It was a fantastic weekend for Before You Bet tipsters in the AFL round just gone. We hit on 7/9 best bets for a profit of over seven units and we'll be hunting more winners as Round 9 gets underway on Friday night with the Magpies facing the Bulldogs.
We have you covered with a full preview and betting tips for the Friday night clash below, and you can also check out the rest of our Round 9 best bets by heading to our AFL Tips page.
Collingwood vs Western Bulldogs Betting Tips
Marvel Stadium, Friday 13th May, 7.50pm (AEST)
Collingwood
Injuries: Charlie Dean, Jamie Elliott, Brodie Grundy, Ash Johnson, Will Kelly, Nathan Kreuger, Jordan Roughead (Out) Isaac Quaynor (Test)
The Pies will still be without key players Brodie Grundy, Jamie Elliott and Jordan Roughead for the clash against the Dogs, while defender Isaac Quaynor suffered a finger injury against the Tigers. Check out our full AFL injury list heading into Round 9.
The Pies suffered a loss to the Tigers at the MCG on Saturday afternoon to fall out of the top eight on the ladder. They are, however, just one game behind the Cats in fifth place, so a win here could go a long way in their chances of playing finals, especially considering they have a tough run with games against the Dockers, Blues, Hawks and Demons in the following weeks.
The Pies ability to defend remains their biggest problem in 2022 so far. They currently sit in the bottom third in the league for points allowed per game, and their defensive liabilities were on full display as the media broke down their performance of the Collingwood game throughout this week.
Western Bulldogs
Injuries: Josh Bruce, Sam Darcy, Jason Johannisen, Toby McLean (Out) Laitham Vandermeer, Cody Weightman, Tim O'Brien, Alex Keath, Mitch Hannan, Lachie Hunter (Test)
The Doggies are fairly hampered by injury at the moment, but they could get a few key players back this week, most noteably tall defender Alex Keath, whose structure in defense has been sorely missed. Marcus Bontempelli will be back in the line-up after being managed against the Port Adelaide.
The Western Bulldogs travelled to Adelaide with hopes of replicating that dominant preliminary final performance against the Power in Round 8, unfortuntely, they returned to Victoria with a loss and still sit outside the top eight.
It's been an inconsistent season to date for the Dogs and they'll be hoping they can string together a few wins with games against the Suns and Eagles following this week, a stretch that could catapult their season.
Match Prediction
This game being at Marvel helps the Dogs a lot. There's no doubt that they are a better team under the roof, where the conditions better suit their fast ball movement. If they win this one, there is a high possibility that they will go into the half-way point of the season with a 6-5 record and back on the right path.
Getting Keath and Bontempelli back in the line-up will also be a massive boost and fill key areas where the Dogs have been struggling of late. Collingwood have had no issues in scoring this season but their defence has been extremely leaky, I expect this to be a high scoring game in which the Dogs come out winners by 15-30 points.
Bulldogs 1-39
$2.15 (1.5 Units)
Prop Bets
Aaron Naughton returned to form last week with a brilliant game against the Power despite the loss. He booted four goals and was one of the Doggies best. He has kicked 19 goals this season and booted two the last time he faced the Pies.
Naughton 3+ Goals ($2.02 at Ladbrokes)
I think this game goes over the 167.5 point line. These two teams have been two of the most aggressive in the league so far this season. In the 16 games that these two teams have been involved in this season, there have been 16 scores of 90+ either for or against.
Over 167.5 ($1.90 at Ladbrokes)
