AFL Round 4 action continues on Saturday with four games on the schedule. Here, we take a look at the second match of the day, which features Collingwood taking on West Coast. Find our best bets for this intriguing clash right here!
As always, we have you covered with a full preview and betting tips for the game and remember to head to our AFL Tips page, where you can catch our coverage of all the Round 4 action.
Collingwood vs West Coast Betting Tips
Marvel Stadium, Saturday 8th April, 4:35pm (AEDT)
Collingwood
Injuries: Charlie Dean (Foot), Nathan Kreuger (Shoulder), Beau McCreery (Hip), Nathan Murphy (Ankle), Jordan Roughead (Shoulder), Trey Ruscoe (Plantaris), Taylor Adams (H&S Protocols), Jordan De Goey (Suspension)
Injuries aren’t too much of an issue for the Magpies at the moment, with four players missing from their best 22. Beau McCreery is currently nursing a hip injury and will be reassessed in a couple of weeks, while Jordan Roughead is battling a shoulder injury. Additionally, Taylor Adams will be forced to the sidelines due to health and safety protocols and Jordan De Goey misses through suspension.
The Magpies looked well on their way to a 3-0 start when they led the Cats by 30 points at three-quarter time last weekend, but they were outscored 44-1 in the final term and ended up going down by 13 points. There were still some positives to come out of that defeat, with Nick Daicos putting in another great shift in his first season and being rewarded with a NAB Rising Star nomination.
Despite the loss to the Cats, it’s been a really strong start to the season for the now 2-1 Magpies. They currently sit in seventh spot on the ladder and will play five of their next six games in Melbourne. In line-up news for this weekend, Tom Wilson comes in the for suspended Jordan De Goey, while Callum Brown will come into the midfield for Taylor Adams.
West Coast
Injuries: Oscar Allen (Foot), Campbell Chesser (Ankle), Greg Clark (Shoulder), Tom Cole (Ankle), Jamie Cripps (Pectoral), Tom Joyce (Ankle), Tim Kelly (Hamstring), Dom Sheed (Ankle), Luke Shuey (H&S Protocols), Zane Trew (Shin), Elliot Yeo (Calf)
The Eagles have been absolutely decimated from the first bounce of the first match this season. They’re still missing a number of their stars due to injuries and health and safety protocols, with the most high-profile names being Oscar Allen, Tim Kelly, Dom Sheed, Luke Shuey and Elliot Yeo, who are all missing for different reasons.
Although severely undermanned and inexperienced, the Eagles were humiliated by their rivals in the Derby last weekend, going down to the Dockers by 55 points and it could’ve easily been a lot more. Shannon Hurn and Jeremy McGovern were both superb in defence for the Eagles and Andrew Gaff was probably the only other who can hold his head up high.
The Eagles are now 0-3 and can see their season quickly slipping away from them. They’ve put up a combined 186 points across their first three rounds and haven’t really been a chance of winning any of them. In line-up news, the Eagles are making only the four changes this week. Key in’s include Liam Duggan, Willie Rioli and Tom Barrass, while Andrew Gaff is the big name set to miss.
Match Prediction
It’s been a pretty even matchup between these two clubs in recent seasons, but with how unlucky the Eagles have been with injuries and health and safety protocols to start the season, it’s hard to see them being competitive enough to put up a winning score here. Instead, I love the value of the Magpies to continue their strong start to the season and put up a big score in front of their home fans. The current line of -24.5 just looks a goal or two too short for mine.
Collingwood Magpies -24.5 (1.5 UNITS)
$1.90
Prop Bets
There isn’t a whole lot of value in the disposal markets for this match, but one I do like is Liam Duggan to get 20+ touches. He elevated his game to a good standard last year when averaging 19 a game and with all the outs for the Eagles at the moment, I expect that number to increase as he gets more midfield minutes. Decent leg to throw in your Same Game Multi’s.
Liam Duggan 20+ Disposals ($1.78 Ladbrokes)
It hasn’t taken long for ex-Bulldog midfielder Patrick Lipinski to become a loved player by the Magpies faithful. He’s had a terrific start to his career in the black and white and is currently averaging 26 disposals a game across three outings. On top of that, he’s also kicked a goal in all three games and remains great value to jag one again on Saturday.
Patrick Lipinski Anytime Goal Kicker ($1.90 Ladbrokes)
One of the young Pies that I believe has huge upside is forward Oliver Henry. He’s an exciting prospect and has already had a fair number of great performances at AFL level. Henry has kicked 5 goals from his three matches so far and could’ve easily had more had he taken a few of his opportunities last week. I have him as good value to kick multiple goals against the decimated Eagles.
Oliver Henry 2+ Goals ($1.96 Ladbrokes)
