In the opening game of the round last Thursday night at the SCG, the Geelong Cats kicked seven goals in the second quarter to completely eclipse the Brisbane Lions, while on Friday evening, the Collingwood Magpies put away a lethargic Hawthorn Hawks outfit!
Surprise packet Fremantle came back from seven goals down in the first quarter to beat the distressed St Kilda Saints by a goal, while the West Coast Eagles dished out more pain to the Adelaide Crows and the Melbourne Demons got back in the winners’ circle by defeating the Gold Coast Suns.
The Essendon Bombers kept their winning streak alive by beating the North Melbourne Kangaroos and, on Sunday, Port Adelaide prevailed against the GWS Giants, while the Richmond Tigers and the Sydney Swans were disgraceful, scoring the second-lowest total amount of goals for a game in AFL history.
In the last game of the round, the Carlton Blues turned on an amazing performance with the Eddie Betts “razzle-dazzle show”, destroying the Western Bulldogs 103 to 51 to claw their way into the top eight on the ladder.
Like everyone else who loves footy, I understand that the league has to please its media partners by seeding the best games for prime-time TV, but a five-day turnaround for matches?
Mark my words, player injury lists will become longer as the season goes on.
Round 7 will kick off on Thursday with Geelong playing the Magpies at Optus Stadium in Perth.
The Cats impressed when they defeated Brisbane last week, but I think Collingwood are the better side in many ways, even with injuries.
That said, on-form Geelong should win by a cat’s whisker of less than six points.
Friday night footy will be a humdinger as Essendon will aim to keep their winning streak intact by going all out to beat the Bulldogs, who virtually dropped the ball against the Blues last Sunday.
Mind you, the Doggies will want retribution and they will run out very rabid to turn the tide.
It will be an arm wrestle, but I believe the Dogs will be good enough to prevail.
On Saturday, the Giants and the Lions will meet at the GWS Stadium.
Both sides are desperate for a win and both are very fast teams.
The side that holds their wad together will be the ultimate winner – you could toss a coin for this one, but for argument’s sake, Brisbane may come out on top.
Sydney will take on the Suns at the SCG.
After last week, there are too many star player injuries in the Swans’ camp to ignore, so the Suns should take this one out!
Richmond will go up against North Melbourne at Metricon, with both sides riddled with injuries.
The Tigers are marginally better than the Kangaroos, so even with depleted stocks, they should manage a decent score.
On Sunday, Carlton will play Port Adelaide at the Gabba.
These sides are closer together in terms of ability than their ladder positions suggest.
It will come down to the weather: if it rains, neither side will benefit from their tall men and then it will depend on who has the better midfielders; if it’s a sunny or cloudy warm day, it will be a very entertaining high-scoring game.
The Blues are on a roll and should win again.
Hawthorn and Melbourne will play at the Giants Stadium.
Whichever side loses can forget about finals aspirations.
I’m tipping Hawthorn only because of their coach, Alastair Clarkson.
The Dockers and West Coast will meet in the WA derby.
It’s been five years since Freo defeated their local rivals in the derby.
Both sides aren’t playing the best this year, but after a recent form adjustment by the Eagles, I don’t see the Dockers worrying West Coast out of victory.
In the last game of the round, Adelaide will take on the Saints on Monday evening at Adelaide Oval.
It’ll be a wake-up game for both teams.
After six losses in a row, Adelaide need to win this one at home to salvage some dignity.
On the other hand, St Kilda have to erase last week’s debacle and win if they want to stay in reach of a premiership opportunity.
I pick the Saints to win a competitive game of footy, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t!
2020 AFL SEASON ROUND 7 TIPS
Geelong Cats
Western Bulldogs
Brisbane Lions
Gold Coast Suns
Richmond Tigers
Carlton Blues
Hawthorn Hawks
West Coast Eagles
St Kilda Saints
Progressive tip score: 31
