By Ronny Lerner
Paying tribute to our Indigenous stars
The Indigenous round is becoming bigger and bigger every season and this year is no exception with the weekend officially dedicated to Sir Douglas Nicholls – former Fitzroy wingman, Governor of South Australia and campaigner for reconciliation. Every team will wear their own unique guernsey adorned with Aboriginal art and the centrepiece of the round takes place on Saturday night when Essendon and Richmond do battle in the annual Dreamtime at the MCG game. The round serves as a great vehicle for the footy community to not only use as a way to pay tribute to the enormous contribution Indigenous players have made to the game but also recognise their rich culture and heritage.
GWS aiming to break Adelaide hoodoo
One of the games of the round takes place at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night when the Crows host the Giants. GWS have failed to win a game in Adelaide from four attempts. The league's newest team managed to break their Perth hoodoo this year against Fremantle, and this encounter with Adelaide serves as another test of their credentials. But given the winless Dockers remain rooted to the foot of the ladder, a win over the Crows would carry more weight and further solidify the Giants' status as a premiership contender.
Dockers on the verge of unwanted slice of history
It's no secret that Fremantle have experienced one of the biggest falls from grace in the history of the game, having gone from preliminary finalists to wooden-spoon fancies within the space of six months. But another loss for the Dockers on Saturday against St Kilda will put an exclamation mark on their dramatic capitulation. If Freo go 0-10, they will become only the second team in history to lose their first 10 games a year after finishing in the top four and the first team to do so since Footscray in 1938.
Something in the water at Princes Park?
Casboult has been named to return two weeks after initially being diagnosed with a fractured tibia.Credit: Getty Images
Do not adjust your sets, Carlton have named Levi Casboult and Matthew Kreuzer this week to face Geelong! Yes, they're only in the squad of 25 at the moment, but that in itself is an incredible achievement given the initial diagnosis both players received a fortnight ago. Casboult was due to miss 6-8 weeks with a fractured leg and Kreuzer was set for a month on the sidelines after undergoing knee surgery. But the pair have made miraculous recoveries, with recent scans showing Casboult's fracture was actually a depression, and would give the Blues a much-needed boost in personnel against the Cats on the rebound following their shock loss to Collingwood.
500 up for Woosha
It will be a typically understated acknowledgement for Worsfold's milestone. Credit: Michael Dodge
When John Worsfold heads to the coaches' box at the MCG on Saturday night, he will become just the 18th person in VFL/AFL history to play and coach 500 league games. Most of the Essendon coach's exploits were achieved at West Coast, where he is a club immortal. Having played 209 games and captained the Eagles to their first two premierships, he then took over the coaching reins and guided them to their third, and last, flag in 2006. It's little wonder, then, that West Coast's best-and-fairest award is named after him. After 281 games as Eagles coach, he resigned in 2013 before re-entering the fray this year with the beleaguered Bombers.
Are the Pies back?
The Magpie celebrate after their round nine victory over the Cats.
Was Collingwood's stunning victory against Geelong a one-off flash in the pan or have the Magpies turned the corner? We won't have to wait very long to get an answer as Nathan Buckley's men lock horns with another premiership contender in the form of the Western Bulldogs on Sunday at the MCG. The dashing Dogs present a formidable challenge for Collingwood, especially considering they are coming off a hard-fought loss against GWS. A win for the Pies would not only see them square their ledger at 5-5, but also gain legitimacy as a finals player.