Michelangelo Rucci’s look at the AFL’s Round 10

Michelangelo Rucci looks at five of the eight AFL games in Round 10 each having their own special theme starting with a Friday night contest with neither team in the top eight of the competition.

Michelangelo Rucci looks at five AFL games with their own special themes for Round 10. Brisbane will be trying to the gaintkillers again against the Sydney Swans, Richmond is back at the MCG in a danger game against St Kilda and Hawthorn tackle the league-leading Eagles at Etihad Stadium.

ROUND 10

FRIDAY FOLLIES

Collingwood v W Bulldogs, Etihad Stadium Friday

ANOTHER Friday Night Football game without a top-eight side involved. The AFL’s blockbuster timeslot is missing a blockbuster pairing. Collingwood is 10th, but with a marginal winning record (5-4). The Western Bulldogs are 13th and on the big stage for the second consecutive Friday night ... but, under the Docklands roof, they need not fear rain destroying their adventurous handball game as it did at Adelaide Oval last week.

At 4-5, the Bulldogs are needing to find momentum. They are also need to secure consistency. Collingwood could be the perfectly timed opponent for Luke Beveridge’s men. The Bulldogs have beaten Collingwood in the past five games - and they have been tight on the scoreboard with margins of three, eight, 14, 18 and 21 points. This might help Channel Seven’s television ratings in Melbourne.

TIGER TAIL

Richmond v St Kilda, MCG Saturday

HOME sweet home. Richmond returns to the MCG, where the Tigers have won their past 13 games (including three finals) to deal with the issues put on the agenda by the weekend’s top-of-the-table loss to West Coast in Perth (where the Eagles are re-establishing the toughest road trip in football in a new stadium).

So what can be proven against the 16th-ranked St Kilda? Remarkably, only 11 months ago, the Saints smashed the Tigers by 67 points with a 14-goal first half while holding Richmond to just one goal.

Amazing how much can change in 11 months. The Saints, who have a league-low 65-point average this season and broke the 100-point barrier just once in nine games, would be “delighted” to score 14 goals in four goals against Richmond.

The Richmond Tigers leave the field after losing to the West Coast Eagles in Perth.

NORTHERN LIGHTS

Brisbane v Sydney, Gabba Saturday

NO longer is Brisbane the worst team in the AFL. And, to work coach Chris Fagan’s theme, there will be a heap of “nourishment” for the Lions from last week’s 56-point win against Hawthorn at the Gabba.

And now for Sydney ... the team that has a 10-game winning streak against the Lions. The Swans also have a perfect record on the road this season, including the only win against West Coast in Perth.

Brisbane ruckman Stefan Martin had 40 hit-outs when these teams last met - and should expect another game of dominance. But the Sydney midfield does know how to play to losing rucks - and load up key forward Lance Franklin.

FEATHER FIGHT

Hawthorn v West Coast, Etihad Stadium Sunday

HOW unsociable can the Hawks be? In the pre-season crystal ball gazing, this game was most likely to be a measure of two bottom-10 teams and their “rebuilds”. West Coast is now ranked as the premiership favourite - and a lock on a grand final berth (a big prediction in late May).

West Coast’s status in the flag race critically hangs on how the Eagles deal with the “Melbourne question”. They are unbeaten on the road this season. The Eagles last beat Hawthorn in Melbourne (at the MCG) on July 8, 2006 (the year West Coast won the flag under coach John Worsfold). This is just the second Hawks-Eagles game under the roof at the Docklands with the Hawks having won the 2013 clash by 20 points.

North Mellbourne coach Brad Scott has the Kangaroos defying the critics and the odds.

TRUE BELIEVERS

Fremantle v N Melbourne, Perth Stadium Sunday

SO who - beyond Kangaroos coach Brad Scott - believes in North Melbourne now? The team with a better record on the road (3-1) than at home (2-3) takes on the demanding challenge of playing in the new purple cauldron of Perth Stadium against the erratic Fremantle.

A Kangaroos win - against the Dockers in Perth for the first time since Anzac Day 2014 - would give North Melbourne more credibility as a top-eight contender.

Clearly, the most-watched aspect of this game will be North Melbourne sending its master stopper Ben Jacobs to another Brownlow Medallist, Fremantle captain Nat Fyfe. Also to watch is how Dockers coach Ross Lyon works Fyfe with the option of working him as a forward rather than midfielder quite tempting. Does Scott then put Jacobs upon Lachie Neale?

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