Adelaide Oval will host its first game of the 2021 AFL season on Saturday afternoon as the Crows square off against the Cats from 4.35pm. PuntingInDanger is back on deck with another full preview and betting tips for the clash here.
Remember, you can check out our preview and tips for every game in Round 1 and beyond of the AFL season, just be sure to head to our AFL Betting Tips page for regular updates.
AFL Round 1 Adelaide vs Geelong Betting Tips
Adelaide Oval, Saturday March 20th 4.35pm (AEDT)
Geelong’s season ended in heartbreaking fashion in the Grand Final last year and they will be desperate to bounce back and go one step further in 2021. On the other end of the spectrum, Adelaide finished dead last on the ladder last year and although they have some exciting young players, there seems to be a way to go before they are relevant again.
Match Prediction
Straight off the bat I’m finding it a little tough to believe that the line for this game opened at just 23.5 points in favour of the Cats and has moved to just 25.5 over the last few days. We are back to full length quarters this season, so I expect the margins to be quite high when we have a mismatch to this calibre.
Geelong will have to wait to unveil their prized recruit Jeremy Cameron, with the star forward set to miss the opening round and up to a month with an injured hamstring. Other than Cameron, they have a really good looking injury list, with only Mitch Duncan set to miss from their Grand Final side last year.
The Cats definitely have enough firepower to blow out the weaker Crows side in Adelaide, especially given the fact that the Crows could be without Tom Doedee, Daniel TAlie and Matt Crough through injury. Of their 14 losses last year, 12 of them came by at least 20 points and that’s in shortened quarters. Back the Cats to blow them out here.
Cats -25.5 (2 Units)
$1.90
Crows Prop
In 2019, the last season where we had full length quarters, Rory Laird surpassed the 30 disposal mark on nine occasions in 22 games. In shortened quarters last season, he still managed to average 22.9 touches per game. Back the star defender to rack up 30+ on Saturday afternoon at generous odds.
Laird 30+ Disposals
$2.40
Cats Prop
Like the value of Shaun Higgins to kick a goal on Saturday afternoon. The former Roos midfielder will likely be spending half of his time in the guts and the other half in the forward line for the Cats, as their midfield is already pretty stacked. In his last season with full length quarters, the silky outside mover booted 10 goals in 17 games and throughout his career he averages 0.9 per game.
Higgins Anytime Goal
$1.91
