I think the Blues match up really well man on man against Collingwood and have an excellent opportunity to cement a spot in the eight here.
Aaron Joseph is a player I like. I love the way he goes about his football; he absolutely terrorises his opponent and if I were coaching I'd put him on Dane Swan.
Swan is not only a prolific ball winner, he's also near the top of the league in scoring involvement. He's often the one that starts the chain of possessions that leads to a score or is an important link in the chain.
Joseph has the ability to cut Swan's possession rate back and not allow him to create those scoring thrusts which will be critical.
This match will be a good test of Carlton's finals credentials. They've been up and down all year, but the last couple of weeks they've started to get it together.
Like most teams in that fifth to 12th bracket on the ladder they need every one of their best six players firing and that's what they've had in the last fortnight.
Carlton has been a little bit suspect down back in recent times, but they've held up pretty well this year and Collingwood's forward line isn't overly strong. There's no-one up forward for the Pies who is really going to worry them too much.
It's definitely going to be won in the middle and if you line up the midfields of the two teams then I think the Blues definitely have the edge.
Josh Fraser is a huge loss for Collingwood and I'd back Kreuzer and Hampson to give their onballers first use. Kreuzer is also great going forward as well. This kid is going to be a gun and he's already half way there now.
Ruckmen usually take a good four or five years to develop, but he's stepped straight in. The way he's going it's not hard to imagine him finishing his career with six or seven All-Australian nods at the rate he's improving.
St Kilda v Western Bulldogs
I reckon it might be about time the Saints dropped a game.
The Bullies have been quietly going about their business while the spotlight has been on St Kilda and Geelong. You can't fault their form over the last 10 games. They've only lost two games – to the Cats, which they should have won after the siren, and against Collingwood, which they lost by just the one point.
You take Justin Koschitzke out of the Saints' forward line and I reckon that makes it a fair bit harder for Nick Riewoldt to get his hands on the ball, especially coming up against Brian Lake who is in career-best form.
You wouldn't have thought Riewoldt will be able to get away from him too much, which might not have been the case if the Dogs' defenders had to worry about Kosi as well.
Through the middle blokes like Leigh Montagna and Nick Dal Santo have been getting possessions at will, but they'll find the going a bit tougher lined up against Daniel Cross and Matthew Boyd.
The main worry for the Dogs is St Kilda's ability to strangle an opponent. I think the Bullies do struggle against ultra-defensive teams. They like teams to take them on, but you do that at your own peril and if the Saints' defensive pressure is as good as it's been for most of the year it will make life hard for the Dogs.
But I think having ground out 17 wins in a row the Saints have got to be starting to feel a bit sore and the Dogs are very healthy and have a point to prove.
This is the week where they can stand up and say "we are genuine premiership contenders".
Adelaide v Port Adelaide
This will be a cracking game. Showdowns always are because there is genuine niggle between the two sides.
It's a really hard game to pick, because Port has been so up and down this season. When they're up and going they are almost as good as anyone.
I picked them in my top four at the start of the year and the matches where they've played really well have probably justified that, but there have been some games where you could safely say that they look like a bottom four side.
With that in mind I find it hard to pick them. Adelaide got a good kick in the backside from St Kilda last week after winning seven in a row, but I reckon they are the type of team that will bounce back pretty strongly.
They have good consistent players across most lines on the field who take a lot of pride in their performance. I don't think you'll see one of my favourite players, Jason Porplyzia, put in two quiet weeks in a row.
I believe Neil Craig is the best coach in the league and he's the sort of bloke who will be able to get them up again.
When Port are playing their best football they're a bit nasty and really have a crack, but that's not really Adelaide's style so I reckon the Power will really be primed to go in hard early and set the tone.
Having said that they are just far too unpredictable this season which is a lot different to the Crows who have been so much more consistent.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
