Round 8 kicks off with a Friday night double header for the third time this year, featuring the Preliminary Final rematch between Port Adelaide and the Western Bulldogs.
Saturday sees arguably the highlight of the round as Richmond takes on Collingwood in front of what should be a sizeable MCG crowd, before the Giants take on Geelong in an intriguing contest in Canberra.
St Kilda’s clash against Melbourne on Mother’s Day Sunday should also reveal plenty as the Saints eye off bouncing back after their shock loss to Port Adelaide.
See our tips and predictions for Round 8 below:
All times AEST
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Port Adelaide v Western Bulldogs
Friday - 7:30pm - Adelaide Oval
Port Adelaide and the Western Bulldogs have contrasting memories of last year’s one-sided Preliminary Final encounter.
The Power were crushed by 71 points on their home deck as the Bulldogs advanced to a second Grand Final in five years.
Fast forward to Round 8 of this season, both clubs sit outside the top eight heading into Friday night’s clash at Adelaide Oval.
After losing their opening five games to start the year, Port have won their last two games to breath new life into their campaign.
It wasn’t pretty, but the Power overcame St Kilda by a solitary point in a dour affair at Cazalys Stadium in Cairns, where just nine goals were kicked for the entire night.
As for the Dogs, they comfortably disposed of lowly Essendon by 32 points at Marvel Stadium, bouncing back from a shock loss to Adelaide in Round 6.
Luke Beveridge’s side have good recent in the City of Churches, winning three of their past four games at Adelaide Oval, including two convincing wins at the venue last year.
The Dogs’ deep midfield is an area of concern for Port after they were badly exposed at the contest in last year’s prelim.
The away side has won five of the last six duels in this fixture.
Tip: Western Bulldogs by 13 points.
Alex Zaia
Fremantle v North Melbourne
Friday - 8:40pm - Optus Stadium
Friday night footy returns to Optus Stadium for the second time in as many weeks, and unfortunately, it’s every chance to be a similar spectacle to Richmond’s mauling of West Coast.
Fremantle proved they’re well and truly the real deal when defeating Geelong at GMHBA Stadium last week, and Justin Longmuir’s side enters Round 8 as one of the form teams of the competition.
However, they’ve now had six players go into the AFL’s health and safety protocols, including best 22 members Griffin Logue, Michael Frederick, Rory Lobb, Travis Colyer and Blake Acres. Their depth hasn’t been tested yet in 2022, and this will be the only question mark when they take to the ground in the second of the Friday night double-headers.
On the other hand, North Melbourne has lost their last three games by a combined 178 points. The Roos have just been outclassed by their opponents in recent weeks, while big swings of momentum have also become a key part of their game.
However, the Dockers may not be able to take full advantage. While David Noble’s men have shown they can be scored against quickly, Fremantle’s key trend this year has been their defensive prowess, suggesting they might not always be swift on the counterattack.
It’s a big test for the Roos to respond to five consecutive losses, but Fremantle will bring their best at home.
Tip: Fremantle by 44 points.
Seb Mottram
Richmond v Collingwood
Saturday - 1:45pm - MCG
Richmond roared back to form with a massive 109-point win over West Coast in Perth last weekend.
It has many of the yellow and black persuasion excited, but others maintaining a realistic outlook given some subpar performances prior.
Collingwood is also in winning form after taking care of the Suns last Sunday on the back of their Anzac Day triumph over Essendon.
Former Tigers assistant Craig McRae has the Magpies up and about right now, as he did in the opening two matches, prior to a mini slump of three straight losses while still playing some decent footy.
It will be intriguing to see how master Damien Hardwick and his apprentice McRae go about it from a tactical viewpoint, but tactics could go out the window and they may just have to settle for a scrap given the likelihood if inclement weather in Melbourne.
On the personnel front, the Tigers get a massive win with champion Dustin Martin back after a seven-week personal leave absence. His presence will no doubt provide an immediate boost to a side that also welcomes back former captain Trent Cotchin.
The Pies should be fairly similar to last week, although Ollie Henry may return after bagging seven goals in the VFL.
There has been one of each in terms of wins, draws and losses for the two sides in the past three encounters with no conclusive trend.
It’s a tricky game to forecast with the plucky Pies showing plenty in the opening seven weeks up against a Tigers outfit that was back to its devastating best last week but has been inconsistent for the most part in 2022.
But with some quality returning, Richmond should get the job done in a fairly tight affair despite having not won successive matches since Round 12 last year.
Tip: Richmond by 11 points.
Andrew Slevison
Sydney v Gold Coast
Saturday - 1:45pm - SCG
Sydney will be hellbent on responding against Gold Coast on Saturday after going down to Brisbane last week.
The Swans are in a good position this season, but as the top sides in the competition start to flex their muscle and assert themselves, there is little margin for error if they are to keep pace with the likes of Melbourne, Brisbane and Fremantle.
While the story here may be John Longmire’s side, there’s plenty of intrigue around Gold Coast and where they’re at right now after another loss last week.
The Suns’ season remains on the cusp with just two wins from seven and while Saturday’s game seems a longshot, they’ll be targeting this one as an opportunity to make a statement in enemy territory.
Lance Franklin kicked four goals in a quarter last week and who Gold Coast opts to send to him remains an intrigue – Sam Collins looks the best bet there.
Sydney is hot favourites for this one and will be looking to tick off the four points ahead of bigger tests to come, but the plucky Suns have shown already this season that they’re capable of pulling off an upset.
Tip: Sydney by 20 points.
Laurence Rosen
GWS v Geelong
Saturday - 4:35pm - Manuka Stadium
Geelong will make the trek to Manuka Oval this weekend to take on GWS in a tough clash to pick.
The Giants are coming off an outstanding bounce back performance against Adelaide, crushing the Crows in South Australia from start to finish after a tough start to the year.
The Cats meanwhile received a reality check from Fremantle on Saturday afternoon. The Dockers controlled the game after quarter time, restricting Geelong to just five goals after a blistering start.
When the two teams met in last year’s Semi Final, Geelong was far too strong and controlled the game en route to a five-goal victory.
Tom Hawkins kicked five, while Jeremy Cameron had no impact against his old side. This will be Cameron’s first game back against the Giants in New South Wales and it will be interesting to see the reception he receives.
Toby Greene has given GWS some spark in recent weeks. Given the home ground advantage, their performance last week and Greene’s return, the Giants could have the edge in this one.
It’s likely the Cats will come out breathing fire after their loss to Freo, but we’ll have to see it to believe it.
Tip: GWS by 3 points
Nic Negrepontis
Essendon v Hawthorn
Saturday - 7:25pm - Marvel Stadium
If you were pondering this fixture prior to the season, you could be forgiven for thinking it would be a largely one-sided affair in favour of Essendon.
The pre-season expectations for both clubs were starkly different with many believing the Bombers would be challenging for finals and that Hawthorn may just be struggling in the bottom four.
But it appears the opposite is true, with Sam Mitchell’s impressive Hawks just a win out of the eight after pushing Melbourne all the way last weekend, while the Dons are in disarray.
Ben Rutten’s side is struggling in 2022 and needs to find a way to improve and do so quickly, before the natives become even more restless. Their head-to-head record in this fixture provides some positivity in that they’ve won three of the last four, wrestling back some ascendency after the Hawks took four from five prior.
It’s been tight between these two in recent years with the last five encounters providing two single digit winning margins and three under 20 points. A close contest appears the order of the day once again.
If the Dons want the football community to take them seriously, they must win this game, but it’s very hard to tip them with the way they’ve been going and the fact the Hawks are playing fairly well.
Tip: Hawthorn by 8 points.
Andrew Slevison
Brisbane v West Coast
Saturday - 7:25pm - Gabba
This contest shapes as one which could get real ugly real quick for the Eagles, as it did last week on the big stage of Friday night footy.
West Coast couldn’t have been worse in Round 7, and aside from a good win over Collingwood at the MCG, haven’t been in any other game this year.
They’ve lost their last three games by a combined 256 points. It’s hard to see how stand in coach Matthew Knights and his team can turn the form around with more top-up players required for Round 8, despite the desperate need for the club to show some fight.
In complete contrast, Brisbane could hardly have been more impressive this season, and a strong win against Sydney last week has Chris Fagan’s side as firm second-favorites for the premiership behind Melbourne.
It wouldn’t surprise many to see the Lions come out lethargically at their home ground in a game they’re expected to win by 50+, however there’s also a chance they’ll see this as a big possibility.
Brisbane are 6-1 and second on the ladder with a percentage of 140.2, only behind the Demons at 145.9.
If they can pile on the pain and get a big percentage boost against West Coast, Fagan’s men can give their top-two hopes a massive raise so early in the season.
Tip: Brisbane by 73 points.
Seb Mottram
Melbourne v St Kilda
Sunday - 1:10pm - MCG
Melbourne will be hoping to make it eight wins from eight games when thy face St Kilda on Sunday afternoon.
While the Dees are no doubt the competition’s benchmark, the Saints have also started off the season strongly as they sit in the top four with a 5-2 record.
Apart from beating fellow resurgent side Fremantle in Round 2, the remainder of St Kilda’s wins have come against sides that’ll probably finish outside of the top eight in 2022, so they’ll be desperate to pick up a big scalp here.
That’ll be easier said than done though, with the Demons easily taking care of every side they’ve faced this year without ever truly finding their best football.
On top of their impressive form line, the Demons will welcome back coach Simon Goodwin and premiership quintet Luke Jackson, Kysaiah Pickett, Tom Sparrow, Harrison Petty and Alex Neal-Bullen from COVID protocols.
Recent head-to-head clashes also favour the Demons, having won both of their solitary match ups in both 2021 and 2020.
Last time out, Clayton Oliver earned the three votes with 37 disposals and 11 clearances, and he looms as a big factor again as he’s perhaps the most in-form player in the competition.
With Melbourne’s ins and their unbeaten start to the year, it’s impossible to bet against them at this stage.
In saying that, the Saints will be able to match it with them for periods of the game if they find their best footy.
The question is simply, how long can they sustain that against this imperious Melbourne outfit?
Tip: Melbourne by 25 points.
Lachlan Geleit
Carlton v Adelaide
Sunday - 4:40pm - Marvel Stadium
Carlton will be looking to move to 6-2 for the first time since 1996 on Sunday when they host the Crows at Marvel Stadium.
The Blues will go in favourites and will be hoping to deliver against an Adelaide side that, aside from last weekend, has been plucky and tough to beat.
For the Crows, Reilly O’Brien should have ruck control given Carlton’s injury list and they could stretch a Blues side missing key defenders.
When they met last year at this venue, Carlton walked away with a 10-point win. Sam Walsh finished with 38 disposals, while Taylor Walker kicked 3.4.
The Blues will be hoping their red-hot midfield can control the clearances, given it has been their one-wood under Michael Voss. They are ranked second in the competition in clearance differential, while Adelaide ranks 12th.
Adelaide has the running power to hurt Carlton in transition and forwards who will be able to kick a winning score. The question will be whether they can stop Harry McKay and Charlie Curnow up the other end.
The pair have been mighty since Round 2 and feasted on North Melbourne last weekend.
This will not be a blowout and Adelaide is a genuine chance to upset Carlton here if they come out firing following their poor loss to GWS.
Tip: Carlton by 10 points.
Nic Negrepontis