The Fremantle Dockers and Geelong Cats will open their seasons at Domain Stadium, with Nat Fyfe and Patrick Dangerfield set to go head-to-head.
The Dockers had an average year in 2016, very average, winning only the four games and missing finals for the first time under Ross Lyon.
Just how far the Dockers can bounce back up this year is something of an unknown, but they do have Fyfe and Aaron Sandilands back in the mix.
They’ve also brought in four new recruits – Cam McCarthy, Brad Hill, Joel Hamling and Shane Kersten, all of them should bring something to the team.
Geelong on the other hand have the same combination in the middle that worked for them so well last year – Patrick Dangerfield and Joel Selwood, AKA Dangerwood.
That pairing took the Cats to a top-four finish in 2016 although they ultimately bowed out in the preliminary finals against Sydney.
Their big new recruit for the year is Zach Tuohy who joined the club from Carlton in a trade that saw a swap of some picks, and the Cats said goodbye to Billie Smedts.
Tuohy will debut for the Cats and draftees Tom Stewart and Brandan Parfitt also look likely to wear the hoops for the first time.
The Cats enter as the favourites, priced at $1.48 to win, but Fremantle have the home ground advantage which is often more important in Round 1 than it is in other weeks.
There’s definitely some serious upset potential in this match and Fremantle are $2.70 to win, or $3.40 to win by 1-39 points – that looks like good value.
Who will get more touches out of Nat Fyfe and Patrick Dangerfield? You can get on Fyfe at $1.72 to get 30 or more, or Dangerfield at $1.40 to do the same.