The Port Adelaide Power stamped their case as a serious outfit on Friday night, defeating the Richmond Tigers at home to move to 7-4 on the season. They get another chance to showcase their talents this Thursday night as they host the Western Bulldogs at Adelaide Oval from 7.50pm AEST. We preview the Thursday night clash and give our betting tips for the game below.
Port Adelaide vs Western Bulldogs Betting Tips
Port Adelaide were fantastic on Friday night, downing the Tigers by 14 points and keeping their dynamic offence to just 58 total points on the night. The margin should have been more if not for some wayward kicking by Port Adelaide in the final quarter. Defence was the main theme of the night, however. Leading by just 17 points at the start of the last quarter, Port Adelaide weren’t able to kick a goal in the final term, but played some stout defence to hold the Tigers to just 1.2 in the quarter and claim the win.
Chad Wingard was finally unleashed in the midfield and had a great game, racking up 31 touches while Just Westhoff was fantastic in the forward line, kicking three goals and racking up 23 touches.
The Power will host the Western Bulldogs this Thursday night, who are in the enviable position of having the week off due to the bye. They last played back on the 2nd of June when they were comfortably beaten by the Melbourne Demons. They currently sit in 14th place on the AFL ladder with a 4-7 record which makes this game almost a must win if they have any hopes of putting some pressure on the top eight.
The Dogs will be thankful for the week off but travelling to Adelaide for their first game back is not ideal. The Power have lost just one game at Adelaide Oval so far this year and will look to get a bit of a roll on as four of their next six games will be played there.
Port Adelaide start as massive 36.5-point favourites after their fantastic win over the Tigers, which I think is a really tough line to navigate. If I had to lean towards one way it would be the Power in perfect conditions, however, early forecasts for Adelaide on Thursday night suggest its going to be a very wet game. I think this game stays close due to the weather and PA come away with a win.
Port Adelaide Power 1-39
$2.25
Expect big Paddy Ryder to have an absolute field day in the ruck with plenty of stoppages due to the weather and being matched up on some part time ruckmen in the likes of Tom Boyd from the Bulldogs. Watch this space for some potential fantasy prop bets on the big man later in the week.
