Tough round of AFL betting tips last weekend as we hit on just 2 of 9 bets. We’ll be looking for another bounce back weekend in Round 8 as we break down every game of the round and give our betting tips below.
Hawthorn vs Sydney (Friday 7.50pm AEST)
See our full standalone preview for the Friday night clash between the Hawks and Swans here!
Greater Western Sydney vs West Coast (Saturday 1.45pm AEST)
One of the games of the round in my opinion sees the Giants hosting the Eagles on Saturday afternoon. The Giants will be coming off a tough loss to Geelong on Friday night but could be bolstered by the return of star centre half forward Jeremy Cameron and ruckman Rory Lobb for this clash. The returns give structure to the Giants, who were seriously lacking it last weekend, but they’ll likely still be without midfielders Josh Kelly and Brett Deledio for the clash, while Toby Greene’s return date is still unknown.
West Coast had another fantastic win on the weekend to move them to 6-1 on the season, sitting pretty in second place. They’ll be without star midfielder Luke Shuey for a few weeks after he suffered a hamstring injury in the win over Port Adelaide. It’s the West Coast forward line that has been super impressive though, as Josh Kennedy, Jack Darling, Will Rioli and Mark LeCras have all been firing on all cylinders.
The Giants start as $1.57 favourites here which is surprising to me considering they’ve been a bit out of form over the last few weeks and the Eagles have been fantastic. They might be away from home but I like West Coast to cause an upset here.
TIP: West Coast to win - $2.40 at CrownBet
Carlton vs Essendon (Saturday 2.10pm AEST)
Interesting matchup here between the Bombers and the Blues at the MCG on Saturday afternoon. The Blues are still hunting their first win of the season but could arguably be coming into this game with better form than the Bombers, who currently sit in 15th place with a 2-5 record but have lost their last three on the trot.
The beginning of the implosion for the Bombers was Anzac Day, where they were thoroughly outplayed by the Magpies. Bad losses to Melbourne and Hawthorn in the last two weeks have the Bombers reeling in the bottom half of the season, and the game against the winless Blues couldn’t come soon enough. Joe Daniher will be out for the foreseeable future with a ‘groin injury’ which I suspect could be a cover up for an omission and some time to regroup after a horror start to the year.
Bombers start as strong $1.33 favourites here, but you’d have to be made to take them to cover a 19 point line with the form they are currently in. No Daniher could actually help their structure a little bit, but I’m still staying away from either team and backing the overs which seems low for what is forecast to be a clear day in Melbourne Saturday.
TIP: Total points OVER 155.5 - $1.91 at Ladbrokes
Gold Coast vs Melbourne (Saturday 4.35pm AEST)
The Suns will host Melbourne at the Gabba on Saturday afternoon in what should be an interesting twilight clash. Gold Coast were gallant in a 9-point loss to the Dogs in Ballarat last weekend and can put some pressure on the lower half of the top eight if they claim their fourth win of the season on the weekend. Tom Lynch will unfortunately remain on the sidelines for the Suns, but Steven May could return from an infected broken finger this week.
Melbourne were impressive against the Saints on the weekend, kicking 16 goals on the way to a 39-point win. They finally seemed to address their need for a key target up forward as Jesse Hogan spent the majority of the game in the forward line instead of the midfield and Tom McDonald was impactful.
Melbourne start as $1.31 favourites here which seems about right regardless that they are away. It will be an away game of sorts for the Gold Coast as well as they face off at the Gabba, so we like the Demons to cover the 21-point line here.
TIP: Melbourne -21.5 - $1.92 at CrownBet
Port Adelaide vs Adelaide (Saturday 5.10pm AEST)
The first Adelaide derby of the season sees the Power hosting the Crows at Adelaide Oval on Saturday evening. Adelaide will be hunting their sixth win of the season after they downed the Blues by 55 points on the weekend. The Crows could get Taylor Walker and Rory Sloane back from injury this week which will be a massive boost to their confidence, and with Josh Jenkins, Mitch McGovern and Eddie Betts all in great form, Adelaide look ominous here.
Port Adelaide were once again disappointing on the weekend, succumbing to West Coast by 42 points. Star forward Chad Wingard could offer a massive boost this week as he is a chance to return from a hamstring injury,
Really tough game to call here, while Adelaide definitely have form on their side, the derby is just one of those games that always seems to throw up surprise results. I think it will be a close game either way, but have to give the slight edge to Adelaide given the ridiculous form of their forward line.
TIP: Adelaide to win by 1-39 - $2.10 at Sportsbet
Western Bulldogs vs Brisbane (Saturday 7.25pm AEST)
Brisbane were actually fantastic in a 7-point loss to Collingwood on the weekend as Dayne Zorko played possibly the best individual game of the season so far as he racked up 34 disposals and 4 goals for a whopping 176 fantasy points. The Lions have been super gallant in a bunch of their losses so far this season, but are still hunting their first win of 2018, and have a great chance to achieve it against the Dogs on Saturday night.
On the other side of the coin, the Bulldogs have achieved three wins so far this year but have been less than impressive. They just got over the line against the Suns last weekend due to a fantastic individual game from Jack Macrae and they will likely get Marcus Bontempelli back from injury this weekend to bolster the midfield.
Bontempelli is a huge in for the Bulldogs here and even though the Brisbane midfield has been playing at a high level over the last few weeks, it’s hard to look past the Bulldogs here, especially at Etihad Stadium where they play so well.
TIP: Western Bulldogs by 1-39 - $2 at Ladbrokes
Fremantle vs St Kilda (Saturday 8.10pm AEST)
St Kilda will travel to Perth in search of their second win of the season this weekend against the Dockers. They were disappointing once again in Round 7, going down to Melbourne by 39 points. Their problems in front of goal continued as they kicked just 9.13 and missed a bunch of easy set shots.
Fremantle were woeful against the might of the Tigers on the weekend, going down by 77 points at the MCG. They’ll welcome the return to Perth this weekend and with Nay Fyfe and company in the midfield still playing at a high level, they’ll start as $1.25 favourites at home.
I’ve been giving the Saints plenty of chances so far this year and while they have looked a little competitive in the first half of games, they have regularly been blown out late in games. They usually perform pretty well in Perth but I like the Dockers to get the job done here.
TIP: Fremantle -25.5 - $1.92 at CrownBet
North Melbourne vs Richmond (Sunday 1.10pm AEST)
Richmond continued on their winning ways on the weekend, defeating Fremantle by 77 points to win their fifth game in a row. Their defence has been ridiculous, allowing just 478 points so far this season, the fewest of any team in the league. The AFL is still trying to catch up to the way the Tigers play, but one team that has arguably been displaying a similar amount of pressure is the Roos.
The Roos have been the surprise packet of the year so far, currently holding a 4-3 record through their opening seven games. They captured a monster win over the Swans in Sydney on the weekend to make a statement that they are a top eight calibre team. They also have one of the more fortunate injury lists in the AFL so far this season.
North Melbourne have been fantastic but not sure if you can bet against the Tiges at this point. They are playing like the best team in the league and their play-style doesn’t really cater to bad games every now and then like other teams would. Back them to cover the line here.
TIP: Richmond -25.5 - $1.92 at CrownBet
Collingwood vs Geelong (Sunday 3.20pm AEST)
Another fantastic game to close out the round sees Collingwood hosting the Cats at the MCG on Sunday. The Pies were lucky to get over the line in Brisbane on Sunday evening, finishing with a 7-point win in what was a close game all afternoon. The Pies could be without captain Scott Pendlebury for the upcoming clash, who suffered an ankle injury in the clash against the Lions, but Taylor Adams could be finally fit to make his 2018 debut.
Geelong captured a massive win against the Giants on Friday night of Round 7 to move to 4-3 on the year so far. The massive news for the Cats is that Gary Ablett will be available for selection after recovering from his hamstring injury, they will also get Harry Taylor back from a foot injury, which is massive for their currently undersized defence.
Really tough match to call here. The Cats will definitely be bolstered by the return of their two stars but Collingwood have been have been great lately. Geelong love playing at the MCG so I’m going to give the slight advantage to them this weekend.
TIP: Geelong -10.5 - $1.92 at CrownBet
