With Sir Douglas Nicholls Indigenous Round in the books clubs will now take well earned rests with the bye rounds.
While Brisbane, St Kilda, Sydney and Fremantle take the week off, we still have seven exciting games awaiting footy fans this weekend kicking off with a Melbourne v Carlton blockbuster at the MCG.
Check out who we think will win each game and why below!
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Melbourne v Carlton
Friday - 7.50pm – MCG
Can Carlton correct their freefall or will Melbourne inflict a seventh loss in eight games on them?
There is a lot at stake on Friday night with pressure mounting at Princes Park and now injuries, with George Hewett, Marc Pittonet, Nic Newman, Corey Durdin and Ollie Hollands all injured.
The Demons meanwhile have lost two in a row themselves and have not been particularly impressive, beating up on bottom sides.
Melbourne has won seven in a row against the Blues, with Carlton last winning in 2017.
Of course, last year’s clash went to the final buzzer as Kysaiah Pickett goaled to sink Carlton’s hopes of finals qualifications.
It will loom as the biggest test for ruckman Tom De Koning, going one-out against Max Gawn and Brodie Grundy. In the context of his career and with the contract situation looming, this game feels incredibly relevant.
The Blues have made Darcy Moore and Nick Blakey look like the best intercept defenders on the planet in successive week. If they are similarly sloppy going forward, Steven May and Jake Lever will have field days.
Carlton has failed every test that has come before them in the last two months and that makes it impossible to tip them on Friday night.
Tip: Melbourne by 23 points.
Nic Negrepontis
Port Adelaide v Hawthorn
Saturday - 1.45pm - Adelaide Oval
Is Port Adelaide going to make club history with their ninth-straight win?
They’re a strong chance.
The Power have ridden this streak to the top of the competition, currently sitting second on the ladder and show no signs of slowing down.
In a fashion reminiscent to the Magpies of 2022, Port Adelaide have made the most of an uncanny close-game brilliance this season, with five of their nine wins coming by 10 or less points.
The Power will not go into this clash with the intention of the game going down to the wire, yet the Hawks of late have shown they aren’t a pushover.
Despite sitting 16th on the ladder, Hawthorn is garnering a reputation as no easy beats, consistently giving a strong effort every week.
This energy has paid off in recent games, with Hawthorn coming into this clash off the back of two straight wins, claiming victory over West Coast and St Kilda.
The win over the Saints stands out as the most impressive moment of the Hawks’ season, having broken down the premier defensive side in the league.
On the surface and the stat sheet this clash looks to sit strongly in favour of Port Adelaide, with the Power outclassing the Hawks in most categories.
Add into this the absence of Hawthorn skipper James Sicily, and things shift further into the Power’s corner.
Yet the results of the Hawks’ last two matches give this one a bit of a wrinkle.
Tip: Port Adelaide by 22 points.
Jack Makeham
West Coast v Collingwood
Saturday - 4.35pm – Optus Stadium
In a battle between first and 18th, Collingwood head across the Nullarbor in a game they should feel pretty comfortable about against West Coast.
While both sides were intense rivals from 2018 to 2020, the Eagles have since fallen off a cliff and look comfortably the worst side in the AFL.
Conversely, the Magpies are flying at 10-1 this season and with 22 wins from their last 24 home and away games, they’ll be confident that they’ll improve that record here.
While the Eagles put in a better performance in Round 10 against Essendon than they dished up in the month leading up to that clash, they simply don’t have the class to match it with Collingwood in any sector of the ground.
Even though the Magpies sit in first, their percentage of 133 is second behind fourth-placed Melbourne’s on 133.7 and this may be their best chance this year to earn a big boost.
Expect the likes of Nick Daicos, Jordan De Goey, Darcy Moore and Josh Daicos to continue pressing their All-Australian selections as Collingwood’s forwards will hope to have a fill-up at Optus Stadium.
Any kind of upset here would genuinely be the biggest we’ve seen in some seasons, don’t expect it to happen.
Tip: Collingwood by 58 points.
Lachlan Geleit
Western Bulldogs v Geelong
Saturday - 7.25pm – Marvel Stadium
The Western Bulldogs host Geelong on Saturday night, a clash nearing must-win territory for the latter.
It’s not dire stages yet for the Cats, but if Chris Scott’s side loses to the Bulldogs, they’ll start big outsiders against Port Adelaide and Melbourne in the coming fortnight.
Lose all three, and Geelong won’t be far off the bottom four. The case is a different one for the Bulldogs’ who despite a slip up last week against the Gold Coast Suns, have won five of their last six.
Luke Beveridge has transformed his side into one of the best defensive systems in the competition, conceding just 65 points a game since Round 5.
Given the Dogs are coming up against a team with the best forward assets in the competition, and one set to be bolstered by Gary Rohan, it’s a sign that bodes well for Beveridge and his men.
But to knock off the Cats will require cleansing some mental demons. The Western Bulldogs have lost to Geelong in their last four attempts, while Geelong jumped out of the ground to boot seven goals in the first term the last time these two met at Marvel Stadium.
Much will rest on whether Patrick Dangerfield is named and if he plays, the Cats are a chance to come close to breaking even in the midfield.
If so, Geelong is every chance to extend the streak to five.
Tip: Geelong by 7 points.
Seb Mottram
Gold Coast v Adelaide
Saturday - 7.30pm - TIO Stadium
One of the matches of the round heads to TIO Stadium between Gold Coast and Adelaide.
Both sides head to Darwin in form, having won their Round 11 fixtures in impressive fashion.
If you base your tips off history, you’re going to find it hard to find a tip for this one, as the last four times the Suns and Crows have met, they’ve both won twice.
And if you base your tips off the market, you’ll be tipping a draw as they can’t split it!
The Suns have had the sun on their back all week after the club decided to stay in Darwin to acclimatise themselves with the tricky conditions.
Stuart Dew’s Suns have been terrific the last six weeks, proving to be a very hard side to beat, winning four of those games without their best player and captain Touk Miller.
The rise of Noah Anderson and Matt Rowell this year has been unreal, both lads are putting up care-best numbers and are living up to their draft picks.
Which Adelaide side will rock up on Saturday?
If it’s the Adelaide Oval variant, they’ll beat the Suns by six goals, if it’s not, they’ll be beaten by four goals.
When the Crows play away from home, they’re a very hard side to read, they’ve lost 75 per cent of their games outside of the City of Churches which makes tipping them very hard.
One thing I will say about Adelaide, they’ve got the best small forward duo in the competition in Izak Rankine and Josh Rachele and you get the feeling they’ll relish the slippery conditions.
This is such a hard game to tip.
But unlike Sportsbet, I’m going to favour a side.
Tip: Gold Coast by 10 points.
Hugh Fitzpatrick
GWS v Richmond
Sunday - 1.10pm - GIANTS Stadium
The Giants return home after a smash and grab job in Geelong last weekend.
They got the job done over the Cats in Toby Greene’s 200th game with the inspirational captain himself kicking four goals.
Adam Kingsley’s side has been more than competitive in 2023 with their 65-point loss to Collingwood in Round 9 the only match they’ve played in this season where the margin was over 21 points either way.
They meet a Richmond team that has similarly been competitive. The Tigers have lost two on the trot by just one point (to Essendon) and 10 points (to Port Adelaide), with the most recent being under interim coach Andrew McQualter following Damien Hardwick’s departure.
This presents as a fairly significant match for both sides given they occupy 14th and 15th positions respectively.
While neither the Giants or Tigers are being earmarked to play finals, four points would push the victor a little closer to the top eight and keep their hopes alive.
The home team has a massive dominance in this fixture (including GWS’ ‘home’ win at Marvel in 2021), winning 14 on the trot, which bodes well for the Giants. The Tigers haven’t beaten GWS away from Melbourne since 2014 so will need to buck a serious trend here.
Kingsley’s outfit has shipped the third most points so far this season, copping three scores of 100 or more against them in their last six, which also includes scores against of 92 and 86.
Richmond has struggled to find connection in attack over the last two weeks, returning 70 and 67, but their defensive game has been in better order.
It’s a genuine 50-50, but with ex-Giant Tim Taranto in stellar form, the Tigers might get the edge ever so slightly in a contest which could easily go either way.
Tip: Richmond by 8 points.
Andrew Slevison
Essendon v North Melbourne
Sunday – 4.40pm - Marvel Stadium
The final game of Round 12 presents an interesting equation – will Essendon be able to keep rolling and bank wins against another team they should beat or can North Melbourne frank their recent good form with a much-needed victory?
Alastair Clarkson remains on leave from the club, meaning stand-in coach Brett Ratten will this week coach his third straight game at North Melbourne but is still yet to win after games against Sydney and Collingwood.
On the flipside, Essendon is quietly ticking away and are now in the top eight after two consecutive wins, with this week’s clash against the Roos and a date with Carlton to come before their bye.
The midfield battle in this game will be a watch, with the likes of Bailey Scott, Will Phillips and George Wardlaw taking charge at stoppages with Luke Davies-Uniacke for North Melbourne, with Dylan Shiel tipped to return for Essendon to bolster their stocks.
We’re tipping Essendon to salute here, although don’t be surprised if North Melbourne is competitive in this clash right up until the final stages. They’re building nicely down at Arden Street despite the turbulence of this year.
Tip: Essendon by 21 points.
Laurence Rosen