AFL round 4 preview

Port Adelaide has been boosted by the return of first-choice ruckman Matthew Lobbe for its Anzac Day AFL clash with Hawthorn.

Lobbe, 26, missed the first three matches of the season with a quad strain and will partner heralded recruit Paddy Ryder in the ruck for the first time.
Veteran onballer Kane Cornes earned a recall for Saturday night's highly anticipated clash at Adelaide Oval after he was rested for last week's thrilling win against North Melbourne.
Another great game this round and Port Adelaide will be very relieved after just securing their first points last week against Nth Melbourne. The Power and Hawks meet for the first time since their thrilling 2nd Preliminary Final in 2014 at the MCG; the Hawks just held on to win by three points. Hawthorn’s recent record against Port Adelaide is impressive winning six of the last seven matches; the Power’s only win in that time was in Round 10 last season by 14 points at Adelaide Oval. I’m tipping the Hawks here but not with a lot of confidence.
The Hawks made one change to the side who thumped the Western Bulldogs with Bradley Hill, who suffered a concussion in round two, replacing Jed Anderson.
Despite copping a knock to a shoulder last week, Cyril Rioli has been named for the rematch of last year's preliminary final thriller, won by Hawthorn by just three points.

Meanwhile, Taylor Adams has recovered from a foot injury and returns for Collingwood's blockbuster Anzac Day clash with Essendon at the MCG, with the Bombers bringing in Courtenay Dempsey and Will Hams.

David Zaharakis has been named, but remains in doubt with a knee problem.
Fremantle host Sydney in a mouth-watering match-up on Saturday night, with the Dockers including Tendai Mzungu and the Swans adding Nick Smith at the expense of Dean Towers.
First-round draft pick Blaine Boekhorst will make his AFL debut as Carlton look to cover the loss of Chris Judd to a back complaint.

St Kilda has also been significantly weakened for the New Zealand clash with Maverick Weller (calf) joining Nick Riewoldt and Leigh Montagna on the sidelines.

Richmond has been dealt a triple blow with Troy Chaplin (calf), Chris Newman (back) and Chris Knights (hamstring) all unavailable for the Friday night clash with Melbourne at the MCG. Melbourne are showing improvement this year without doubt and upset Richmond the last time the sides met; winning by 17 points in Round 9, 2014 at the MCG. Nathan Jones picked up the three Brownlow votes with 33 possessions. Prior to 2014 the Tigers had had the better of the Demons winning the previous four contests. Recent form would have to see Richmond winning here but I don’t think there will be much in it. Jack Riewoldt struck form with 4 goals last week in the Tigers big win over Brisbane and I expect him to play a big part in this game.
 Upgraded rookie Matt Arnot gets his chance to impress, with Nathan Drummond - who makes his AFL debut - and Matt McDonough also coming into the side who thumped Brisbane last week.
Former Dockers' midfielder Viv Michie replaces Sam Frost (toe) in a Demons side looking for their second win of the season.

Gold Coast coach Rodney Eade has swung the axe with talls Sam Day and Daniel Gorringe dropped for the Suns' encounter with GWS in Canberra. Charlie Dixon and Alex Sexton have been included as Eade looks for his first win at the helm.
North Melbourne's Jack Ziebell (bruised lung) and Brisbane skipper Tom Rockliff (ribs) have been included in extended squads for Sunday matches, but Ziebell will need to pass a late fitness test to play.
The Cats are only just going but would be happy getting the points last round. Jimmy Bartel a big loss! North Melbourne defeated Geelong in a thriller the last time the sides met; winning a knock-out Semi Final in 2014 at the MCG by six points, ending the Cats season. The Kangaroos are one of the few teams to have been competitive against the Cats in recent seasons, its three wins each since 2010. North Melbourne has struggled at Simonds Stadium recently losing their last five games and haven’t won in Geelong since Round 5, 2007. Again, not confident but will stick with the home side.
Geelong has named Mathew Stokes (achilles)and Tom Hawkins (family bereavement), but the club remains unsure if either will play against the Kangaroos.
The Western Bulldogs have been bolstered by the returns of Marcus Bontempelli, Matthew Boyd and Easton Wood ahead of Sunday's match against Adelaide.

Round 4

Date		Venue	Time
Fri 24 Apr 2015	Richmond v Melbourne	Melbourne Cricket Ground	7:50PM
Sat 25 Apr 2015	St Kilda v Carlton	Westpac Stadium	1:10PM
Sat 25 Apr 2015	Essendon v Collingwood	Melbourne Cricket Ground	2:40PM
Sat 25 Apr 2015	Greater Western Sydney v Gold Coast	StarTrack Oval	5:40PM
Sat 25 Apr 2015	Port Adelaide v Hawthorn	Adelaide Oval	7:10PM
Sat 25 Apr 2015	Fremantle v Sydney	Patersons Stadium	6:40PM
Sun 26 Apr 2015	Brisbane v West Coast	Gabba	1:10PM
Sun 26 Apr 2015	Geelong v North Melbourne	Simonds Stadium	3:20PM
Sun 26 Apr 2015	Western Bulldogs v Adelaide	Etihad Stadium	4:40PM