Round 18 of the 2023 AFL season beings at the SCG on Thursday night with the Sydney Swans playing hosts to the Western Bulldogs. It’s an important fixture for both sides, so you can expect intensity levels to be high for this encounter. As always, we bring you our full preview, best bet, and Same Game Multi below.
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AFL Round 18 Preview & Betting Tips
Sydney vs Western Bulldogs
Thursday 7:20pm AEST, July 13th, SCG
We’ve got a cracking contest on our hands to get AFL Round 18 underway, with the Sydney Swans welcoming the Western Bulldogs to the SCG on Thursday night. Both clubs have been involved in a number of close battles in recent weeks and the current odds indicate this match could go right down to the wire as well.
Sydney’s finals chances took a massive hit in their recent loss against the Tigers, and their hopes of playing in September are now hanging by a thread. Even more disappointing was the fact they led by as much as 26 points during the second quarter and had a number of chances to almost put the game beyond reach.
On the back of their recent loss, the Swans now find themselves down in 15th spot on the ladder with a 6-1-9 record. They have seven matches remaining in the home and away season and will probably have to go a perfect 7-0 to finish inside the top eight.
Similarly, the Western Bulldogs lost their most recent clash despite getting away to a fast start. They kicked the opening three goals of the match against the ladder-leading Magpies in Round 17, but were unable to hold up defensively when momentum went against them and eventually fell by two goals.
The Bulldogs have now lost their past four matches against sides currently in the top eight which doesn’t bode well for their chances of success if they are to indeed make the finals. As it stands, they sit in seventh spot on the ladder but are only four points ahead of the chasing pack that is led by the Crows and the Giants.
Although it feels as though the Swans have been more competitive of late, the fact of the matter is they’ve won only four of their last 14 matches. Furthermore, they’ve only won two of their last six matches on their home deck which was a fortress only 12 months ago.
In contrast, the Bulldogs have saluted in nine of their last 14 matches and have found success in four of their last five away matches. They clearly don’t mind getting away from Marvel Stadium and that’s important to note considering they have only three more matches there in the home and away season.
With the Swans currently in a rut and belief at an all-time low in season 2023, I’m surprised to see them listed as favourites in this matchup. At best, I have the Swans as a 45% chance of winning this match, which clearly indicates there’s some value in the Bulldogs H2H market. With that said, I’ll be backing them to win for a smallish 1.5 Units stake.
Western Bulldogs to Win
$2.28 (1.5 Units)
Same Game Multi
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Cody Weightman 2+ Goals – He’s in fantastic form with 3+ goals in each of his last four appearances. Keen to ride the hot hand and back him in for multiple goals here.
Tom Liberatore 25+ Disposals – Was quiet last weekend but has collected 25+ disposals in nine of his last 11 games. He remains great value to reach this mark again.
Errol Gulden 25+ Disposals – Errol has had four straight games of 25+ disposals. He’s going from strength to strength and will be heavily involved again on Thursday night.
