AFL Round 9: 3 Games To Watch

 AFL Round Nine - 3 Games To Watch

Sydney vs. Collingwood
Friday May 24
7.50pm; MCG

Collingwood and the Melbourne Cricket Ground, two things that have given the Swans plenty of troubles over the past few years. Their Pies hoodoo, broken in such magnificent circumstances in last year's Preliminary Final at ANZ Stadium has to be in the back of the minds of players on both teams, and the Swans would be very conscious about their uneven performances at the MCG over the past few years. They've been nothing short of terrible, and particularly in their last start against Hawthorn two weeks ago, where they were never really in the game.

The Swans are coming off a bad fade-out that almost cost them four points against Fremantle last Saturday night at the SCG, which resulted in the first draw of the season, thanks to Sam Reid's strong mark on the goal line. On the flip side, Collingwood come off their best win of the season, being the first team to knock Geelong off this year. No mean feat, that one.

Both sides have injuries that are concerns. The Swans are missing defenders Lewis Roberts-Thomson and Rhyce Shaw, and there are question marks over another defender, Marty Mattner. The Pies lost Dale Thomas for the rest of the regular season - and perhaps longer - through the week, and the bad news on the injury front was compounded with news that reigning best-and-fairest Dayne Beams' comeback was delayed.

Alarmingly for the Swans, since 1998, they've played on Friday night at the MCG five times, and have come away with only the one victory, against St Kilda in the 2005 Preliminary Final. A big win for the Swans if they can get it. And they need it after last week's disastrous last quarter. For the Pies, who've won 11 of the last 12 against the Swans, they need another win to prove to the critics that their win against Geelong last week wasn't just a fluke.

Verdict: Swans...just. 

***

St Kilda vs. Western Bulldogs
Saturday 25 May
4.40pm; Etihad Stadium

Not exactly a top of the table blockbuster, but an important game nonetheless for two teams towards the bottom end of the 2013 Toyota AFL Premiership. St Kilda lost by forty to Adelaide last week and didn't really threaten to win, but it was the tale of the Western Bulldogs that provided plenty of media fodder through the week: they had a handy enough lead against the Gold Coast Suns at Metricon, and were blown away by a seven-goal third quarter onslaught from the competition's second-youngest team. The Suns kicked seven straight after the midway point of the third term, and were barely threatened after.

The Bulldogs are in the middle of a rebuilding phase, and should probably be glad of the attention focused on Melbourne this year, because it's turned the spotlight off some dismal performances by the men of Footscray. Meanwhile, the Saints seem uncertain of where their list is going. Nick Reiwoldt is still their Big Gun, and he's having a marvelous season, but they are a one-dimensional attacking football team at the moment, and when Riewoldt isn't firing, they can't kick a winning score.

It must be galling for these teams to see the 4-4 Gold Coast Suns above them on the competition ladder, and while GWS probably has a lock on the Wooden Spoon for 2013, this is an important game for both teams. A win here takes a little of the pressure off the team and the club, and keeps alive the - admittedly faint - hope of a finals appearance. If nothing else, it's a chance to be out of the Melbourne news cycle for the coming week.

Verdict: St Kilda.

***

Richmond vs. Essendon
Saturday 25 May
7.45pm; MCG

Essendon were out-muscled by Brisbane last week, falling to their second straight loss when the under-fire Lions came out and dominated in all the key statistical categories. It is becoming an alarming trend for the Bombers: start out fast, then fade towards the end of the season. It happened last year. Will it happen this year? Has the pressure of the ASADA investigation started to take it's toll, that toll manifesting itself on the field? 

It's a big test on Saturday night in the Dreamtime at the 'G game against Richmond, the centrepiece of the AFL's Indigenous Round. Richmond were pushed all the way by a plucky Melbourne team in a scrappy game on Sunday that really didn't rise to great heights. But it was a win that the Tigers needed, getting their season back on track after their own fast start became a slump. 

Should be a brilliant, mouth-watering battle of two A-grade midfields in this one, and that's probably where it'll be won. Essendon are a tough team to figure out, given that there's indications that there was some "list management" going on last week - like Jobe Watson spending little time in the centre of the park, where he earns all his credits - and the suggestion that, perhaps, they took a weaker Brisbane team too lightly. They won't, or shouldn't, do the same against Richmond. A Bomber loss and there'll be two weeks' worth of press on how they're in big trouble down at Windy Hill. Whoever gets on top in the centre of the ground wins this one, I think, and Essendon might just have more firepower there, if the likes of Watson, Heppel, Goddard, Melksham and Zaharakis get off the chain.

Verdict: Essendon