AFL Round 13 continues on Friday night with the Bombers hosting the Hawks at Marvel Stadium from 7:50pm AEST. It should be a cracking game between two sides desperate to find their best form. As always, we’ve previewed the game and provided our best betting tips. Check them out below and good luck to everyone following!
Don’t forget, Essendon vs Hawthorn will be our focus today, but you can head to our AFL Tips Page for a bunch of content for Round 13 in the AFL including preview and tips for EVERY GAME.
AFL Round 13 Essendon vs Hawthorn Betting Tips
Friday 14th of June 7:50pm AEST, Marvel Stadium
It really is a crucial Friday night match we have on our hands in Round 13. Both the Bombers and the Hawks boast 5-6 records coming in, meaning a win will square up the ledger and keep them right in the mix for finals, whereas a loss will take them to 5-7 and put them in real danger of falling out of contention.
Essendon Bombers
The Bombers come into this fresh off a bye in Round 12. Prior to their bye they faced the Blues in Round 11, which was a really easy 41-point win on their home deck. The Bombers had nine of the top 10 possession-getters on the ground that day, led by skipper Dyson Heppell with 36 touches and a goal. Anthony McDonal-Tipungwuti was the brightest spark in front of goal with three majors, taking his season tally to 19.
It’ll be interesting to see if the Bombers can string back-to-back wins together for the first time since Round 5. They do, however, seem to have found a great tagger in young Dylan Clarke, who absolutely torched Blues star Patrick Cripps in their last outing, while collecting 23 touches of his own. The Bombers are currently in 10thspot on the ladder with a 5-7 record and have a chance to momentarily jump inside the eight if they produce a big win on Friday night.
Hawthorn Hawks
The Hawks also come into this big clash fresh off a Round 12 bye. Their last match came in Round 11 against the Lions in Brisbane, which they lost by 19 points. It was a really disappointing way to head into the break, especially after leading the young Lions by as many as 29 points late in the opening term. There weren’t too many great Hawks on the night, with no one finding the ball more than 25 times.
The loss to the Lions meant the Hawks dropped down to 11thposition on the ladder with a 5-6 record and a percentage of 101.2%. The Hawks now face a similar opposition in the Bombers, which is almost a must win when you consider the tough matches they have coming up. After this round they travel to take on the Swans, before hosting the reigning premiers (Eagles), and last year’s runners-up (Magpies).
History
Essendon vs Hawthorn has been one of the great AFL rivalries for quite some time. Since 1980, the Hawks lead the head-to-head 34-33. They’ve also had the wood over the Bombers in recent times, beating them on four of the last five occasions.
2018 R20 – Hawthorn (107) defeated Essendon (103)
2018 R7 – Essendon (67) lost to Hawthorn (90)
2017 R1 – Essendon (116) defeated Hawthorn (91)
2016 R12 – Essendon (43) lost to Hawthorn (151)
2015 R13 – Hawthorn (114) defeated Essendon (76)
Prediction
This one promises to be a great contest between two teams in a very similar position on the ladder. Interestingly, the Bombers come in as the slight favourites despite Hawthorn arguably being in the better form.
As mentioned above, the Hawks have had the wood over the Bombers recently and always seem to match up well against them. In such an evenly poised match, we’ll be backing history to repeat itself and will be taking the Hawks to continue their dominance over one of their biggest rivals.
Hawthorn Hawks +5.5
$1.90
