THURSDAY night footy is back with Sydney taking on St Kilda at the SCG in what should be a ding-dong battle tonight.

All eyes will be on superstar Lance Franklin for his 350th AFL match, with Buddy also needing just one more goal to pass Doug Wade into fourth spot on the all-time goalkicking list.

Friday night's match-up between the Western Bulldogs and Port Adelaide should also be a humdinger, while Saturday's action kicks off with Brisbane travelling to the MCG to face Hawthorn, before Adelaide takes on West Coast and Fremantle hosts a resurgent Richmond.

There are two matches on Sunday, with North Melbourne and GWS clashing in Tasmania and a blockbuster bout between Carlton and Essendon at 7.15pm AEST.

And, of course, the round concludes with the traditional King's Birthday battle between Melbourne and Collingwood.