‘Ballas’ 100

The in-form small forward of the AFL has chosen a great time to head into a milestone game. Ballantyne has been nothing short of sensational in the past month and is arguably playing as good as he ever has. While he would have loved to have celebrated game 100 in front of his beloved fans at Patersons Stadium, ‘Ballas’ is certain to give nothing less than he has done for his previous 99 games – 100 per cent.

Lyon v Roos

The good friends lock wits for the first time since Roos was senior coach at Sydney. Before that, Lyon had been an assistant coach in Roos’ premiership winning Swans of 2005. One thing’s certain in Darwin on Saturday – there will be an incredible bank of knowledge in the two coaching boxes as two of the best tacticians the game has ever seen do battle.

Darwin heat

It will be of no surprise to anyone that the weather forecast for Saturday’s game is 31 degrees maximum with a low of 19 degrees. The match will serve as a big test for both teams in the tough conditions. Perhaps in Freo’s favour is the fact it will have a seven-day break as opposed to Melbourne’s six.

Does Luke Mac return?

Ross Lyon has indicated the star defender is a big chance to return from a knee injury against the Demons. Alex Silvagni should also be available, so Freo have no shortage of tall timber to call on down back to play against Melbourne’s big forward line that could include the likes of Chris Dawes, Cam Pedersen and Max Gawn.

Defensive Demons

Under Roos, Melbourne has been significantly harder to score against than it was last year. It sits ninth overall in the points conceded column in 2014. It has only allowed 100 or more points in a match twice in 15 rounds this season, however the Demons have yet to crack triple figures on the offensive end. Expect a low scoring clash in Darwin on Saturday.