The keen Collingwood fan has correctly picked 38 winners out of 45 matches this year, putting him one game clear of about 210,000 people in the AFL's official competition (scroll down to see Stan's round 6 tips).

But despite being a member of the Magpies social club for more than 50 years and watching them play in 20 premierships - winning four - Gormley is not afraid to tip against the boys in black and white.

There's no sense in blindly choosing your own team, because if they had an average year you would lose 11 matches, he said.

Picking Adelaide over the Pies gave the retired HR manager an important win early in the season.

Aged 77, Gormley enters four different tipping competitions each week, including one with his former workplace.

The key to success is putting a bit of thought into it, Gormley said.

He starts early– with his wife Ruth, he will often make some initial picks for the next round at the end of a weekend's matches.

Gormley then checks which teams are considered favourites that week and reads the recommendations of expert tippers in the newspapers.

He talks to friends who are supporters of other clubs and discusses it with Ruth, herself a keen football fan.

The Deepdene man always waits for the teams to be announced, so he knows which players are in and which will miss out, then considers all the information and makes a call.

"Wait until the Friday if you can, that's pretty important stuff," he said.

"A bit of luck comes into it, but it's a gut feeling."

This year he has been emailing in his tips to his former workmates first, then entering the AFL's competition, and he said the opportunity to rethink his tips and tweak them may have contributed to his success.

Fremantle is his pick for the premiership, but Gormley said the Western Bulldogs' new coach, Luke Beveridge, and captain, Bob Murphy, had set them up for a good year.

He met Murphy once, at his great-grandson's school, and found him impressive.

"We had a good sense about the Western Bulldogs right from the start, you get a feeling for how a team's going to go," he said.

He also has a connection to the Gold Coast Suns, with one of his granddaughters, Jess, married to former player Campbell Brown.

When the finals approach, it's important to consider which teams are on a winning streak.

"It's a psychological thing, players really start believing in themselves,"

Stan Gormley's Round Six Tips

(Selections in capitals)

COLLINGWOOD v Geelong

"They've been tackling so hard."

NORTH MELBOURNE v Richmond

"An up-and-coming team."

WESTERN BULLDOGS v St Kilda

"I'm a fan of the doggies"

Greater Western Sydney v HAWTHORN

"Too strong."

Gold Coast v ADELAIDE

"The most difficult pick of the round."

SYDNEY v Melbourne

"No question, they'll be very angry about losing last week."

FREMANTLE v Essendon

"My pick for the premiership this year."

CARLTON v Brisbane

"The Lions are in disarray in my view."

West Coast v PORT ADELAIDE

"The second best team in the league."