What a great opening round of AFL action we were treated to last weekend! We had a great week in the betting department as well, hitting on 7/8 game tips all coming at odds of $1.90 or better! Once again, I’ll be providing you with a stand alone betting preview for the feature game of the weekend, which this week is the Adelaide vs Richmond game on Thursday night!
You can catch my preview and tips for the rest of the Round 2 action a bit later in the week.
It’s the highly anticipated grand final replay on Thursday night, but this time it will be on Adelaide’s turf, and they’ll be looking for revenge. The Crows arguably outplayed the Bombers for the majority of their Round 1 clash but allowed Essendon to kick six last quarter goals and steal a 12-point win.
The Crows will be bitterly disappointing in the in last week’s result but should be buoyed by the return of their centre half forward and skipper Taylor Walker. Unfortunately, star midfielder Brad Crouch will remain on the sidelines for around eight weeks with a groin strain. The Crows injury list is pretty extensive at the moment, not only did they lose Jake Lever to Melbourne in the off-season, but they could also be without Alex Keath, Tom Lynch and Riley Knight for this clash.
The Tigers showed some shaky signs in their Round 1 clash against the Blues, allowing the first five goals of the games and trailing until the second half before they flicked the switch to win by 26 points. They’ll get Bachar Houli back from injury this weekend, but Dion Prestia will likely be on the sidelines for one more week.
I think we can take a little more from Richmond’s game on the weekend then we can from the Crows performance. Essendon will be a quality side this year and Adelaide were quite undermanned, Richmond looked slightly disinterested for the first two and a half quarters against the Blues, and their rock-solid defence that won them a premiership last season was missing for much of the game.
The Crows boasted the best offence in the league last season and with Walker back in the line-up this weekend, I think they might be able to take advantage of the sluggish Richmond defence, especially at home. I like Adelaide here in a close game.
TIP: Adelaide to win at the margin (1-39) - $2.30 at Sportsbet
Matt Crouch absolutely tore up the Bombers in the loss last weekend, accumulating 41 disposals, 31 of them uncontested. Rory Laird also had a massive game, racking up 40 touches. The Tigers allowed Kade Simpson to run rampant off the half back flank last season, so we think there’s a great chance one of the Adelaide pair crosses the 40-disposal mark again this week.
TIP: Any player to accumulate 40 disposals - $3.60 at Sportsbet
