A tipster's guide to round 17 of the AFL

The race for the eight is heating right up, with a slew of teams needing to rack up a win this round if they want to stay in the hunt for finals footy.

Further up the ladder, the Hawks have well and truly justified their tag as favourites in the last couple of weeks, but can the Eagles catch them? Here’s our preview of round 17.

Carlton v Hawthorn

Can anyone stop the rampant Hawks? After belting two premiership rivals in successive weeks, Hawthorn are in ominous form. The Blues would love a win as skipper Mark Murphy plays his 200th, but as $14.00 outsiders, the only question here will be how long the Blues can hold on before it starts to get ugly.

Greater Western Sydney v Geelong

Expect a close one here. The young Giants have racked up a couple of wins in a row but face a much sterner test this week. Geelong will receive a huge boost with the return of suspended captain, Joel Selwood, and appear great value at $2.00. The Cats veterans to get them over the line here in a push for a finals spot.

Adelaide v Gold Coast

The Crows have shown tremendous character in the last few weeks and are coming off the back of a stirring win against their cross-town rivals. The Suns could well have a couple of handy inclusions in Harley Bennell and Charlie Dixon but will be in for a hard time regardless. At $1.28, Adelaide should take the chocolates without too much trouble.

Richmond v Fremantle

Richmond have really found some form over the middle stretch, winning eight of their last nine games - including a 27-point victory over Fremantle in round 10. Handball errors and turnovers might present a bit of a worry here though, with the top-placed Dockers looking to clinch a nail-biter at $1.95.

Essendon v Port Adelaide

Port have the overall quality and individual match-winners to turn around a poor record in the last five weeks, while the struggling Bombers - who have only managed to scrape home against the Demons from their last six games - continue to waste their opportunities. The Power played some quality football last week against the Crows in a narrow loss and at $1.53, should prove too much for Essendon to handle.

Brisbane v North Melbourne

Brisbane are in desperate need of a win after last week’s poor showing against fellow strugglers, Melbourne. Despite North being winless at the Gabba since 2005, Boomer Harvey’s milestone 400th coupled with some free-scoring footy in recent weeks, may well see the Kangaroos put the 21.5 point line in danger.

Western Bulldogs v Collingwood

The Bulldogs have been the surprise packet of 2015, defying critics to be sitting pretty in 6th. The loss of Travis Cloak will hurt the Pies, who have been found-out a little bit in recent weeks. At $2.40 the Bulldogs might well represent the best value of the round.

Melbourne v St Kilda

The Dees penciled-in their fifth win of the season last week, taking them past their total of four wins for the entirety of last year and putting them on equal footing with the Saints. The rise of Jesse Hogan has been instrumental in their progress, but the Saints are on the way up too. Despite losing in their last two games, the six unanswered goals St Kilda booted in the final term should give them the confidence to get the job done this week. At $1.83, the saints to edge it in another close one.

West Coast v Sydney

A big test for the in form and ever-improving Eagles this week. The Swans were a huge let-down against the reigning premiers last round and will be looking to bounce back to prove they’ve still got what it takes. The trip across to Perth is never easy though, and without Kurt Tippett, the 8.5 point line might not be enough to save the Swans.

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