It’s been a much needed break from the relentless AFL schedule over the last few days but we are ready to get back into it with the Suns and Blues set to face off in the opening clash of Round 13.
As usual, we have a full preview and betting tips for the Friday night clash, and remember to head to our AFL Tips page for betting tips for every game in Round 13.
AFL Round 13 Gold Coast vs Carlton Betting Tips
TIO Stadium, Friday 7.50pm (AEST)
We have been seeing them well over the last few weeks in AFL betting tips. Since Round 8 we have a 28-14 record and are up 10.75 units when placing only 1 unit bets. We’ll be on the hunt for more winners in Round 13, kicking off with the Suns and Blues on Friday night.
Gold Coast
The Suns have a 4-7-1 record and sit in 13th place on the ladder. They were gallant in defeat last weekend, going down to the Tigers by 21 points after level pegging all the way until three quarter time. The Suns haven’t won a game in their last five, although they have looked decent over the last three weeks, with a narrow loss to the Saints, a draw with Essendon followed by the gritty loss to the Tigers.
Young forward Max King has been in stellar form this season and showed glimpses again on the weekend, booting a goal in the loss. He leads a talented young group of Suns who can assert themselves right back into the top eight mix with a win here.
Jack Lukosius averaged just 15.3 through the first 11 rounds of the season but had a monster game against the Tigers with 27 touches. This was partly due to the defender taking over the kick in responsibilities. We expect him to have another big game this week against the Blues, who are sixth in the competition for behinds per game.
Lukosius 20+ Disposals
$2.37
Carlton
The Blues won an absolute thriller in Round 12, beating the Dockers with a goal after the siren from the boundary line by Jack Newnes. The win kept them in touch with the top eight and another on Friday night will see them put pressure on the likes of Melbourne, GWS and the Bulldogs in 8th-10th.
It was a much needed win for the Blues, who had lost back to back games to the Hawks and the Eagles before entering the week. The Blues are a great chance of reaching the finals for the first time since the 2013 season with games against an out of form Magpies, Sydney and Adelaide to come in the five rounds following their Suns matchup.
Ed Curnow was dominant in the win over the Dockers, racking up a game best 33 touches and four tackles. He has also made a habit of having big games against the Suns as well, averaging 29.3 touches in their last four meetings. Expect him to have another big game here.
Curnow 20+ Disposals
$1.67
Prediction
Tough game to call here between two sides who are on really similar paths at the moment. Both teams are full of young talented players and have had impressive wins this year as well as gritty losses. The Blues start as 10.5 point favourites, which is a little high for us, especially given a lot of their wins and losses this season have been by single digits. This season, they have lost to the Demons by 1 point, beat the Cats by 2 points, beat the Bombers by 1 point, lost to the Power by 3 points, beat the Roos by 7 points and beat the Dockers by 4 points.
The Suns have also played in their fair share of close games, and on a Friday night in a highly anticipated game, we feel like this one has the making of a thriller.
Gold Coast Suns +10.5
$1.90
