The Geelong Cats, Carlton Blues, GWS Giants and Hawthorn Hawks won the tight ones, while Port Adelaide Power, the Brisbane Lions and the Gold Coast Suns, again went on their merry way.

The Western Bulldogs and St Kilda Saints impressed, while GWS found form to deliver a shock loss to the Magpies!

There were controversial statements made by some coaches about the current length and style of the game.

Collingwood’s Jeremy Howie will be out for the year with a serious knee injury.

If that wasn’t enough, because of the COVID-19 spike in Victoria, Queensland health officials banned the Tigers from flying to the Gold Coast to play the Eagles on Thursday night.

Subsequently, the Round 5 fixture has been adjusted by the AFL, with Richmond to play Melbourne on Sunday at the “G” and West Coast to take on Sydney in Carrara on Saturday.

The clash between Richmond and West Coast scheduled for Thursday night has been postponed.

To accommodate these changes, the AFL has moved Saturday’s St Kilda match against Carlton to Thursday night at Marvel Stadium.

That’s not the end of it: Collingwood’s vice-captain has been cited for breaking the league’s COVID-19 rules, facing a week’s suspension, and there are further issues on the horizon as South Australia has banned Victorian sports teams from crossing their border.

Maybe the AFL should relocate all 18 teams to the Northern Territory!

On Thursday evening, St Kilda and Carlton will clash in a blockbuster.

Both sides have two wins each and are very evenly matched.

With both teams having had only five days’ rest, it looks like it’ll be a cracker of a game.

I pick Carlton to win by 17 points.

On Friday night, Collingwood will beat Essendon... but by a tiny margin.

On Saturday, West Coast will take on Sydney at Carrara.

The Eagles have been woeful so far, but I think they’ll be out to win this one against a hot and cold Swans side.

Geelong will play Gold Coast at the Cattery.

It’s a hard game to pick as it’s going to be tough and torrid.

I’m favouring the Cats for a couple of reasons: it’s the Suns’ first game away from Queensland and the Cats are, after all, playing at home!

The Western Bulldogs will meet North Melbourne at Marvel on Saturday night.

I like the Bulldogs but they’re not in top form yet, while the Kangaroos have shown good form and, even in defeat last week, they had the determination to come back and make a game of it.

I pick North Melbourne to take the win.

The Lions will host Port Adelaide at the Gabba.

First and second on the AFL ladder, the sides are a mouth-watering prospect and the game will go down to the wire.

I pick Brisbane to win or a draw, only because it’s played at the Gabba.

A thrilling heart-stopper in the making!

On Sunday, Adelaide and Fremantle will play in the battle of the wooden spooners.

Even without Nat Fyfe, Fremantle will beat the lifeless Crows.

Melbourne will play Richmond at the MCG.

It’ll be a tough game of football, but I think the Tigers will get some of their mojo back and win the points against a lacklustre Demons side.

In the last game of the week, the Giants will make things difficult for Hawthorn, who aren’t renowned for their speed this year.

The Hawks are good in the air but once the ball is on the ground, the Giants will cut them to ribbons.

I pick GWS to cash in for victory.

2020 AFL SEASON ROUND 2 TIPS

Carlton Blues

Collingwood Magpies

West Coast Eagles

Geelong Cats

North Melbourne Kangaroos

Brisbane Lions

Fremantle Dockers

Richmond Tigers

GWS Giants 

Progressive tip score: 20

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