AFL Premiership Season Round 8 Part 2 of 3
Schedule Preview & Breakdown
Gold Coast Suns v Melbourne at the Gabba Saturday 12th May
The Gold Coast Suns have a rare "home" game in QLD, albeit at the Lions Gabba ground.
Still, the Suns will appreciate being back in their home state after travelling far and wide this season as they await Metricon Stadium to become available for use again.
Despite all the travelling the Suns have won a respectable 3 matches so far this season and gave the Dogs a real scare in Ballarat last week despite being without Co-Captains Lynch and May.
The Suns will miss Lynch again but should regain May and they will need him as they are facing a lot tougher test this week against a red hot Hogan led Demons.
Melbourne have won the last 5 meetings between the two sides and the Gabba will hold no fears for them after they toughed out a gallant Lions there earlier this season.
The Demons were very professional in their dismantling of the Saints last week in what was a real danger game.
Brayshaw is finally playing the football his high draft pick hinted he could and he is part of a powerful midfield unit led by arguably the most dominant Ruck in the competition in Max Gawn.
The Suns possess and in-form Ruckman themselves in Witts who has been brilliant this season, but their midfield does not have enough weapons to go with the Dee's extreme depth in that part of the ground.
It will be interesting to see what strategy Dew goes with, I suspect Holman and Touk Miller to get some special run with assignments on the weekend.
Stopping all the Demons scoring options will also be giving Dew headaches this week but he has pulled one masterstroke by sending former high draft pick Ah Chee into defence.
Ah Chee's marking for his size has always been his best attribute and his agility is elite.
Ah Chee took some wonderful intercept marks down back against the Dogs and showed glimpses of the weapon he could become for the Suns.
The continued improvement of young players like Ah Chee will be the main focus for Dew this season but he is going to find himself simply out gunned some weeks and this week is one of them.
Prediction: I think the Demons will score heavily on the back of their midfield dominance in this one and win by 40+ points.
Western Bulldogs v Brisbane Lions at Etihad Stadium Saturday 12th May
This one may be a battle between 14th and 17th on the ladder but expect to be pleasantly surprised watching these two young teams run around in the Dome.
Both play fast free flowing football and despite their ladder positions both have shown some exciting signs.
The Dogs have more experience on their list than the Lions as evidenced by the fact they won the flag in 2016 but injuries to experienced players seem never ending.
With injuries to Adams, Morris, Libber, Wood, Picken, Dickson and the Bont in doubt again, expect to see the Dogs put out an even younger outfit than the Lions this weekend.
The Dogs have been fortunate to play Carlton and Gold Coast in the last 2 rounds which has allowed them to get some important wins but the Lions will see this as a great opportunity to get their first win of the year.
The young Lions were fantastic in that close loss against the Pies last week and Fagan described it as their best performance under his reign.
Zorko was back to his brilliant best, Beams was sublime and their young brigade of Berry, Taylor, Mcgluggage, Witherden, Hipwood, Bailey and Rayner all look like they will be elite players in the years to come.
Down back Gardiner continues to improve, Andrews is turning into an elite defender who's name deserves to start coming up in All Australian discussions and Reality TV "the Recruit" winner Eagles looks a real find with his marking power.
Whilst the young Lions are exciting, injuries have helped the Dogs uncover some young gems of their own.
Bailey Williams is enjoying his role down back this year and has pushed Biggs out of the side.
Mclean has taken his game to an elite level and Gowers has been a find up forward.
1st round draft pick Naughton has been fantastic, his marking is elite and his ball use is brilliant for a tall first year defender. Naughton v Hipwood will be a great watch this weekend if that match up eventuates.
The Dogs will be desperate for the Bont back as they are going to need all the midfield stars they can muster to shake off the Zorko & Beams led enthusiastic Lions midfield.
Whilst I expect Macrae and Hunter to rack up the possessions, I just don't think the Dogs are going to have enough weapons to keep up with the fast young Lions team and I smell an upset brewing here.
Prediction: I am tipping Charlie Cameron to get off the leash up forward for the Lions and help them kick a winning score for the first time this season. Brisbane by 17 points
Port Adelaide v Adelaide at Adelaide Oval, Saturday 12th May
The first South Australian derby of the year is up and what a cracker this will be.
The Crows despite their shocking run of injuries have been great this year and sit 3rd on the ladder.
The Power are just out of the 8 on percentage but would of expected more thus far after their off season shopping spree.
These derby match ups are usually 50/50 encounters regardless of ladder positions but I think the Crows are made of a bit stronger stuff than Port.
Looking at the two sides, the Crows firstly are coming off a great 3 weeks that's seen them beat Sydney at the SCG, then comprehensively seeing off the Suns and Carlton.
The Crows will regain their midfield general in Rory Sloane this week and Captain Tex is also a chance to be back.
In a year where kicking across the whole league has been much maligned the Crows are as efficient as ever.
The Crows kicking skills are superior to most opposition teams they meet and it allows them to cut through even the best zone defences. Jenkins will testify to this as he regularly enjoys those out the back goals.
The Crows defence is also rock solid and has only conceded 100+ points once so far this season.
The Power have looked great at some stages this season and awful at other times.
Last week was another example of bad Port where apart from a 10 minute patch in the 3rd, they barely put up any fight against a weakened Eagles team that lost Shuey early.
Of the off-season recruits Watts has had his moments, Motlop has been underwhelming and Rockliffe has been terrible. Barry also seems to of run out of puff after starting so promisingly.
Port do possess a great midfield with the strength on the inside of Wines, two-way running of Ebert & Polec and the class of Gray.
Ryder back is a huge positive and Dickson up forward continues to threaten to be great.
While the Power midfield certainly has the potential to win or break even against the Crows on ball stars of Gibbs, Sloane, Matt Crouch & Co, the Power just seem to have too many other passengers around the ground.
The Crows as a unit are very even, fierce at the ball and all work very hard for each other.
I can see this contest being close for 3 maybe even 3 and a half quarters, but in the end the hard working, two way running of the Crows combined with their superior foot skills will be too much for the Power.
Prediction Adelaide by 20 points
Check back in later today for the last 3 previews for this round of the AFL :)
If you missed part 1 of this 3 part preview just click here to view
Author: @o07
Editor: @liberty-minded
© Copyright 2018 by BRO Sports® Network