claim for a second Brownlow Medal in three seasons.

He will again be a major factor as the Lions look to make it three wins from four matches at Optus Stadium, all of which have been against Neale’s old club Fremantle.

Sadly, there will be no Neale versus Nathan Fyfe showdown, with the Dockers confirming their two-time Brownlow Medallist will play in the WAFL as he launches his comeback from a back injury, which saw him miss the first half of the season.

This match shapes as an intriguing subplot in the race to the finals and while the Purple Haze may have proven themselves as true finals contenders in 2022, the Lions’ class should win out in the end.

Prediction: Brisbane Lions by 12 points.

Byes: Carlton, Essendon, GWS Giants, Port Adelaide, Richmond, St Kilda.