It’s semi-final time in the 2014 AFL Finals! Two games and only two teams will keep their year alive, while two others will go back to the drawing board and start preparing for next year. Be sure to check out Before You Bet’s AFL Finals Week 2 preview and betting tips!
2014 AFL Finals – Week 2 Preview
The first semi-final of the week is a blockbuster Friday night clash at the MCG – Geelong Cats V. North Melbourne Kangaroos. When the bookies first listed this game they had Cats as heavy favourites. However, throughout the week key Cats’ ruck Hamish McIntosh was ruled out, along with superstar Steve Johnson and so the betting is much closer to even now. There has been a lot of talk during the week about the massive job Blicavs and Walker now have to replace McIntosh. They are going up against the A-class Todd Goldstein, so they will certainly need to step up.
The Cats were certainly flat against the Hawks last week, with none of their mid-tier players gelling like they have for most of the year. You would expect they won’t play like that again, not on this big stage and especially considering the belief they will have in beating North Melbourne – a feat they have managed to do twice this year. In fact, Geelong is the only top eight side that North Melbourne hasn’t defeated in 2014. If you look at the Kangaroo’s game as a whole against Essendon, they were only okay. Essendon’s mids only played half a game and their forward line was headed up by a teenager. Much has been said about the Cats relying too much on Tom Hawkins, but at least they have Tom Hawkins, whereas Essendon had no one. This game is not going to be anywhere near as easy as the Bombers game.
The Cats still have plenty of finals experience and the right sort of team to match up with the Roos. If the Cats can string together a slightly better half than we have come to see this year, then the Roos will find it very tough, regardless of how good they think they are late in the game.
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The other semi-final this weekend is on Saturday night at Patersons Stadium – Fremantle Dockers Vs. Port Adelaide Power. This could be a huge game and one that expends a lot of energy, making it hard for the winner of these teams to play Hawthorn next week. But that’s jumping ahead and obviously both the Power and the Dockers will be taking it one week at a time.
The Dockers were pretty solid against the Swans, keeping it close for three quarters. That was on the road too, whereas Ross Lyon and his Dockers will be happy to have this game at home. The Dockers really dominated the clearances and the contested ball against the Swans and they will need to do the same against a running Power outfit on Saturday night. The Dockers won’t be happy to have an injury cloud over Michael Barlow and even less excited to find Hayden Ballantyne adding to their injury woes.
A lot has been said about the Power’s efforts against Richmond last week. There is no doubting that they played a complete game of football, but let’s not sugar-coat how bad the Tigers were. They just didn’t show up. The Dockers will be another story all together. The Power will take some solace in the fact they are pretty much fielding their best 22 players and at the very least, will take plenty of confidence out of that performance against the Tigers.
There has been a lot of interest in the Power throughout the week, with the line moving into just eight points in the Dockers’ favour. The last time these two met, just back in Round 23, The Dockers won by 8 points after a late surge from the Power. Ross Lyon will likely stress to his players the importance of nullifying the Power run. Can really see him trying to choke the Power wherever possible. So as long as the Dockers can keep putting scores on the board while doing that, the Power will find it hard.
2014 AFL Finals Best Betting Tips
(May not be available in your state. Always gamble responsibly.)
Geelong Under 39.5 (Margin 1-39) - $2.45 at Ladbrokes **
Fremantle Under 39.5 (Margin 1-39) - $2.20 at Labrokes *
(*The stars represent the confidence level – three stars is high confidence, two is a medium level of confidence and one is a low level. These could be considered as the “units” of the betting play for those who follow sports betting bankroll management.)
Take note: Any of the tips in this article are simply the author’s opinion, so bet at your own risk and always gamble responsibly. Also be sure to check out the Before You Bet Twitter Page for all our thoughts in the lead up to bets! Happy punting!
