WE’RE most looking forward to … St Kilda v Western Bulldogs
The Doggies are one of the form teams of the comp, having knocked off the high-flying Hawks, and the Saints are on a mission to reclaim some lost respect. They took their first steps along that path by spanking the hapless Demons last week and will quietly fancy their chances against the Bulldogs, having won four and drawn one of their last six encounters. Aker is in fine touch for the Dogs and Riewoldt will be a constant threat at the other end which should make for an entertaining contest at Telstra Dome on Sunday.

This weekend should tell us … which way Richmond’s season is heading
The Tigers have won praise for their attack on the ball over the last month or so, but they slipped back to their uncontested ways against the Sydney Swans at the SCG. They looked in danger of going goalless in a woeful first half, leaving Terry Wallace to lament a physical approach that “wouldn’t have bruised a grape”. Richmond hosts an Adelaide unit that is struggling at the moment, having been shocked by West Coast and pushed by Essendon in the last two weeks. If the Tigers are going anywhere this season, they must beat the Crows on Saturday.

How far the mighty have fallen …
West Coast and the Sydney Swans have shared some titanic struggles over the last few years, including two heart-stopping Grand Finals, but this weekend’s encounter between the two combatants should provide a fair indication of how far the Eagles have fallen. The Swans have lost six of their last seven matches against West Coast at Fortress Subiaco, but having made seven changes going into the match on the back of a 100-point loss, the Eagles will be hard pressed to make it another thrilling chapter in this great rivalry.

Who’s due to fire?
Andrew McLeod has barely fired a shot over the last month and the dual Norm Smith Medallist must be due for a big game. The classy Crow has averaged just over 13 possessions a game over his last four matches and has not kicked a goal since round six. He’s been attracting a hard tag most weeks, but Adelaide desperately needs the veteran to start finding the ball across half-back.

The roughie with a show is … Carlton
At $2.40 the Tigers are worth a punt against the wobbly Crows at the MCG, but the price that really caught our eye was Carlton at a whopping $6.15 against Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium. That price is a massive slap in the face for the Bluebaggers, who sit just one spot below the Power on the ladder, each with four wins, and represents great value. Port have been on the improve since a winless month at the start of the season, but this contest will be a lot more even than the odds suggest. Jarrad Waite is back and Fev is in great touch for the Blues, who are a different proposition this year with Chris Judd driving the midfield.

It could get ugly … in Brisbane
Fremantle just can’t take a trick at the moment. The Purple Haze made history last week by becoming the first team ever to cough up five consecutive three-quarter time leads and must follow that up by making the longest road trip in footy to take on the Brisbane Lions. Leigh Matthews’ men are on the prowl, having dispatched St Kilda and North Melbourne with disdain in the last fortnight with Darren Bradshaw and Jonathan Brown a force of nature up in the forward line. There’s every chance the Freo boys won’t have to worry about being in front going into the last quarter this week.

Well done … Melbourne
It’s all turned pretty pear-shaped for the Dees this season, which is unfortunate given that 2008 is their 150th anniversary. Queen’s Birthday weekend is always a big one for the club and with a gala dinner scheduled for the Saturday night before Monday’s big match against Collingwood, this one will be just about the biggest ever. With that in mind we thought we’d take a step back from the Demons’ disappointing one-win season and salute their magnificent contribution to the competition over a century and a half.

Above and beyond?
It will be interesting to see how many fingers Port Adelaide’s Chad Cornes emerges from this season with. The Power star obviously has no designs on a post-AFL career as a concert pianist after he revealed he would seriously consider having a badly broken finger amputated if it continued to cause him grief. Cornes said such a scenario would become more likely if he cops a bad hit on his injured right hand in the next two weeks, so keep an eye on the big fella at AAMI Stadium on Sunday evening. Consider yourself warned, you pesky digit.

Potential banner of the week
The Hawks have had a week they’d rather forget. Not only did they drop their first game of the season at their Launceston fortress last weekend, but coach Alastair Clarkson’s post-match spray of a Tasmanian journalist has been newspaper fodder all week. Here’s what our spies report Hawthorn’s banner will look like for Saturday night’s match against lowly Essendon:

It’s been a tough week for us Hawks
We lost our first game in Tasmania
But if the Dons get up on Saturday night
Clarko’s post-match will be Wrestlemania!

Our Dream Team special … Steve Johnson
Stevie J was a one-man wrecking crew at Telstra Dome last Saturday night, lighting up the Blues for a season-high 163 points. The Cats come up against a weakened North Melbourne outfit on Friday night and, under the roof at the Dome, Johnson looks set to score a great deal more than his season average of 89.20.

The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL.