It’s the time of crisis for the Western Bulldogs and St Kilda when they open round 18 at Marvel Stadium on Friday night.
The Bulldogs, tenth, and the Saints, ninth, need a win to keep their final hopes alive.
On Saturday night, Carlton and Geelong fight at the MCG followed by Fremantle hosting Sydney at Optus Stadium.
The four clubs are in the top eight for this weekend.
Check out our predictions and tips for the nine games in round 18 below:
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Western Bulldogs vs. St Kilda
Friday – 19:50 – Marvel Stadium
The Western Bulldogs have one last chance to prove they are contenders for the final when they receive St Kilda under the roof.
The Dogs have lost their last two games disastrously by a total of 94 points and are now basically two games out of the top eight, given Richmond’s easy run at home.
His form over the last month has been far from what you would expect from a candidate in the final, and during the 2022 season, far from what you would expect from a candidate for the premier.
The only top eight teams to have defeated this year are Sydney and Collingwood, and if they want to keep the brightness of the weaker final on, they have to win Friday night.
It’s a similar story for St Kilda, who are equal to the Tigers in points, but have the lowest percentage of the top 12 teams.
His recent form has also left a lot to be desired, recording a victory from his last five matches.
The defense of both sides has been deficient for the past four weeks, and whoever can have the six most improved baits should win this showdown.
Much depends on the selection for this showdown. If Aaron Naughton fails to overcome a broken knee and Josh Bruce spends another week in the VFL, the mantle is completely swayed in favor of the Saints, even with Bailey Smith returning.
However, if one or two of these seniors play, they are likely to create more trouble for St Kilda’s defense without Dougal Howard, and they should be close to winning that game.
Tip: Western Bulldogs for 13 points
Seb Mottram
Adelaide v Collingwood
Saturday – 13:45 – Adelaide Oval
Collingwood will look to add to his streak of seven straight wins against the Crows on Saturday afternoon.
Traveling to Adelaide to face Matthew Nicks ’men, the Pies face that showdown as the clear favorites as they continue their drive for the top four.
Collingwood’s record over Adelaide is strong, winning his last five battles by an average of 37 points.
The Pies will not have several stars, as Jordan De Goey, Taylor Adams and Brodie Grundy, all of whom played in the second-round win over Adelaide, will be out due to injury.
Collingwood’s front line will cause some headaches for Nicks during the week. Brody Mihocek, Jamie Elliot, Jack Ginnivan and Beau McCreery are such dynamic players, and against an Adeliade team that filters goals for fun: beware!
As for the Crows, they have been very disappointing the last 10 weeks, losing 80 per cent of their clashes.
Despite showing signs of improvement in the second half against the Hawks last week, his slow start made a win never a legitimate opportunity.
Their obvious advantage is that this match is played at the Adelaide Oval, but the Pies have beaten them in their last four matches on the pitch …
In Scott Pendlebury’s 350th game, the Pies will surely get the victory of Collingwood’s best player.
Tip: Collingwood for 32 points.
Hugh Fitzpatrick
GWS v. Brisbane
Saturday – 13:45 – Manuka Oval
On Saturday afternoon they see the struggling Giants host Brisbane in Canberra in a match the Lions simply cannot afford.
Chris Fagan’s team has had a turbulent few weeks, losing five players due to health and safety protocols before dropping the Fire Department home last week.
As it stands, Brisbane will bring back people like Daniel McStay, Harris Andrews and Keidean Coleman this week, but will be without Oscar McInerney, who tested positive for COVID earlier this week.
As for the Giants, they are reaching one of their lowest scores in their history against Port Adelaide and will be determined for an immediate response.
In short, the season has reached a stage where Brisbane cannot afford to drop too many more games if they want to stay in the top four and, on paper, this should be a relatively easy victory. .
But, as they have shown in recent weeks, anything can go footy. At the first meeting between GWS and Brisbane in Canberra, expect a tense, close fight.
Tip: GWS for 8 points.
Laurence Rosen
North Melbourne v Richmond
Saturday – 16:35 – Marvel Stadium
It has been a turbulent week for North Melbourne.
After last week’s small defeat to Collingwood, their 14th consecutive defeat, the club parted ways with senior coach David Noble on Tuesday.
The Kangaroos lost patience with Noble, who only won five of the 38 games at the top, leaving the Roos 1-15 rooted at the bottom of the ladder.
North Melbourne VFL coach Leigh Adams will serve as caretaker for the remainder of the 2022 season.
Adams’ first game in charge will be against Richmond at Marvel Stadium on Saturday.
The Tigers are coming off a defeat after the siren against Gold Coast after leading up to 40 points in the third quarter.
While defeat could prove costly, Richmond still clings to eighth position after the teams around it slipped.
His final destiny remains in his own hands.
The last time the Kangaroos changed coach in mid-season was in 2019, when Rhyce Shaw replaced Brad Scott on an interim basis.
In a quirky statistic, Shaw’s first game as a janitor was against the Tigers, leading the Roos to a 37-point win at Marvel Stadium, the same venue as this weekend’s game.
However, it is unlikely that history will repeat itself on this occasion.
Tip: Richmond for 40 points.
Alex Zaia
Carlton v. Geelong
Saturday – 19:25 – MCG
Is this the game of the season? Carlton and Geelong will meet on Saturday night in what will be a huge test of whether the Blues are up to the top four teams.
Carlton has recovered Jacob Weitering, among others, and is nearing full force: can they match it with a Cats team that has just eliminated Melbourne?
Weitering will likely get the showdown with Tom Hawkins, though the most important question is how the Blues stop in form Jeremy Cameron.
They don’t have a logical confrontation and stopping Cameron will help a lot to get the result on Saturday night.
At the other extreme, the Cats will have a bit of their own medicine versus Harry McKay and Charlie Curnow. Can they stop key assembly?
In midfield, Carlton will seek to take control of free spaces, while Chris Scott will seek to keep the game moving and flow freely in and out of stoppage situations.
Geelong is one of the top four fully formed, with Patrick Dangerfield, while Carlton is still finding his way into the final ecosystem.
At this stage, unless the blues are better prepared than we think, cats should still be too strong.
Nic Negrepontis
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Fremantle v Sydney
Saturday – 7.30pm – Optus Stadium
Fremantle hosts Sydney in what promises to be an exciting contest under the lights on Saturday night at Optus Stadium.
The Dockers return home after a successful business trip to Melbourne in which they amassed four points for a convincing 41-point win over St Kilda.
This result has embedded them in the top four and knocking on the door of the first two and a possible final at home.
The Swans bounced back from their disappointing 16-round loss to Essendon by beating the Western Bulldogs by 53 points last weekend. There was a lot to like about how they scored a lot, accumulating 17 goals in 35 shots.
John Longmire’s team will now face a Dockers team that under Justin Longmuir has the second most stained defense in the competition and should make life a little harder for the visiting Swans.
Sydney won at Metricon Stadium by 40 points in last year’s match between the two, but Freo won three in a row earlier, all at Optus. Two of them, however, were two-point and one-point, suggesting the Swans aren’t too afraid of the place.
If played in neutral territory, it could be considered a true 50-50, but the Dockers have a 7-2 at home this year, which gives them the advantage.
Fremantle should win, but he will come up with his challenges.
Tip: Fremantle for 18 points.
Andreu Slevion
Hawthorn v West Coast
Sunday – 13:10 – MCG
Hawthorn got his fifth win of the season against Adelaide in round 17 and it’s a great opportunity to make it six against the West Coast this weekend.
While both sides remain at the bottom of the table, the Hawthorn have been a much more consistent team than the Eagles this year and are rightly favored for this showdown, especially at the MCG.
Although the Eagles only have two wins to their name, their form has increased over the past month and they are not the easy rhythms they were at the beginning and middle of the campaign.
With that said, they will do well to beat this well-trained Hawthorn team that has shown they can score a lot with Sam Mitchell.
The last time it was West Coast received the chocolates in round 8, 2021, with the Eagles winning by 38 points away from home.
Given his low since then, the Hawthorn should have enough firepower in front of the ball to throw a winning score on the side of Adam Simpson who only has a 56.4 percent percentage.
While it wouldn’t come as a surprise to see a discomfort in this one, it’s hard to pick the Eagles considering what they’ve prepared so far this year.
Tip: Hawthorn for 21 points.
Lachlan escort
Melbourne v Port Adelaide
Sunday – 3:20 pm – TIO Traeger Park
Melbourne ceded first place to …