We may just have six games this week but each game promised to produce some intriguing results.

Ahead of Round 14, we look at the big questions we have from this week’s games.

Brisbane v St Kilda

Has Brisbane turned the corner?

After a disappointing first half to the season, Brisbane came back from their bye rejuvenated and refreshed, comprehensively beating the Bulldogs by 43 points.

What would be most pleasing for the Lions is that some of their most important players regained some much-needed form with Harris Andrews having nine intercepts, Lachie Neale recording 38 disposals including 10 clearances and Eric Hipwood kicking six goals up forward.

We saw what GWS and Carlton did last year as they made preliminary finals after slow starts to the season and based on last week’s form, there is no reason why Brisbane cannot do the same.

The Lions showed glimpses of their 2023 best against the Dogs, soundly beating them at clearance and contested possessions with Neale returning to his dual Brownlow best.

This week, we will see whether the Lions have truly returned back as they come up against the Saints, who whilst they have won their last two games, should easily be taken care of.

A professional performance against the Saints should make Lions fans hopeful that a rise up the ladder can indeed eventuate.

Western Bulldogs v Fremantle

Can the Dockers continue from before the bye?

Fremantle headed into their bye last week with the best possible result, thumping Melbourne by 92 points in Round 12.

For now, the Dockers sit inside the eight and they would dearly hope they could use their result from the Alice as a springboard for the second half of the season.

In 2024, Fremantle have been good in patches without quite putting it all together consistently.

They have a great chance to enhance their legitimacy as a team when they come up against the Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium this week.

Whilst it’s difficult to get a read on the Bulldogs, they had a disappointing loss to Brisbane last week and therefore, the Dockers would fancy their chances.

The Bulldogs midfield was soundly beaten by the Lions and the on-ball brigade of Brayshaw, Serong and Young, who have been in great form so far this year, would be hoping to do the same.

Fremantle have been good so far in 2024, and Justin Longmuir would hope that they can carry on their stellar form against Melbourne into the second half of the season, starting off with a very winnable game against the Dogs.

Richmond v Hawthorn

What can Richmond produce in Dusty’s 300th?

Whilst 2024 has been a difficult season for Richmond, the mood around Punt Road must be jovial this week as they are not only coming off a gutsy win in Adelaide against the Crows, but they are also celebrating the magical 300 game milestone for one of their all-time greats in Dusty Martin.

The best Tiger of the modern era, Dusty’s knack for performing in the big games has led Richmond to their premiership dynasty and Adam Yze would hope his team can do him justice against Hawthorn.

Whilst this is a very difficult game with Hawthorn one of the form teams in the competition, winning six out of their last eight games, Richmond will be fired up for this contest in front of what will be a massive MCG crowd.

We saw Dusty already roll back the clock with a very good performance in the Dreamtime game and every football fan would surely be hoping for another vintage performance from the champion.

With the Tigers regaining some players and some competitiveness, we can expect an almighty celebration and effort from the Tigers to honour the three-time Norm Smith medalist.

Adelaide v Sydney

What does Adelaide do with their rucks?

Before their shock loss to Richmond last week, Matthew Nicks made the surprise call to drop ruckman Reilly O’Brien and play the very inexperienced Kieren Strachan.

Strachan battled valiantly but had to be subbed off at three-quarter time with a groin injury.

The result was a major vulnerability in the ruck, exploited by Richmond’s captain Toby Nankervis who dominated the hitouts and led the Tigers to win the clearance battle (+5).

The decision to drop O’Brien itself was a strange one given the week before in the disappointing loss against Hawthorn, he was one of the Crows’ better players.

With Strachan’s inexperience left bare for all to see, O’Brien will likely return so it will be interesting to see how he responds on the centre of the ground.

The Crows are facing the best team of 2024 so far in Sydney whose new ruckman Brodie Grundy has only strengthened their already powerful and explosive midfield.

For Adelaide to at least salvage some pride, they need their onballers to get back to their work and their best and fairest ruckman from 2020 will be central to that mission.

North Melbourne v Collingwood

Can Simpkin and Davies-Uniacke continue their good performances?

One of the major reasons behind North breaking through with their first win of the season last week against West Coast was the leadership shown by their two leading midfielders Jy Simpkin and Luke Davies-Uniacke.

Whilst Davies-Uniacke had 26 disposals and had some really important moments in the last quarter, Simpkin stepped up when it mattered, kicking two important last-quarter goals along with 28 disposals.

Both Simpkin and Davies-Uniacke haven’t had the best of seasons to date, partially explaining North’s dismal season up until the West Coast game.

Their midfield leaders stepping up underlines how important the duo is in leading the young brigade of North onballers such as Harry Sheezel, George Wardlaw and Tristan Xerri to be competitive in games and challenging oppositions.

With both players showing a return to form, it will be interesting to see if they can maintain this form for the back half of the season, starting off against Collingwood.

Whilst it’ll be difficult to actually defeat the reigning premiers, if Simpkin and Davies-Uniacke can replicate the same form, they will definitely challenge the injury-hit Magpies on Sunday afternoon.

GWS Giants v Port Adelaide

What has happened to the GWS scoring?

One of the notable trends from GWS’s struggles of late has been their lack of potency up forward. In their first seven games of the season, the dynamic forward line of Jesse Hogan, Jake Riccardi, Callum Brown, Toby Greene, Brent Daniels and the like looked unstoppable, averaging more than 100 points per game as they carved up opposition defences.

However, the forward line has struggled of late, only averaging 66.2 points per game. Their forward struggles were particularly exemplified last week against Hawthorn.

The tall forward trio of Hogan, Brown and Riccardi only kicked two goals between them as the Giants were reliant on four goals from midfielder Xavier O’Halloran to get close to the Hawks.

As such, this week’s game against Port is crucial and could be the tonic the Giants forwards need.

The Power’s defensive woes have been well documented and were plainly evident when they were beaten by Carlton before their bye.

The Giants would want to take advantage of this vulnerable Port defence if they are to not just win but inject life back into their season and regain their form from the start of the season.