In this round, I think some of us will be torn between barracking for an outcome that should be good for our ladder position, or just continuing with habitual hatreds and long standing prejudices against certain teams. Take the Saturday twilight clash between the Bulldogs and the Dockers, for example. Obviously a Dockers loss would consolidate our spot in the top four, while a Bulldogs win is pretty well irrelevant for our ladder position. But still, I don't think I could watch another episode of free kick Bulldogs, and maintain any support for a Bulldogs win. Perhaps it might be better if I paid no attention to the game and just had a quick look at the finals score? Cop out? I don't know?

Luckily, tonight's game isn't really like that. While some might prefer a Magpies win, to give us a better chance of finishing second, I mildly prefer a Demons win. That way, any sort of a win against North, sees us move immediately to third, and there's also the fact that I'm thoroughly sick of the plucky Magpies and their winning streak. So, instead of us facing them next week, after another confidence boosting narrow win, I'd much prefer it if they limped into Sydney after a morale draining thrashing. And of course, it's been ages since we've seen any footage of a glum McGuire in the stands.

The first Saturday game is Hawks v Suns. It would be nice if the Suns kept alive their slim finals hopes.

Next we have a strong contender for irrelevance of the round: Giants v Bombers.

Then it's the aforementioned Bulldogs v Dockers.

Then Saturday night starts with the Cats hosting the Saints. I guess I'd prefer an upset here. I mean, that would give us a slim chance of catching the Cats, while there's no real chance of the Saints catching us.

The other Saturday night clash is the Power and the Tigers. I suspect that if you tried hard enough, you could manufacture a scenario on the ladder predictor, where the Power still managed to scrape into the eight. But I think that would involve both the Saints and the Tigers losing their last three games and the Bulldogs losing two. Which ain't going to happen. Which I'm sort of glad about, as I think the Power are a much better side than their ladder position suggests.

In the first Sunday game, our ball movement indoors at Marvel, should be far too slick for the hapless Kangaroos.

The next game is another example of the earlier dilemma. A Blues win should see us open up a handy gap over the Lions. But still, could I really barrack for that? And of course, there's still a chance of the Blues not actually making the eight: which I think would amuse many people.

The final game is the other contender for irrelevance of the round, the Eagles and the Crows. I mean, is there a reason to pay attention to that? If you can think of one, please let me know.