Had the fixture still featured a ''rivalry round'', this would have been it, Carlton and Richmond harbouring a healthy hatred of each other since the late 1960s, Essendon and Hawthorn sparring since the mid-1980s, Sydney and Collingwood recent top-order foes, and no words are required for the battle of the two South Australian teams.

But funnily enough, they could also rightly have labelled this weekend the ''bogey round'', because three of those four games, and arguably the SA ''Showdown'', feature one side that has over a considerable period now struggled with its opponent.

Richmond’s issues with Carlton have been well-documented in the lead-up to Thursday night’s clash at the MCG. The numbers certainly say plenty, the Tigers having beaten the Blues just once in their past 12 encounters, and by only a kick at that.

Essendon goes into Friday night’s big game against the reigning premier having beaten the Hawks only three times in their past 13 meetings, and losing the past three by a combined 215 points.

Sydney will be trying, like the Magpies, to get its first win on the board for 2014. But it will also be trying to unpick the stranglehold the Pies have had over the Swans, winning 12 of the last 14 games between the clubs, and eight of nine at ANZ Stadium, where this one will also be played.

Adelaide’s problem with its bitter rival Port Adelaide isn’t quite that bad. But the Crows have still won just three of the past eight clashes, and last time managed to blow a 20-point lead held two minutes into time-on of the final term.

Coaches understandably hate being seen to consider history against particular opponents as holding any relevance to the upcoming match, but the longer the results are lopsided the harder becomes that task, as Richmond coach Damien Hardwick found on Tuesday when he spent much of his news conference addressing the Tigers’ historical problems with the Blues.

''Things have let us down that haven’t normally let us down,'' he surmised. ''Last year, our defensive 50 contested ball, we were No. 1 in the AFL before the game and had a really bad day. The game before with our clearances, which once again were a strength, we had a really bad day there.

''So it’s not as if you can look at both games and say it was the same reasons. They were both different. So do you look at it from an overall perspective and work on those things? Of course you do.'' Harder to work on in a scenario like this, however, is the danger of the ''here we go again'' factor playing on Tiger minds should Carlton once again have them in trouble.

Essendon’s average losing margin of nearly 72 points in its last three losses to Hawthorn has been far more about structure than mind games, however, and not necessarily to do with the big forwards, now-departed Lance Franklin and Jarryd Roughead. Indeed, Franklin only played in the last of those three games, while ''Roughy'' missed one and wasn’t a huge factor in the other two.

What was decisive was the Hawks’ ability to pick their way through Essendon’s less-than-resolute defences. Midfield general Sam Mitchell polled Brownlow Medal votes in each of those games, but running defenders like Grant Birchall and Matt Suckling have also been able to rack up the touches and generate a host of scoring opportunities.

You can bet your life Essendon coach Mark Thompson and his crew will be onto that one. Whether they have the capacity to stop it happening yet again could be another issue.

And Sydney’s Collingwood problem? Generally, it’s been about the Pies being able to match the Swans at their beloved contested ball. But ANZ Stadium, as the record shows, has also been a significant factor.

The narrow ground doesn’t suit the Sydney midfielders, who like to spread wide at the stoppages. The Magpies, historically, have not only been able to win the contests, but even nullify the ones they lose by having plenty of players positioned outside the congestion, making it harder for the Swans’ runners, like Kieren Jack, Dan Hannebery and Lewis Jetta, to break away.

In its string of a dozen wins over Sydney stretching back to 2006, Collingwood has only twice allowed the Swans more than 11 goals. A clear case of denial of supply denying scoring opportunity.

Sydney has gradually learnt how to handle the squeeze, and managed to win two of the past three games between the clubs. But, like Richmond and Essendon this week, the Swans know against this particular opponent, knowledge is only half the battle. And that in the case of a bogey team, history doesn’t often lie.