While it's obviously too early in the season, to claim that the loser of Saturday's Collingwood v North game will win the wooden spoon, there's something quite pleasant about pointing out that it's a clash between 17th and 18th, and that it will have a bearing on who eventually takes the not so coveted prize. Not sure who I want to win? On the one hand, I wouldn't mind North recording their sixteenth straight loss. Especially after the purge that they carried out last year, which seemed straight out of a misguided 1980s corporate management text. On the other hand, sitting at 1/7, does seem an appropriate coda to the Eddie era.

Tonight's Richmond v Geelong game should see a high quality start to the round. Both teams are obviously capable of playing excellent football, but so far this year, neither have done so consistently. Though I suspect that Richmond's decisive win against the Bulldogs, may have caused a bit of consternation amongst the other teams, as they did it without Dusty.

The first game on Saturday is Gold Coast v St Kilda. Which might be a tipster's nightmare, as St Kilda's wildly oscillating form this year, hasn't really given any indication of what sort of team they are. Though I suppose that isn't really true. Their form this year has indicated they're a crazily unpredictable team.

The next game is GWS v Essendon. It's getting close to season on the line for Essendon. Maybe an upset brewing?

While we're taking on Melbourne on Saturday night, Adelaide and Port are playing. Which is a bit of a shame, as I usually like to watch the showdown: although the odds are predicting it to be as one-sided as last week's western derby.

The first match on Sunday is Hawthorn v West Coast. A Hawthorn loss and a Collingwood win, would see Hawthorn slip to 17th. Which now that I think of it, does have some influence on who I'd like to see win the Collingwood v North game.

The penultimate game of the round is the Bulldogs v Carlton. Could I really barrack for Carlton here? It's possible.

The final game has been switched from Perth to the Gabba. If it was still a Fremantle home game, I would've given them a pretty good chance of an upset, but it now seems that Brisbane will continue their climb up the ladder. But hopefully, they will still be a game behind us, after we recorded a stirring win over Melbourne.