Sydney Swans vs Western Bulldogs – Thursday, 7.20pm

Both teams should be fresh for this game after coming off byes. Sydney will hope to bounce back after their heartbreaking six point loss to Hawthorn via a late Jarryd Roughead goal. The Bulldogs most recently easily beat St Kilda 90-50 and are aiming for their fifth successive win over the Swans.

In some notable changes for Sydney Kieren Jack is in, whilst star Kurt Tippett has suffered another fall from grace being left out of the squad. For the Bulldogs, Fletcher Roberts, Matthew Boyd, Travis Cloke and Toby McLean are returning. Ruled out are Bailey Williams (Omitted), Dale Morris (Ankle), Tom Boyd (Back) and Robert Murphy (Hamstring).

Why Western Bulldogs will win: The Bulldogs sit on the cusp of a spot in the top four, while Sydney’s season is pretty much over already. The different levels of expectation mean this should be relatively one-sided.

Our Tip: Western Bulldogs by 20.

Adelaide Crows vs St Kilda Saints - Friday, 7.20pm

With the Crows, who suffered a shock defeat against Geelong last time out, one win off top spot and the Saints battling to get into the top eight, this could be a thriller.

Both teams are battling injury issues with the likes of Kyle Cheney dealing with a hamstring issue and Paul Seedsman having an ongoing assessment for his groin injury for Adelaide. St Kilda’s Tom Hickey and Josh Battle both have knee injuries, while David Armitage is battling a groin injury.

Why Adelaide will win: There are two major reasons pointing towards a Crows win. First is home advantage as they have won five of six games at Adelaide Oval so far this season. Reason two is Adelaide’s recent history over St Kilda which reads six wins and no losses.

Our Tip: Crows by 10.

Hawthorn Hawks vs Gold Coast Suns – Saturday, 1.45pm

Gold Coast eased some of the pressure with a win over West Coast Eagles in their most recent game, but the spotlight is still on coach Rodney Eade and his squad. That victory lifted them level with Hawthorn on 16 points.

Hawks will have to do without Grant Birchall, Jonathon Ceglar and Teia Miles who are all out with injuries. While for the Suns their injury toll is just as bad with Michael Rischitelli, Pearce Hanley and David Swallow all ruled out.

Why Gold Coast will win: Tom J. Lynch has scored 25.16 this season for the Suns. While Brandon Matera has scored 19.8. Given that the Suns kicking percentage this year is a low 85.77% they will need these two to be on their games if they wish to beat the Hawks and move higher up on the ladder. Expect them to rise for the occasion.

Our Tip: Suns by 6.

Brisbane Lions vs Fremantle Dockers – Saturday, 4.35pm

Brisbane continued an unfortunate trend in their last game going down to Collingwood by 45 (there have been a fair amount of big losses for them this season). Fremantle also lost to Collingwood in their last game, going down by 20. The last time Brisbane beat Fremantle was in 2009 and since then the Dockers have recorded nine straight victories against the Lions.

Brisbane currently have five players on the injured list in Dayne Beams, Allen Christensen, Mitch Robinson, Daniel McStay and Sam Skinner. The Dockers meanwhile have seven. Two notable players are Hayden Ballantyne who has a hamstring injury and Harley Bennell who has a calf injury.

Why Fremantle will win: They possess stars all over the park in players such as Cam McCarthy (15.14 for the season), Shane Kersten (14.10 for the season), Lachie Neale (27.2 disposals per game AND 15.8 handballs per game, ranked top 10 in AFL) and Bradley Hill (15.7 kicks per game, ranked 12th in the AFL). They have too much power compared to Brisbane.

Our Tip: Fremantle by 33.

Essendon Bombers vs Port Adelaide Power – Saturday, 7.25pm

In their last game Essendon went down to Greater Western Sydney by 16 points. As for the Power they came away with a comprehensive 51 point win over the Hawks. The past five clashes between these teams have been relatively even with Port Adelaide winning two and Essendon three.

The Power have a clean bill of health, but Essendon are missing Mitch Brown, Patrick Ambrose, Jayden Laverde and Jordan Ridley.

Why Port Adelaide will win: They have won four of their past six, and one of the two losses was by two against Geelong. Essendon on the other hand have only won two of their past six games. These teams are trending in opposite directions and with a top four Sport beckoning for the Power they have much more to play for.

Our Tip: Power by 25.

Carlton Blues vs Greater Western Sydney Giants – Sunday 3.20pm

Giants go into this weekend’s round sitting proudly at the top of the table and with two of their players in the Top 10 goal kicking Charts for the season - Jeremy Cameron with 34.18 and Toby Greene with 26.16.

Carlton went down to the Kangaroos last time out and will be without Ciaran Byrne for the next 10 weeks with a knee injury. As for the Giants they currently have eight players who are battling injury problems. The most serious of these are two knee injuries to Adam Kennedy and Matt Buntine ruling them out for the season. Tom Downie is also out with illness.

Why Greater Western Sydney will win: They are the number one team in the league for a reason. They have only suffered two losses this entire season and one of those was to second-placed Adelaide. Everything would have to go wrong for GWS and everything right for Carlton for them to be a shot at winning this one.

Our Tip: Giants by 26.

Melbourne Demons vs Collingwood Magpies – Monday, 3:20pm

Both teams have fairly sizeable injury tolls. The worst for Melbourne is Collin Garland who due to his knee injury is done for the season. While Ben Sinclair is out for eight to ten weeks with a hamstring injury for Collingwood.

In their last game the Demons ran through the Suns with relative ease coming away with a 122-87 win. As for the Magpies they secured a 20 point win over the Dockers. Melbourne has won their past three clashes against Collingwood by an average margin of 39.5 points.

Why Collingwood will win: They have won their past three games and are daring to dream about snatching a finals berth over the likes of Fremantle or West Coast. This is in stark comparison to the start of the season where they started one of five. Expect them to keep up the chase in what should be a close affair.

Our Tip: Magpies by 6.