After Sir Douglas Nicholls Round opened last weekend, we’ll continue to celebrate Indigenous culture and the contributions of First Nations people to the sport in Round 11.
With the bye rounds set to begin in Round 12, this will be the last weekend with a full slate of games for the next month.
Check out who we think will win each game and why below!
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Sydney v Carlton
Friday - 7.50pm – SCG
Does this game have some loser leaves town energy about it? Carlton has lost five of their last six games and plummeted out of the top eight, while Sydney similarly have only won one of their last five – thanks mostly to a sloppy interchange steward.
Both teams will be desperate for a win to get their seasons back on track before the bye, but both teams have struggled of late.
The Swans have been devastated by key defensive injuries, with Robbie Fox, Aaron Francis and Nick Blakey doing their best undersized. They will have a tough task on the weekend against Charlie Curnow, Harry McKay and possibly Tom De Koning.
Curnow is the game’s in-form key forward and will thrive if he gets any space.
Sydney also lost the clearances by 20 to a North Melbourne team without Luke Davies-Uniacke or Ben Cunnington last week and there’s no chance they beat Carlton if they allow them to dominate field position to the same degree on Friday night.
The Blues meanwhile have struggled greatly to move the ball, with turnovers by foot in particular killing them. On the smaller SCG, with less ground to cover, their long-down-the-line style might just be more effective.
Expect a scrappy and likely low scoring game that could absolutely go either way.
Tip: Carlton by 7 points
Nic Negrepontis
St Kilda v Hawthorn
Saturday - 1.45pm - Marvel Stadium
Saturday afternoon’s clash will be a very different experience for the Hawks compared to what they dealt with last week.
Hawthorn trounced the worst defensive team in the competition to the tune of 116 points, leaping off the bottom of the ladder and sending West Coast down to 18th.
The young Hawks would love to repeat this performance, however facing off against St Kilda and their league-best defence, it looks an impossible task.
The Saints bounced back from a rough performance against the Crows in Round 9 with a win over the Giants last week, adding another win to their tally.
While they secured the interstate victory, things were a bit closer than Ross Lyon would have wanted, needing a strong final term to secure the four points.
Considering the combined 201 points St Kilda have conceded over the last two weeks did some damage to their percentage, a plucky yet inexperienced Hawks side looks the perfect matchup for the Saints to get back to full form.
The two clubs may sit in vastly different positions on the ladder, yet they do share a similar aspect of their game, wanting to control possession with high disposal numbers.
While this may work for St Kilda against top tier sides, Hawthorn lacks the polish to maintain possession against a defence as relentless as the Saints’.
The Hawks will give some energy and fight, but it should be a simple task for Ross Lyon’s men to get the job done on their home turf.
Tip: St Kilda by 38 points.
Jack Makeham
Melbourne v Fremantle
Saturday - 2.10pm – MCG
Melbourne will play host to Fremantle on Saturday afternoon as the Demons look to recapture their form whilst the Dockers look to continue their purple patch.
The last time the Dockers faced the Demons at the MCG, we saw one of the upsets of the year, with Justin Longmuir's men smacking Simon Goodwin’s side by 38 points.
Despite winning four of their last five games, the Demons don’t look to be firing on all cylinders and with star midfielder Clayton Oliver ruled out for the next match, the intrigue around this contest goes up a notch.
Star defenders Steven May and Jake Lever will look to take a hold of this game, given Fremantle lack key forwards, both May and Lever will see this is an opportunity to dominate in the air and prove to be a human brick wall.
Expecting those two to take 15 marks between them and cause Fremantle fans both grief and anguish, sounds a bit dramatic, but trust me, watching those two take mark after mark brings out all sorts of emotions.
Luke Jackson will face his former side for the first time, and he should expect to be given some feedback from Demons fans, if they turn up, of course.
Very keen to see emerging stars Caleb Serong and Andrew Brayshaw go head-to-head with Christian Petracca and Jack Viney on the wide expanses of the MCG.
Serong would be an All-Australian lock right now and Brayshaw is finding some form after a slow start to the year.
The main concern with Fremantle is whether or not they have the players to kick 15 goals and put some scoreboard pressure on the Demons and against Melbourne’s backline, finding it hard to tip against the home team.
Tip: Melbourne by 27 points.
Hugh Fitzpatrick
Geelong v GWS
Saturday - 4.35pm – GMHBA Stadium
Geelong desperately needs some momentum back in its season and Round 11 presents a winnable clash against GWS.
The Cats have lost two on the trot and could find themselves out of the eight with another defeat but are understandably long odds to lose at Kardinia Park.
But to pick Chris Scot’s side, it can’t be based on their home ground record.
Geelong has won its last nine at GMHBA Stadium, having not lost at the ground in over a year. But GWS has remarkably won its last two at the ground, a record that would rival any team to have travelled down the highway in the last decade.
Adam Kingsley’s produced a plucky side too, one that’s only lost one game by more than 21 points this year.
The Giants are a better team than their 15th spot on the ladder suggests, while the Cats aren’t in the form of a side inside the top eight.
But with Ollie Henry, Sam De Koning and Gary Rohan returning, Geelong should appear a little surer on their feet in Round 11.
With games against the Western Bulldogs, Port Adelaide and Melbourne to come after, there’s little doubt Scott will have his men wound up for a fight on Saturday.
Tip: Geelong by 15 points.
Seb Mottram
Gold Coast v Western Bulldogs
Saturday - 7.25pm - TIO Stadium
The 2023 AFL Premiership travels to TIO Stadium in Darwin as the Gold Coast Suns host the Western Bulldogs on Saturday night.
Gold Coast have a 2-2 record in Darwin with their two wins coming in their last two matches at the venue against Hawthorn and North Melbourne. The Suns are typically used to humid conditions at home but footage has emerged of the team training with soapy sherrins to combat the extreme humidity in the top end.
Gold Coast face a Western Bulldogs side who are arguably the form side of the competition. After starting the season 0-2, Luke Beveridge’s men have won seven of their past eight matches.
Despite kicking an inaccurate 11.19 against the Adelaide Crows in Ballarat last week, the Dogs were always in control and cruised to a 45-point victory. Whereas the Suns once again fought valiantly in the Q-Clash for three quarters but ultimately succumbed to another loss.
Sitting 13th on the ladder with a 4-6 record, another loss could spell the end of Gold Coast’s year before the halfway mark of the season. Fortunately, the temperature is expected to be around 27 degrees on Saturday night and should suit the home side.
Expect a low-scoring and inaccurate night in front of goals. Whichever team gets on top of the conditions earliest should secure the four points.
Tip: Gold Coast by 15 points
Charles Goodsir
West Coast v Essendon
Saturday - 7.40pm - Optus Stadium
West Coast has endured a week of media pain in the wake of their demoralising 116-point loss to Hawthorn, with the footy world waiting for seeing if there’s any response coming from Adam Simpson’s injury-hit side.
West Coast’s opponents Essendon are coming off a thrilling one-point win over Richmond during Dreamtime at the ‘G, a much-needed result for Brad Scott’s men after a month of toil against the best sides in the competition without claiming victory.
The Bombers are about to enter a two week stretch when they take on the Eagles and North Melbourne, two games where they’ll be hot favourites to win. Fresh off a week of scrutiny from local West Australian media, expect some form of response from the Eagles early in the game.
But regardless, West Coast still remain comfortably the worst side in the competition and Essendon should win with relative ease.
Tip: Essendon by 71 points.
Laurence Rosen
Richmond v Port Adelaide
Sunday – 1.10pm - MCG
Will Port Adelaide’s win streak continue?
The Power have been on an absolute tear since their loss to the Crows in the Round 3 Showdown, winning seven straight games through a mixture of scoreboard dominance and close-game brilliance.
Meanwhile, another chapter in Richmond’s rough season has unfolded, with a single-point loss to Essendon in last week’s Dreamtime clash being followed by the exit of three-time premiership coach Damien Hardwick.
The Tigers have had their fair share of issues this year, however this week they may be the beneficiaries of the notorious coach departure bump.
In the last five instances of a coach completely departing a club mid-season, teams have a 4-1 record in their first game under a caretaker coach, something that Richmond were on the receiving end of last year in their loss to North Melbourne.
The Richmond faithful would certainly be hoping to receive a jolt of energy in Andrew McQualter’s senior coaching debut, as otherwise they could have a tough time against a strong Port Adelaide side.
The Power boast one of the best attacks in the competition, currently averaging the fourth-most points per game.
This all stems from a midfield that is firing on all cylinders, led by Zak Butters who is currently in the best form of his career.
Richmond’s engine room has looked better in recent weeks, however would need to take a big leap if they’re to control the rampaging Power.
The Tigers certainly have a chance on their own turf, but they’d need to be at their absolute best to snap this win streak.
Tip: Port Adelaide by 13 points.
Collingwood v North Melbourne
Sunday - 3.20pm - Marvel Stadium
After a tough run of fixtures to start the year, the ladder-leaders in Collingwood get what looks like some reprieve with North Melbourne and West Coast ahead in the next two weeks.
First cab of the rank is the Roos at Marvel Stadium on Sunday in Steele Sidebottom’s 300th and Mason Cox’s 100th game.
While North Melbourne rebounded in Round 10 under Brett Ratten in a game they probably should have won against Sydney, they’ll be hard-pressed to get the better of a Magpies side that is 9-1 to start the season.
There are no real areas of the ground where the Kangaroos theoretically have an advantage, so an upset here would shock everyone in the footy world.
While Collingwood don’t play Marvel Stadium as well as the MCG and haven’t played at Docklands since Round 9, 2022, they’d be backing themselves in to get the result in a big celebration of one of their club greats.
If North Melbourne continue to show some fight, they might make it difficult for the Magpies for at least half of the game.
If they revert to their form from Round 3 to 9, it could seriously get ugly under the roof.
Tip: Collingwood by 45 points.
Lachlan Geleit
Adelaide v Brisbane
Sunday - 4.40pm – Adelaide Oval
Adelaide and Brisbane meet at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday evening in arguably the Match of the Round.
The Crows, despite showing improvement this season, have lost three of their last four with the latest being a 45-point defeat to the Western Bulldogs in Ballarat.
The Lions are in a rich vein of form, piling on seven straight victories at an average margin of 41 points to establish themselves as genuine premiership contenders.
Now they have to navigate Matthew Nicks’ hard-to-beat Crows on their home soil.
Adelaide has started swiftly in recent home games, kicking six goals in the first quarter against St Kilda in Round 9, 3.6 against Collingwood (in an eventual one-point loss) in Round 8 and eight majors against Carlton in Round 5.
It is a stat that Chris Fagan is aware of, but knows his Lions are the fastest starting team in the league in 2023.
This week they go in slightly short in defence without the in-form Jack Payne (concussion) and could also be missing rebounding defender Keidean Coleman (glute), however, veteran Daniel Rich will slot straight back in after a calf issue.
The Crows did rest Taylor Walker and were without fellow key forward Riley Thilthorpe as well as intercept defender Tom Doedee (concussion) for last week’s loss. They are likely to have all three back, while former Lion Mitch Hinge will be out with concussion.
It presents as a fairly tricky fixture for the Lions, but hey have won their last two over the Crows at this venue and you can’t knock winning form.
They are humming in attack, scoring 100 or more in six of their last seven wins with multiple avenues to goal.
While the Lions might be somewhat stretched in defence, they boast a powerful midfield and a forward line capable of kicking a decent score, therefore get the nod over the Crows in what should be a quality game of footy.
Tip: Brisbane by 15 points.
Andrew Slevison