I HAVE no idea how Josh Fraser prepares for a game but if I was in his camp this week I'd be advising him to employ a technique we used to great effect at North Melbourne during our run of success in the 1990s.

My old teammate Wayne Carey was almost fanatical about sitting down and visualising every game he was about to play – in the day or so before it – and most of us did likewise.

Rather than dream about taking the big mark or kicking the impossible goal – things he did routinely every week – Wayne would think of the hard slog he was about to endure over two hours in the toughest footy competition in Australia.

Things like being scragged, tackled and smashed by three opponents every time he went near the ball.

When all those things did happen to him, he expected it and he was prepared for it.

That's what Josh needs to do. After being belted by every man and his dog over the past few days, he's got to know his North Melbourne opponents will be trying to work him over tonight.

He should be thinking about that in the lead-up to the game.

Then, as soon as the game starts, he's got to attack his first contest with ferocious aggression and send a message to his opponents – and his knockers – that he's ready for business.

He might stand under a pack and take a great mark but it's more likely he'll get smashed. But if he's prepared for the game in the right manner he'll be ready for it.

It's amazing how much you can take from being hammered in a contest early in the game. Once you run around and realise that the pain does go away you can almost feel bulletproof.

Fraser isn't the only one under the pump tonight – there will be a few North boys stinging after their effort last week. With so many people with points to prove, I really can't split these teams.

Call me brave – or more likely, accuse me of sitting on the fence – but I'm tipping a draw here.

Hawthorn v Carlton
The Saturday match I'm looking forward to most is the Hawthorn-Carlton clash at the MCG. I was seduced a bit by the Blues in the first couple of rounds and was disappointed by their efforts against Essendon and the Sydney Swans in rounds three and four.

They hit back hard last week against the Doggies and looked every bit the finals contender.

I have my doubts they can beat Hawthorn though. The Hawks are slowly but surely piecing their best team back together after a horror start to the year injury-wise and appear poised to get their season back on track.

They'll take plenty from that grinding win over the Eagles last week. Sometimes it's that type of victory that can spark a team to greater heights. I reckon the Hawks are ready to roll and they'll be too good for the Blues.

Western Bulldogs v St Kilda
This is the game of the round for me. I'm really keen to see how the Dogs deal with the relentless pressure the Saints will put on them under.

In my last couple of years at the Roos we enjoyed a pretty good record against the Bulldogs. They were a great running side – something that's still true today – so Dean Laidley instructed us to make them kick the ball at every opportunity.

We held off them when they had the ball, played man-on-man footy and put lots of pressure from behind.

That had a two-fold effect. First, it meant they couldn't get their run and linking game going at any stage and second, it forced them to kick long to a contest in their forward line.

As we all know, the Dogs aren't exactly blessed with tall, marking targets up front, so we were able to repel their forward thrusts more often than not.

The Saints' defensive tactics are as good as any I've seen at the moment, and with Nick Riewoldt and Lenny Hayes in such great form, I can't see them falling in this one.

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.