According to the MCG website, a crowd 90,000 is expected at the cathedral of Australian sport for the Carlton-Collingwood clash on Saturday afternoon.

There is tremendous anticipation about the clash. Apart from being a rare Saturday afternoon blockbuster, it represents the biggest of big tests for the Blues.

What has been a tremendous season for the Blues to date is starting to fray just that little bit. Losses in two of their last three matches to West Coast and the Western Bulldogs has had the experts scurrying to the fixture and drawing the conclusion that there might be a touch of the flat-track bully about Brett Ratten's team given that two wins against Sydney represents the sum total of their matches against the other teams in the final eight.

They go into Saturday's match a bit short sticked. With Michael Jamison and Jarrad Waite both sidelined, the Blues will be without two of their best key positional players. Granted, the Pies will still be missing Chris Dawes, but the Pies seem to cope better than most with significant changes to their structure.

More than a few Blues fans have looked towards Hawthorn with admiration as a side that has performed well this year despite a long and talented injury list. Some Carlton supporters would like to see their side cope just that little bit better with a few scrapes and bruises. So for that reason alone, Saturday is massive.

And as for the crowd, we're taking the under on a crowd of 90,000. Yes, every public seat is sold, but importantly, the MCC are still selling guest passes. That will mean lots of empty seats in the upper reaches of the Northern Stand and while we're all delighted to have a Saturday afternoon blockbuster, local footy, work and shopping will keep a few others away.

Still, it is a great piece of scheduling by the AFL and those of us lucky enough to be going are counting the hours till the opening bounce.

It is the biggest game of the round, to be sure, but not the only game of real importance. Essendon's resurgence has come as a surprise, but the Dons face a massive Friday night test in Adelaide at AAMI Park, where they have saluted only twice in their last 16 outings. There are those who suggest the Dons are defeated from the moment the ‘Fasten Seatbelt' sign is switched off a few minutes out of Tullamarine, but this is a week where the Dons really need to dig deep.

Saints-Eagles at Etihad on Saturday night is a big one. Your correspondent did his ladder predictor on the AFL website today and has the Saints finishing sixth. They seem to have regained their mojo and the Eagles are at their best when all their big guns are up and about. So Daniel Kerr's possible absence on the weekend could be the tipping point.

The Sunday twilight game at Etihad featuring North and the Bulldogs is also massive. The Roos were rated good things for the finals until Collingwood kept them to a paltry three goals last Sunday. Should they crash again to the Bulldogs, questions will be asked. By the way, the Dogs will also feature in this year's finals, at least according to my ladder predictor.

Melbourne remains in the finals mix, but ‘hosts' Port Adelaide in Darwin. There was an outcry from Richmond fans when their team dropped a ‘home' game at TIO Stadium earlier this season and while we're not sure Melbourne fans are capable of ‘outcry', there might be widespread ‘derision' (a much more Melbourne-type word) if the Demons drop this one as well against a side that wins when everyone least expects it.