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2018 AFLX Preview & Betting Tips

February 14th 2018, 3:41pm, By: andyrosos

Australian Rules Football will embark on its newest venture this weekend as the league introduce AFLX, a new, fast paced, exciting version of the game we all love! There are three different tournaments set to be run over the weekend in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney and we will give our preview and betting tips for all three below.

Adelaide – Thursday 15th of February

Port Adelaide, Adelaide, West Coast, Fremantle, Collingwood, Geelong

AFLX kicks off Thursday night with the Adelaide tournament taking place from 6.40pm. The teams from Adelaide and Perth along with Collingwood and Geelong will compete in the round robin format before the two winners from each pool will square off in the final from 9pm.

The squads for the night have been announced with some big names set to take part in Thursday’s games. Robbie Gray headlines the Port Adelaide list and will be accompanied by the pair of ex-Demon recruits Jack Trengove and Jack Watts to make for a dangerous looking Power outfit. Adelaide and West Coast look to have the squads with the least star power for Thursday night, with the likes of Jake Kelly, Andy Otten and Liam Duggan headlining their respective squads.

Geelong’s depth is on display here as they have named a bunch of players in their best 22 with Mitch Duncan, Daniel Menzel, Zach Guthrie, Mark Blicavs, Sam Menegola and Tom Hawkins all lining up.Collingwood have opted for youth with Steele Sidebottom set to lead a young brigade including Will Hoskin-Elliot, Tim Broomhead and Josh Thomas.

Going into a new format completely blind is always going to throw up some challenges when it comes to picking a winner. However, one thing that we think will win out in the new 7-on-7 format is pace and skill, which is why we love the Freo side selected here. Brandon Matera, Danyle Pearce, Michael Walters and Bradley Hill lead what should be an explosive line-up that should be able to run anyone off their feet. Freo will also be hungry to prove themselves after a lacklustre season last year. So we like them to take Thursday’s tournament.

TIP: Fremantle to win Adelaide competition - $4.50 at Sportsbet

 

Melbourne – Friday 16th of February

Essendon, St Kilda, North Melbourne, Carlton, Melbourne, Hawthorn

In intriguing battle in the second night of the AFLX as six Melbourne clubs square off at the Etihad Stadium. Essendon start as slight favourites for Saturday ngiht after naming a youthful and pacey squad including Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti, David Zaharakis, Darcy Parish and new recruit Adam Saad.

Hard to rule any team out before a ball has even been bounced but if we had to take one out of the mix based on squds on paper alone it would be Carlton. They have only named a few regular best 22 players in Caleb Marchbank and Jack Silvagni. Another team in the same boat is Hawthorn. Jack Gunston, Luke Breust and Liam Shiels will lead the way for the Hawks, while James Sicily with his combination of height, marking ability and agility on the ground could make him a great AFLX exponent.

Melbourne and North Melbourne have both named impressive squads, with over five regular best 22 players each. Shaun Higgins seems like the type of player that AFLX was built for, while Majak Daw is an excitement machine and could dominate given the number of one on ones he’ll get. In the Higgins mould, it’ll be Christian Petracca who could be the key for Melbourne, size, speed and skill are all factors he possesses which makes him extremely dangerous in the 7 on 7 format.

One team we love to win the Friday night competition, however, is St Kilda. Along with pace and skill like we mentioned above, we think a key factor to having a quality AFLX side could be the ability to win one on one contests. There will be no zoning off and two on ones in AFLX, which makes players like Tim Membrey and Mav Weller, who can win forward line duals using their big bodies very valuable. They have also named an extremely strong midfield all capable of winning one on one contests in Seb Ross, Jack Steele and Luke Dunstan. Pace may be an issue for the Saints but we like them regardless.

TIP: St Kilda to win Melbourne competition - $4.50 at Sportsbet

 

Sydney - Saturday 17th of February 

Sydney, Greater Western Sydney, Gold Coast, Brisbane, Western Bulldogs, Richmond

The 2017 AFL Premiers, Richmond, will face off against the Western Bulldogs plus the four northern teams in Saturday night's compeition in Sydney. The Tigers have named three players from their premiership team, with Dan Butler, Jason Costagna and Nathan Broad set to line-up. Richmond will also unveil their coveted 2017 draft pick Jack Higgins, who is said to be a ready made AFL prospect. 

All of the teams have named extremely young squads to compete in the AFLX, with GWS arguably naming the most experienced. Running machines Lachie Whitfield and Tom Scully will headline the Giants squad, while Adam Tomlinson and Harry Perryman are also key best 22 players in the squad. Cross town rivals Sydney have named a big squad for the competition, with some experienced names in Dane Rampe, Sam Reid, Harry Cunningham and Jake Lloyd all set to line up. 

Thursday's first event in Adelaide saw the Crows take the title, putting to bed our theory that pace and space will be the key in the seven man format. The key factor is probably just hunger. A lot of the more experienced players won't be taking the AFLX as seriously, and Adelaide were able to come out and win the firs tournament with arguably the least experienced squad. Youngsters will be looking to impress to raise their stock prices in the selection room, which is why we think Brisbane are a massive chance here. 

Apart from Daniel Rich, the majority of the Brisbane squad will be discussed at length in selection meetings this season, so they will be full of desire to prove themselves here. At $4.50 we think they are great value to take out the Sydney comeptition on Saturday.

TIP: Brisbane to win Sydney competition - $4.50 at Sportsbet

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