The 2024 AFL Gather Round kicks off on Thursday night.
Nine games are set for the City of Churches as all 18 teams take to the field for just the second time this campaign.
Adelaide kick off the round against Melbourne on Thursday night, before two games take place on Friday with Port Adelaide the prime time hosts against Essendon.
There is an Adelaide Oval double-header set for Saturday while Norwood Oval hosts two games and Adelaide Hills hosts another two.
See our tips and predictions for Round 4 below.
Adelaide v Melbourne
Thursday - 7:30pm AEDT – Adelaide Oval
A winless start to the 2024 season puts a different kind of spotlight on Adelaide as they enter the Gather Round stage.
Last year they used the energy from the eyes of the footy world to smash Carlton and this year they will face Melbourne.
The Demons will play back-to-back games at Adelaide Oval, having beaten Port Adelaide last week. Of course, the Power dominated most statistical categories making it a tough game to read into.
Melbourne has won four of their last five against Adelaide, but last year’s match was one of the games of the year at the MCG.
The Crows have been a weird team so far this year. They’ve been excellent around clearances, but cannot score from defensive transition whatsoever.
Melbourne are one of the hardest teams to score against in general play because of their defensive stars and structure and they also boast a dominant on-ball mix.
These things combined make it tough to trust Adelaide, even if they are a significantly better team at home generally.
Tip: Melbourne by 14 points.
Nic Negrepontis
Brisbane v North Melbourne
Friday - 5:10pm AEDT – Norwood Oval
With both teams sitting winless to start the 2024 campaign, this looms as a match-up for either club to kick-start their season.
A twilight game against North Melbourne could not come at a better time for the Lions, who must come out victorious this week to help ease both the on and off-field dialogue surrounding the club.
This presents itself as the obvious outcome, as last year’s grand finalists have won this match-up the last six times, with a staggering aggregate score line from the past two games of 308 to 125.
This form has carried over to 2024, with the Kangaroo’s 360 points conceded across the opening three rounds being the worst in the competition.
Brisbane forward’s will be eager to line-up against this defence, with Joe Daniher, Charlie Cameron and Eric Hipwood combining for 13 goals when these two teams last met. In comparison, these three only kicked 13 goals combined this year across three games.
Despite North’s poor start, the league can welcome Harry Sheezel as an emerging superstar of the game, with the young gun averaging 33 disposals so far this season and managed 31 and a goal last time they played Brisbane.
Their exciting youth further extends to the forward line, with both Paul Curtis and Nick Larkey kicking three goals last week in their 56-point loss to Carlton.
This game will be largely dominated nevertheless in the middle of the ground, with the likes of Lachie Neale, Josh Dunkley and Hugh McCluggage inevitably too strong for a North midfield with potential, but largely inexperienced.
Ultimately, North Melbourne’s inexperienced defence will be too much of a liability which the Lions will be hungry to exploit, expect them to pile on the goals.
Tip: Brisbane by 58 points.
Harry Attiwill
Port Adelaide v Essendon
Friday - 8:10pm AEDT – Adelaide Oval
Port Adelaide would have been seething after the seven-point loss to Melbourne at home last weekend.
They won most key stat categories comfortably but didn’t do the business where it mattered - on the scoreboard.
It was a missed opportunity to go 3-0 and establish themselves in the top handful of teams.
On the flip side, Essendon beat St Kilda when many felt that perhaps they should have gone under based on the numbers.
But the only number that mattered was again, the scoreboard, which showed a four-point advantage to the Bombers at the final siren.
Those two results present an intriguing Gather Round contest on Friday night.
Port’s midfield group of captain Connor Rozee, vice-captain Zak Butters and the ever-improving Willem Drew is in fairly good shape and should test the Dons’ depth.
They’ll have to cover the absence of Ollie Wines but the return of Jason Horne-Francis should go some way to filling that hole.
Forward Peter Wright (suspension) remains out of Essendon’s lineup which is probably a blessing for his old teammate Brandon Zerk-Thatcher and fellow recruit Esava Ratugolea. It means the Power defence will not have to worry about a big key, but they’ll still have to be wary of Kyle Langford, Jake Stringer and Harry Jones who combined for eight of their 10 goals last weekend.
On paper, the Power should win this comfortably at home and make it eight on the trot against the Dons, but we’ve seen enough upsets of late to be over-confident.
While Port should really be getting the job done at home in front of a packed Gather Round crowd, it is unlikely to be as easy as some would suggest.
Tip: Port Adelaide by 14 points.
Andrew Slevison
West Coast v Sydney
Saturday - 1:30pm AEDT – Adelaide Hills
The Sydney Swans were humbled by a spirited Richmond outfit and will be looking to bounce back during Gather Round. They come across the perfect opponent in the West Coast Eagles who have lost by an average of 11 goals in their last 23 defeats.
A once storied rivalry between the two sides is now a lifetime ago after the Swans booted 31 goals in a 171-point bloodbath when these two sides met last season at the SCG. This match up has not been competitive in the last three years with the average margin sitting at 109 points in favour of the Swans.
Despite having their colours lowered in Round 3, Isaac Heeney stood tall for the Swans to continue his blistering form to start 2024. The 27-year-old’s move to the midfield has paid dividends and he is averaging over 28 disposals, 10.5 score involvements, 7.5 clearances and over one goal a game.
He is being well complemented by James Rowbottom who easily leads the competition in tackles with 42 (18 ahead of Jack Steele in second) and Chad Warner, Tom Papley and Errol Gulden who are all in the top six for score involvements.
On the other end of the spectrum, it is evident that West Coast are in for another tough season and are staring down the real possibility of the first winless season since Fitzroy in 1964. The Eagles are producing historically low numbers and became just the sixth AFL/VFL team to lose their first 12 quarters of the season. Whilst they start the game strongly, the Eagles fade in the second quarter with a scoring percentage of 17 across their first three games and matches are over at the main break.
The focus will be on senior players this week including Elliot Yeo and Tim Kelly who were highlighted for a lack of defensive pressure and efforts in the Round 3 loss to the Western Bulldogs. The minimum expectation for West Coast is to be competitive to prove to generational talent Harley Reid that there is a future at the club beyond his rookie contract.
There is the potential for a number of records to fall at Adelaide Hills on Saturday afternoon.
Tip: Swans by 75 points.
Charles Goodsir
Fremantle v Carlton
Saturday - 4:20pm AEDT – Adelaide Oval
How many would have pencilled this in as a clash between two undefeated teams at the start of the season?
Things couldn’t have started better for the Baggers in 2024, triumphing in a pair of close contests before cruising to a monstrous 56-point victory over the Kangaroos as they geared up for Gather Round.
Meanwhile the Dockers have made an equally strong and infinitely more surprising start to the season, stunning the Lions in their season opener and then knocking off the Roos and Crows in convincing fashion.
Justin Longmuir’s men have dismantled teams through their defensive prowess, conceding the least points per game through the opening stretch.
Yet on Saturday afternoon they’ll meet their toughest match yet, facing off against a dominant Carlton attack that has made their mark through elite forward pressure.
While this clash may be a contrast of conflicting styles, it’s all but guaranteed to have the hottest footy of the round, with both teams stacking up as some of the competition’s best tackling teams.
With both teams yet to put a foot wrong in 2024 this contest could go either way, yet considering Carlton has had Fremantle’s number as of late, having lost to the Dockers just once since 2018, it’s hard to go against the Blues.
Tip: Carlton by 7 points.
Jack Makeham
Western Bulldogs v Geelong
Saturday - 8:10pm AEDT – Adelaide Oval
Struggling to work out who to tip for this one? Yep, you’re not the only one.
The Cats and Dogs on neutral turf, two teams whose fortunes could be intertwined come the end of the season. This looms as a big four points.
When they met last season, it came at Kardinia Park in Round 24, with the Dogs needing to win for any chance of making the eight and Geelong already eliminated. Naturally, the Bulldogs won. It’s hard to read much into it.
Geelong’s midfield looks quite thin going into this one, with Cam Guthrie and Patrick Dangerfield unavailable going up against a Bulldogs team that was able to get some rest into the legs of Marcus Bontempelli and Tom Liberatore against West Coast.
The Dogs have a forward line that could worry the Cats as well. They’re stacked with height and contested marking targets. Tom Stewart will have a lot to think about and won’t be able to do as he pleases.
The Cats go in favourites given they’ve knocked off the likes of St Kilda and Adelaide and have some proven form, but this truly feels like a 50-50 clash.
Tip: Western Bulldogs by 3 points.
Nic Negrepontis
Gold Coast v GWS
Sunday - 12:30pm AEST – Adelaide Hills
Two of the emerging young teams of the competition face off in an exciting match-up which sees Damien Hardwick coach against his former Richmond assistant Adam Kingsley for the first time.
Both teams enter this game fresh from a one-week break yet GWS’s undefeated start to the season sits as a scary sight for any opponent.
This is exacerbated by the fact that the Giants have won 11 of the last 12 encounters with Gold Coast dating back to 2015.
Yet Gold Coast seemed to have taken a step up this year and can be confident to match GWS through the middle of the ground through the likes of Matt Rowell, Noah Anderson, Touk Miller and Sam Flanders helping them average 39.3 clearances per game, the third highest in the competition.
The difference in this factor lies in their capacity to convert midfield dominance into goals. With Ben King serving as their sole viable target inside the 50-meter arc, their inside 50 conversion rate ranks fifth lowest in the AFL whereas GWS leads the league in this aspect.
King’s task will be made all the more difficult with Sam Taylor poised to be his direct opponent throughout the game, with the key defender averaging a massive 12 intercept possessions.
Gold Coast has their own weapon in defence with Charlie Ballard most likely being assigned to Jesse Hogan and with an average of eight spoils and 3.7 intercept marks per game, should be up for the job.
GWS on the other hand feature emerging stars all around the ground in this respect, with Tom Green averaging 34 disposals and 16 contested possessions, establishing himself as one of the standout players across the competition this year.
Overall, Gold Coast should match GWS in the midfield but the Giant’s quality around the ground should prove insurmountable for a youthful Suns outfit, but don’t expect this game to be separated by much.
Tip: GWS by 12 points.
Harry Attiwill
Richmond v St Kilda
Sunday - 3:20pm AEST – Norwood Oval
Richmond and St Kilda will make history in the AFL being the first two Victorian teams to play for premiership points at Norwood Oval.
The Tigers head to Adelaide in form having knocked off what many considered the premiership favourites in the Sydney Swans in a terrific performance from an undermanned outfit.
But unfortunately for Adem Yze and the Tigers, that win came at a big loss with Tom Lynch (hamstring), Noah Balta (knee) and Liam Baker (suspended) all coming out of the side for this clash.
They'll likely welcome back Dustin Martin, Dylan Grimes and Jack Graham for this but Lynch, Balta and Baker will be so hard to replace.
As for the Saints, they dominated so much of the game against Essendon last week but still squandered four vital points.
Max King will return to the side this week which is crucial for their structure and he could certainly stretch Richmond's undersized defence.
St Kilda's biggest strength is their defence and with Richmond losing three of their attacking stars, they really should restrict the Tigers to under 10 goals.
Norwood Oval is a narrow ground which won't suit the Saints so you should expect to see a contested game and quite possibly a low scoring affair.
Tough game to tip but you can't side with Richmond with those outs.
Tip: St Kilda by 25 points.
Hugh Fitzpatrick
Collingwood v Hawthorn
Sunday - 5:10pm AEST – Adelaide Oval
This is no doubt one of the biggest fixtures of the round, not so much for the on-field matchup, but the off-field storyline with Jack Ginnivan facing his old club for the first time.
The divisive small forward has lit somewhat of a fuse for the clash with his openness in the media leading to some interesting quotes.
Couple that with the way he was umpired on Easter Monday as the Hawks went 0-3 and there’s no doubt all of the attention will be on ‘Ginni’ come Sunday afternoon.
We know that he’s not afraid of the spotlight, but with a few of his forward teammates in Mitch Lewis and Nick Watson going down with injuries, can Hawthorn kick a winning score? That’ll be the main question here.
Collingwood got off the canvas last Thursday against Brisbane and a win here would have them 2-3 and working their way into the campaign. The move of Nick Daicos to halfback and John Noble into the side helped the Magpies slingshot the ball on turnover, while their pressure on-ball was elite.
As has been the case in many games this year, the Hawks will know that they’ll need to shut down both Daicos and Jordan De Goey if they’re to stop the Pies. Will Finn Maginness earn a senior recall to play on Daicos? It worked last time and could be a smart play again. It might be interesting to see him tag as a half forward instead of midfielder, though.
While the Hawks have won 14 of the last 17 games head-to-head since the 2011 Prelim, this has to be a game that Collingwood is winning if they’re any bit legit this year.
Let’s see if their form continues in the City of Churches or if the Hawks can pick up their first win of the 2024 season.
Tip: Collingwood by 27 points.
Lachlan Geleit
