Geelong will look to bounce back from a disappointing loss last week as they square off against the Bombers from GMHBA Stadium on Friday night. As always, PuntingInDanger has a full preview and betting tips for the clash below, and remember to head to our AFL Tips page for our thoughts on all nine games in Round 16.
Geelong vs Essendon Betting Tips
GMHBA Stadium, Friday July 2nd, 7.50pm (AEST)
The Bombers are a much-improved side this season while the Cats are one of the powerhouses of the competition. Those two factors make this Friday night clash down in Geelong a bit of a blockbuster.
Match Prediction
The Cats had won six games in a row so were probably due for a loss when they travelled to Brisbane to take on the Lions on Thursday night last week. The Cats were never in it as the Lions kicked out to a five-goal lead in the first quarter and didn’t look back. The Cats fell out of the top four with the loss, but are right in the mix, trailing the two teams above them by percentage points alone and sitting just two games behind Melbourne in 1st place.
The Cats have a really solid injury list at the moment despite losing Mitch Duncan to a knee injury a few weeks ago. Duncan will remain on the side-lines for 8-10 weeks but the only other best 22 player alongside him on the injury list at the moment is Jordan Clark.
The Bombers have been one of the most exciting teams in the league this season, boasting an embarrassment of young talent and competing against some of the top end teams in the league. A trip down to GMHBA Stadium, however, is a tough prospect especially for a young list.
They have won four of their last six games including an impressive win over the Eagles and they were impressive in an 11-point loss to the Demons last week. There’s no doubt that the Bombers are a team on the rise, but I am not confident in them enough to bet on them down at the fortress that is GMHBA Stadium.
The Cats have won their last six games on the trot at GMHBA Stadium and 14 of their last 15. They just got over the line against one of the best sides in the competition in the Western Bulldogs at home a few weeks ago, but their other four wins at home this season have come by an average margin of 40.5 points. The Bombers have lost four of their last five at GMHBA and while I think their feistiness and some ordinary weather in Geelong on Friday night keeps this game relatively close, I don’t think they will cause the Cats too many issues.
Geelong 1-39 (1 Unit)
$2.00
Same Game Multi
As we mentioned above, there looks to be some rain around the Geelong area throughout Friday and leading up to kick off, so conditions for this clash could be less than ideal. The Bombers allowed the Dees just 68 points last week, so I think this one too will be low scoring in trying conditions.
With plenty of stoppages due to the wetter weather, Zach Merrett should be around the ball a lot and is good value to rack up 25 touches, as he has done in all but one game this season. The other who we like is Tom Stewart, who was the best player on the ground a few weeks ago in the win over the Western Bulldogs and should back himself to pick off long bombs forward due to the conditions. Has passed 20 touches in all but one game this season. Jump on our Same Game Multi at Sportsbet!
Under 155.5
Merrett 25+ Disp.
Stewart 20+ Disp.
GEE vs ESS Same Game Multi
$2.63
