Most of the Round 9 games proved to be close-run affairs last week but there were exceptions with old Coast Suns being swamped by Brisbane by 73 points last Saturday being the most noteworthy.

Geelong overcame a persistent but inaccurate St Kilda to win by 21 points at the Marvel Stadium last Friday. At the SCG the following, Sydney Swans beat Collingwood by 30 points in a low-scoring game.

North Melbourne ground out their first victory of the year when it managed to beat Hawthorn by seven points. Richmond were lucky to beat GWS Giants by four points at the MCG with help from a player who should have been stood down pending a misconduct inquiry. The Bulldogs beat another premiership favourite, Port Adelaide, by 19 points.

In a thriller at the Marvel, Essendon narrowly beat Fremantle by seven points. Melbourne kept their undefeated run going when they beat an injury-prone Carlton by 26 points. In Perth, the West Coast Eagles defeated the Adelaide Crows by five goals.

There are a number of teams with more than eight players out with medium- to long-term injuries.

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Western Bulldogs’ Easton Wood was a high-profile injury last weekend. Carlton not only lost the game to Melbourne but also David Cuningham who went down injured in the first minute of the game with an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury that could end his season. Harry McKay went off with an injured shoulder.

Darcy Gardner of the Brisbane Lions may miss the rest of the season with a shoulder injury while teammate Ryan Lester could be out for three weeks with a hamstring problem. The GWS Giant Toby Greene’s shoulder injury could see him out for four weeks.

North Melbourne’s Tyrran Thomas copped a week off for striking the Hawks’ Changkuoth Jiath while a number of low-level skirmishes in the GWS v Richmond game were punished with fines.

This week’s Round 10 games kicks off at the Gabba in as Brisbane host Richmond on Friday night. On Saturday, at the MCG, Carlton face Hawthorn. Geelong play host to Gold Coast at the Cattery. The Adelaide Crows will try to dent on Melbourne’s unbeaten run at the Adelaide Oval. In the evening, the Western Bulldogs face St Kilda’s at Marvel Stadium and over at the Optus Stadium in Perth the Fremantle Dockers take on Sydney Swans.

On Sunday afternoon, GWS Giants host the in-form West Coast Eagles without Toby Green. Collingwood face Port Adelaide at the MCG and later, at the Marvel Stadium, Essendon take on North Melbourne.

Fiv Antoniou’s tips to win in Round 10 are Richmond, Carlton, Geelong, Melbourne, Bulldogs, Fremantle, West Coast, Port Adelaide, Essendon.