Gather round has come and gone, and what a round it was! The AFL Ladder starting to take shape and starting to show some trends. Round 6 brings with us some more exciting matchups, including two top 4 clashes which has a very enticing 2nd vs 3rd Anzac Day Clash on Tuesday afternoon. So, without further ado, let's get right into our Round 6 preview! In this blog, we'll be previewing every game of the round and providing some insight into what we might expect in the week ahead. What do you think Round 6 hold for us? Let us know who you agree with and who else you might have selected down below on all of our social channels twitter, facebook, instagram, discord.
Fremantle Dockers (11) V Western Bulldogs (14)
Friday 21st of April - 8:10pm AEST
The Dockers had to dig deep to get over the line against the Suns, while the Bulldogs fell short against the Power in Adelaide. Who can kick off Round 6 with their 3rd win of the season?
It’s been an overall poor start to the season for the Dockers, however the wheels have started to turn with 2 wins in the past 3 games. Unfortunately for those out there keeping tabs, their 2 wins have been over a depleted Eagles line-up and the Suns, who apart from beating the Cats (Yeah, shocked us too), are still 1-4 to start the year. In a positive for the Dockers, their midfield is firing, led by Caleb Serong, who put up another dominant effort with 37 disposals and 6 tackles in their win over the Suns.
The Bulldogs started the season with 2 losses, bouncing back with a strong win over the inaccurate Lions and a gutsy win over the Tigers, but couldn’t get the job done over Port Adelaide away. Standing up for the Dogs again was Tim English, who added another goal and 23 disposals to his increasingly impressive tally for 2023. He also had 27 hitouts, many of which were taken by Adam Treloar who racked up 35 disposals and 8 clearances.
Prediction:
A tough game with 2 balanced sides to kick off the round. Freo left it very late against the Suns, but they showed a lot of guts fighting the win out, and they can roll in to this week with some confidence back at home – Freo by 13 points
Luke Ryan – 120 GDS fantasy points
Port Adelaide Power (9) V West Coast Eagles (17)
Saturday 22nd of April - 1:45pm AEST
Back to back home games for Port could mean they roll on with the wins, but the Eagles haven’t rolled over against 2 formidable opponents in a row, can they do it again and force the upset?
Port just got over the line against Sydney, and then backed it up with a hometown Gather Round win against the Bulldogs. Prior to Round 5, Port had a very balanced side, and their wins came from gutsy team efforts rather than any standout players. Lucky for them, Round 6 came with a strong standout effort from Zak Butters, who had 32 disposals and a goal to his name.
The Eagles had another up-and-down game, where they seemingly flipped a switch at half-time and took it up to the Cats right up until the final siren. Leading the way was Jake Waterman in one of his best games so far, kicking 4 goals and amassing 20 disposals.
Prediction:
Around this time last year, Port put the Eagles to the sword in an 84 point demolition. While Port aren’t playing as well, they are a very strong opponent at home and should get the job done – Port by 37 points
Dan Houston – 110 GDS fantasy points
Greater Western Sydney Giants (12) V Brisbane Lions (8)
Saturday 22nd of April - 4:35pm AEST
GWS crawled over the line against the Hawks, while the Lions put the Roos to the sword, piling on their biggest score since Round 3 last year (which was 156 points, also against the Roos).
GWS just got the win over the Hawks, trading the lead in the 4th quarter until Jarman Impey came so close to handing the Hawks the win late with a 50m bomb being touched on the line to save the day. Another strong performance by Stephen Coniglio went a long way to making that happen, racking up 33 disposals and 9 tackles.
The Lions have been mighty impressive in the past 2 rounds, knocking over the Pies in good fashion at home, before treating the smallest AFL crowd since the COVID bubble to an absolute demolition job of the Roos. Lachie Neale was at his clinical best against the Roos, putting up 37 disposals and 13 clearances, meanwhile Joe Daniher got plenty of the footy up forward, kicking 5 goals with 18 disposals.
Prediction:
The Lions are in form, and the Giants are the next to succumb to their strong brand of footy – Lions by 46 points
Lachie Neale – 120 GDS fantasy points
Geelong Cats (10) V Sydney Swans (5)
Saturday 22nd of April - 7:25pm AEST 2 of the 2022 heavyweights go head to head, both searching for another win to keep their form rolling.
The Cats started their season 0-3, with a surprise loss to the Suns, which seemed to be the turning point of their poor start, with 2 more than solid wins against the Hawks and the Eagles. Interestingly, in both of those wins, only 1 half of each of those games was won by the Cats, despite the large margins. Against the Eagles, Jeremy Cameron continued on his dominant ways, racking up another 18 disposals and 4 goals, taking his season tally to 22 goals in 5 games.
The Swans were looking dominant after a 2-0 start to the season, but after a big loss to the Demons and a nail-biting loss to the Power, an air of doubt came over their credentials. They showed in Round 5 that their strong start to the season was no fluke with a win over the Tigers, putting them to the sword late to run away as 44 point winners. Tom Papley flexed his goal-kicking muscles kicking 6 goals (4 in the last quarter) with a strong 25 disposals to compliment it.
Prediction:
The Cats are on a roll, but this will be their toughest test since Round 1, and the Swans can catch the one-half Cats off guard – Sydney by 18 points
Chad Warner – 120 GDS fantasy points
Hawthorn Hawks (18) V Adelaide Crows (7)
Sunday 23rd of April - 1:10pm AEST
The Hawks fell agonisingly short against the Giants, while the Crows are on a 3-game win streak with each win getting more convincing than the last.
The Hawks are 1-4, with a singular win coming against the Roos in Round 3. Despite this, the Hawks have put some good football together and not all seems lost. In their close loss to the Giants, a trio of players achieved over 30 disposals in Worpel, Newcombe and Nash. The leader of these was James Worpel with 35 disposals, 7 tackles and 8 clearances.
Coming in to Round 5, some denied that the Crows were running hot. They put those haters to bed with a dominant win over the Blues, with many of their players demolishing their opponents around the oval. Rory Laird led the way for disposal with 37, while Jordan Dawson had 32 disposals, along with 9 tackles and 7 clearances. Up front, Darcy Fogarty had his kicking boots on, slotting 5 goals with an extra 2 goal assists to compliment it.
Prediction:
If the Hawks could put in a 4-quarter effort, this might be a closer game. But the Crows have been dominant of late, and the Hawks will struggle to stop that train from rolling on – Crows by 27 points
Jordan Dawson – 120 GDS fantasy points
Carlton Blues (4) V St Kilda Saints (1)
Sunday 23rd of April - 3:20pm AEST The first of the two top-4 clashes of the weekend, but with both teams coming off losses in Round 5.
Carlton had their first loss of the season in Round 5 to the Crows, after 3 close wins and a draw. While Carlton had 3 consecutive wins, the wheels fell off against the Crows, being dominated around the ground, but particularly by the in-form Crows midfield. Sam Walsh was the silver lining of their poor outing in Adelaide, getting 25 disposals, 7 tackles and a goal.
The Saints went in to Round 5 as the last undefeated team remaining, but couldn’t get the win against the Pies to keep the streak rolling. The Saints were down by 26 points with 8 minutes to go, but poured on the pressure late to bring it back to a 6-point margin at the death. Even in the loss, Brad Crouch continued his 2023 hot streak with 33 disposals and 2 goals, as well as 9 clearances.
Prediction:
This was shaping up to be a close contest, before the Blues disappointing performance in Round 5. Now, it looks like the Saints will be too strong – Saints by 21 points
Rowan Marshall – 110 GDS fantasy points
Gold Coast Suns (16) V North Melbourne Kangaroos (13)
Sunday 23rd of April - 4:40pm AEST
In their past 2 meetings, the Suns have dominated this matchup, with both wins over 60-point margins. Could they do it again, or could the Roos re-write the script?
The Suns are still 1-4, with their sole win coming against the Cats (Crazy, I know…) in Round 3. While their sole win came against strong opponents, it was backed up with a big loss against the Saints, and then they let their lead against the Dockers slip late in Round 5. Putting their best foot forward was the seasoned-campaigner in David Swallow, who racked up 3 goals and 20 disposals in a strong performance on the wing.
The Roos have had a steady decline since they started the season with a 2-0 record, ending with a 75 point loss to the Lions in Round 5. No matter how big the loss, young gun Harry Sheezel continues to impress, adding another 31 disposals and a goal to his already impressive AFL resume after only 5 games.
Prediction:
While it appears the Roos are sliding, the Suns are yet to show that they can dominate, and I believe Clarkson will have some tricks up his sleeve – Roos by 10 points
Luke Davies-Uniacke – 110 GDS fantasy points
Melbourne Demons (6) V Richmond Tigers (15)
Monday 24th of April - 7:20pm AEST
Are they dominant? Are they washed? All that we know, is we don’t know. Both of these teams fall into this category, as both have played well against tough opponents, and played poorly against worse opponents.
The Demons took a 3-1 record into their clash with the Bombers, with strong wins over the Dogs and the Swans against their name, only to come up short to an unconvincing Dons outfit by a decent 27-point margin. The Demons were behind from start to finish, but that didn’t stop Clayton Oliver from racking up a ridiculous 41 disposals and 9 clearances.
The Tigers looked good after Round 2, and with 2 close losses to follow, they looked like they might just get the win over the Swans in Round 5, before the lead blew out to an unflattering 44-point margin in the last quarter. While the result didn’t go their way, a trio of Tigers racked up a combined 101 disposals, led the way by Liam Baker, with Taranto and Hopper close behind, creating a silver lining for the Tigers in another loss.
Prediction:
While the Tigers will be looking to break their run of losses, the Demons have dominated this matchup in recent years, and should get back on the winners list in a close game – Demons by 12 points
Clayton Oliver – 130 GDS fantasy points
Collingwood Magpies (3) V Essendon Bombers (2)
Tuesday 25th of April - 3:20pm AEST
It has been 10 years since the last time that these 2 teams have been in an Anzac Day Clash with both sides in the top 8, not to mention both in the top 4. With the prospect of over 90 thousand fans packing out the MCG on Tuesday, this is shaping up to be an incredible battle.
The Pies have 4 wins to their name to start 2023, with their sole loss in Round 4 against the Lions. While they haven’t played their best footy in every quarter of every game, they have shown how damaging they can be at times, mostly with their gun midfield. Leading the league for disposals is Nick Daicos, who has 180 disposals in 5 games, an incredible start to the season for someone who is only 20 years of age. The leading chance for the Brownlow medal set a new benchmark in Round 5, racking up 42 disposals with a whopping 856 metres gained.
Meanwhile, the Bombers racked up their 4th win of the season against the Demons in Round 5, with an all the way win that highlighted the Bombers strong midfield and counter-attacking football abilities. The Dons midfield duo of Zach Merrett and Darcy Parish combined for 69 disposals and 10 clearances in their win over the Demons, while Sam Draper continued in his goal-kicking ways with another 3 goals for the season.
Prediction:
While the Dons have been playing well, barring a miracle at the tribunal, they will be without Zach Merrett to a 1-week dangerous tackle suspension, and they will need all the midfield firepower they can get against the Hot Pies – Pies by 7 points
Nick Daicos – 130 GDS fantasy points and the Anzac Medal for best on ground