For the second night in a row, we will see two top four teams face off against each other as the Cats host the Demons from GMHBA Stadium on Saturday night! PuntingInDanger has you covered with his preview, best bet and same game multi for the clash below.
Remember to check out our Round 23 AFL Tips page for previews on every clash across the weekend.
AFL Geelong vs Melbourne Betting Tips
GMHBA Stadium, Saturday 21st August, 7.25pm (AEST)
Depending on what happens on Friday night between the Power and Bulldogs, the winner of this game could finish as high as 1st and the loser could potentially drop as low as 4th.
Match Preview
The good thing for both teams is that they will know the scenario within the top four by the time the game starts, but both teams will no doubt be wanting to win regardless to lock up top spot on the ladder heading into finals.
The Demons recorded another solid win on the weekend over the Crows by 41 points. The win made it three straight as they look to have recaptured some form after a bit of a slump after their bye. The Demons have had the best defence in the league this season, allowing just 65.04 points per game. In their last three games, they have allowed just 52.0 points per game.
Hot on their heels in terms of defence are the Geelong Cats. Their team defence structure has allowed for just 65.47 points per game and they were again impressive in their win over the Saints on the weekend. It seems as though the Round 20 loss to the Giants was nothing more than a blip on the radar, as they have won six of their last seven games by an average margin of 34.66 points.
Considering just how much carnage the AFL has endured this year, both the Cats and Demons are relatively settled on the injury front at the moment. Only Zach Tuohy and Mitch Duncan are side-lined for multiple weeks for the Cats while the Demons are without only Marty Hore, Adam Tomlinson and Jack Viney.
I think these two teams are really evenly matched on paper, and even more so given the fact that both of them play such a defensive style. It’s hard for me to pick this one way or another at the 3.5 point line, but I do really like the unders. The last two games between these two sides have resulted in just 119.0 average total points. There is also set to be some rain around the Geelong area on Saturday, which should make scoring even tougher.
Under 145.5 (1 Unit)
$1.90
Same Game Multi
Joel Selwood absolutely loves the sloppy conditions and a hard fought, low scoring contest. It’s when he’s at his best. In the last two games he has had 27 and 26 touches and should play a big role in the midfield again this week.
When these two sides last met in Round 4, Christian Petracca had 36 touches and two goals in a best on ground performance. He has been fantastic of late, racking up at least 25 touches in nine of his last 10 games.
Max Gawn dominated Geelong in that Round 4 clash as well, racking up 23 touches and 41 hitouts. Geelong’s weakness has been their ruckman all season and there is a chance Esava Ratugolea misses this clash after a quad injury in the win against the Saints.
Selwood 20+ Disp.
Petracca 25+ Disp.
Gawn 15+ Disp.
GEE vs MELB Same Game Multi
$2.00
