Brisbane Lions vs Western Bulldogs @The Gabba, Saturday 4:35pm

Stat Fact: Brisbane have won only four games from eighteen attempts this season.

Big Talking Point: Dayne Beams was quoted as saying during the week that this was the most excited he’s been about Brisbane’s future since he arrived at the club and he was also confident that his team could finish the season well and avoid finishing last. The middle point is particularly interesting as after this game to finish of their season Brisbane face Gold Coast, Melbourne and North Melbourne. Two of those games are very winnable and they could very well end up shocking the AFL world and pass the last place mantle onto another team. For a non-finals bound side the end of Brisbane’s season should be watched with some interest.

What Will Happen: Free kicks galore. It’s a well-known stat this season that Brisbane have received the most free kicks in the competition with 378 while the Western Bulldogs this season have received 369. No matter which way the game goes at least there’s an interesting stat that you can watch out for.

What Won’t Happen: Any sort of an upset. Luke Beveridge’s side have massively under-performed this season and the whole world knows it. Against a poor Brisbane side the Western Bulldogs have every incentive to finish this season on a high.

Our Tip: Western Bulldogs by 30.

 

North Melbourne Kangaroos vs Collingwood Magpies @Etihad Stadium, Saturday 7:25pm

Stat Fact: Collingwood average the most disposals per game with 405.9, this is also significantly ahead of North Melbourne’s average.

Big Talking Point: How Collingwood continue to play well despite everything that’s going on at the club. Nathan Buckley could be leaving at the end of the season, their CEO is gone, a season without finals. Everything that could be going wrong at their club is and yet they continue to play out on the field like its nothing. Regardless of how Collingwood finish their season off, massive respect to them is due for how they’ve handled it all so far.

What Will Happen: As they’ve done in recent weeks Collingwood will put aside their off-field distractions and put in another admirable result and against North Melbourne given where they are at in this point in time, things could get ugly.

What Won’t Happen: An easy Collingwood win. North Melbourne coach Brad Scott has made it very clear and obvious that he would rather his team for each win until their season is over rather than tank for the NO.1 pick. This is a very admirable way to go about things especially considering that at the moment North Melbourne are in a prime position to secure a high pick.

Our Tip: Collingwood by 13.

 

Fremantle Dockers vs Gold Coast Suns @Domain Stadium, Saturday 5:40pm

Stat Fact: The Gold Coast have beaten Fremantle in their past two clashes and both by a 26 point margin.

Big Talking Point: Anthony Hudson was quoted as saying the McGovern brothers could soon team up at Fremantle and what a coup it would be for the side at that. Mitch is a very in demand player and rightfully so while Jeremy is a very good defender for West Coast. If this does happen the two brothers combined with others like Nat Fyfe could make Fremantle a force for years to come.

What Will Happen: It’s well-known that both sides have under-achieved in their expectations for their respective seasons this year. Fremantle have been on a bit of a ‘youth movement’ while the Gold Coast have been cruelled by injuries. Within that though there have been times this season where both of them have played very well so it’s a bit tough to say what will happen. A low scoring affair is a pretty good guarantee though as both teams have struggled in font of goal this year.

What Won’t Happen: Anything exciting. These two teams don’t exactly play thrilling brands of football and putting the two together could well result in a bit of a snooze-fest.

Our Tip: Fremantle by 16.