Geelong vs GWS

GMHBA Stadium, 7:50pm Friday May 4

Team news: The Cats are likely to regain Gary Ablett, Scott Selwood and possibly Brandon Parfitt and Daniel Menzel should they pass fitness tests.

GWS have already ruled out Jeremy Cameron and Brett Deledio and they are unlikely to get any of Toby Greene, Josh Kelly, Rory Lobb or Zac Langdon back to travel to Geelong.

Injury Watch: Harry Taylor (Geelong) could be back playing footy this week or next week but Lachie Henderson has been put on the long-term injury list.

Prediction: GWS are down a lot of their big guns and the Cats loss to the Swans last week will have made them hungry to get the win this week. Geelong by 15. 

Bulldogs vs Gold Coast                              

Mars Stadium, 1:45pm Saturday May 5

Team news: The Bulldogs lost Easton Wood to another hamstring injury and it seems like Jackson Trengove is the obvious replacement.

Gold Coast will be without both of their captains, Tom Lynch and Steven May this week but could bring back Callum Ah Chee and Aaron Hall.

Injury Watch: Jack Redpath (Bulldogs) underwent some more knee surgery and is unlikely to play again this season.

Gold Coast will be without Tom Lynch for the next month with a minor knee injury. Peter Wright will play his first game for the year in the NEAFL this week.

Prediction: Gold Coast lose their two best players to travel to Ballarat to play the Bulldogs and that makes it hard to see them winning. Bulldogs by 23

Essendon vs Hawthorn

MCG, 2:10pm Saturday May 5

Team news: Conor Mckenna will be available for selection after serving his biting suspension. Essendon are also very hopeful Orazio Fantasia will be fit to play and Tom Bellchambers and David Myers are likely inclusions after being rested last week.

The Hawks will have James Sicily will be available after missing last week through suspension. Liam Shiels will be back in if heโ€™s overcome back soreness.

Injury Watch: Essendonโ€™s Matt Dea is ready to return to footy this weekend but Mitch Brown is still one more week away.

The Hawks are expecting Paul Puopulo to be back for round 10.

Prediction: Essendon will need to have found some great answers during the week to return to form to beat the Hawks on Saturday. Hawthorn by 24 

West Coast vs Port Adelaide

Optus Stadium, 2:35pm Saturday May 5

Team news: Not much happening in the West Coast camp other than Lewis Jettaโ€™s calf tweak.

Port Adelaide are likely to bring Paddy Ryder, Japer Pittard and Sam Powell-Pepper this week. Tom Rockliff is touch and go.

Injury Watch: Nathan Vardyโ€™s Adductor issues from the pre-season flared up again in his return on the weekend and he will miss a couple of weeks.

Port Adelaide will lose Chad Wingard for a few weeks with a hamstring injury.

Prediction: The only thing that really separates these two for this match is the home ground advantage. West Coast by 4

Sydney vs North Melbourne

SCG, 7:25pm Saturday May 5

Team news: Sydney will still be without Buddy Franklin and Dan Hannenbury but they could bring in Darcy Cameron to play his first game.

Shaun Higgins is likely to come back in for North Melbourne so long as he passes all concussion tests.

Injury Watch: Mitch Hibberd (North Melbourne) injured his knee in the VFL on the weekend and will miss a few weeks of footy.

Prediction: North Melbourne have played well in Sydney for the last few years, but they are a much more inexperienced team this year. Sydney by 17 

Adelaide vs Carlton

Adelaide Oval, 7:10pm Saturday May 5

Team news: Adelaide could welcome back a host of stars including Eddie Betts, Rory Sloane and Jake Kelly but they lose their skipper, Tex Walker with a hamstring injury and will likely be without David Mackay.

Carlton are hopeful to have Matthew Kreuzer and Jacob Weitering back in the side this week.

Injury Watch: Tex Walkerโ€™s (Adelaide) hamstring injury isnโ€™t serious but the Crows wonโ€™t risk him against Carlton.

Carlton will be without Charlie Curnow and Caleb Marchbank due to injury.

Prediction: Adelaide are one of the best attacking sides in the competition and Carlton are one of the worst defensive sides so this has to potential to be a whitewash. Adelaide by 50

Richmond vs Fremantle

MCG, 1:10pm Sunday May 6

Team news: Itโ€™s rumoured that Trent Cotchin could miss for the Tigers this week with some soreness and Jack Higgins could be dropped after a quiet week last week.

Fremantle lose Michael Walters and Matt Taberner to injury and could bring in Tommy Sheridan and Shane Kersten.

Injury Watch: Brad Hill is becoming a concern for the Dockers as he is still only running on anti-gravity treadmill.

Prediction: Fremantle have a very good record against Richmond at the โ€˜G but the Tigers are a better side this year. Richmond by 18

 St Kilda vs Melbourne

Etihad Stadium, 3:20pm Sunday May 6

Team news: The Saints could bring in David Armitage who has been playing well in the VFL.

Jesse Hogan is touch and go to play this week after he seemed to have a sore ankle during last week's match.

Injury Watch: Bad news for the Saints this week as they announced Dylan Roberton will miss the rest of the year with his heart condition.

Jack Viney (Melbourne) could return to footy next week.

Prediction: Melbourne have become quite a good Etihad team and need to win this one to get their season back on track. Melbourne by 22 

Brisbane vs Collingwood

The Gabba, 4:40pm Sunday May 6

Team news: The Lions will bring Luke Hodge straight back in after he was rested last week.

If Taylor Adams and Darcy Moore can pass as fit this week, they will come straight back into the Piesโ€™ line-up. Tom Langdon and Travis Varcoe are also likely to be back in after being rested last week.

Injury Watch: Ben Reid, James Aish and Brayden Maynard (Collingwood) all sustained injuries against Richmond last week. Reid and Maynard are said to only miss a couple of weeks but Aish is more likely to spend 8-10 weeks out.

Prediction: If Collingwood can keep playing the way they have been, it will be hard for Brisbane to beat them. Collingwood by 19 

Point to prove:

Essendon. Essendon will take on the old arch rivals, Hawthorn, this week and while a win would be great, all they need to do is show some fight and just be competitive. In all of their matches this year the Bombers have started well and then faded dramatically after half time. Itโ€™s unknown what the cause for that is and how John Worsfold can turn it around but if they can just stay in the game for the whole four quarters, it will as good as a win for Essendon.

Struggle street:

The game. The biggest talking point of this week has been the current game style of AFL clubs and congestion on the ball making it boring and bad to watch. There isnโ€™t much that can be done in the short term to fix this and the ideas been thrown around to help solve the problem have been pretty ludicrous. The game is already one of the best in the world, why do we need to keep making changes?

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