Round 2 threw up some very surprising results and saw us hit on just 3 of 8 bets after our great opening round. Round 3 of the AFL season gets underway this Friday night with a massive clash between Carlton and Collingwood. We take a look at the Friday night clash and give our betting tips for the game below.
It’ll be a home match for the Blues at the MCG here as the old rivalry reignites for another round. Personally, I thought the Blues were a real chance against Gold Coast last weekend, but ultimately served up a stinker at Etihad. Tom Lynch ran rampant on the Blues, booting 8 goals to lead the Suns to a comfortable 34-point win.
Ed Curnow was a standout for the Blues, racking up 38 touches, however, 23 of them were uncontested and the Blues really lacked contested ball winners on the day. Patrick Cripps had a bit of a down performance against the Suns and still collected 24 disposals and kicks a goal for 85 fantasy points. Contested ball winners thrive on playing against Collingwood as we saw Tom Mitchell dominate in Round 1 followed by the trio of hard nosed midfielders in Ward, Shiel and Coniglio rack them up in Round 2. I think Cripps bounces back here and easily clears a modest fantasy line at CrownBet.
TIP: Patrick Cripps OVER 108.5 - $1.88 at CrownBet
The Pies also suffered a tough loss on the weekend, going down to GWS at the MCG by 16 points. It was a tight battle for most of the day, but a couple of late goals to Giants midfielder Stephen Coniglio iced the game in a best on ground performance.
Collingwood had some impressive performers, namely Brodie Grundy, who decimated Rory Lobb in the ruck to the tune of 45 hitouts, 20 disposals and 2 goals. Youngster Tom Phillips also had a great game, racking up 32 disposals at 75% efficiency.
Both teams will go into this Friday night clash desperate to get their first win on the board. Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley will be particularly motivated, as his job is under immense scrutiny at the moment.
Even though they have two losses, the Pies have actually been okay over the first two weeks in my opinion. They were competitive for a large portion of the match against Hawthorn in Round 1 before taking it right to arguably the best team in the league in GWS in Round 2. Their strength of opponent has been well up on Carlton’s who faced an underwhelming Richmond team followed by the Suns.
The Pies start as 11.5-point favourites here and although they are battling some key injuries at the moment, I think they have a little too much classh in the midfield for the Blues and I like them to get the job done in a close game.
TIP: Collingwood by 1-39 - $2.15 at CrownBet
