Essendon and Port Adelaide will have an opportunity to end their season with a rare victory when they meet at Marvel Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Can an undermanned Power side pick up win number seven for the season? Or will the Bombers avoid the wooden spoon with an upset victory?
We bring you our full preview and expert tips for the Bombers vs Power below, with odds thanks to Dabble!
Essendon vs Port Adelaide Prediction & Betting Tips: AFL 2026 Round 24
Finally Over
One of the worst seasons in the history of the Essendon Football club reaches its conclusion on Sunday afternoon. The Bombers currently sit on an equal club worst 2 wins, a feat the club has only achieved once which was in an 18 game season in 1933. It’s impossible to find an area the Bombers have been good at this season, with Essendon ranking 18th for points against, 18th for inside 50’s, 18th for clearances, 17th for points scored, 16th for tackles and 15th for disposals. The performances of some of their young players have been positive, however the lack of performance from their senior players has been a major concern.
Fading Away
Port Adelaide had been remarkably competitive across the first 17 rounds of the season, however the Power have lost their last six games, with some massive blowouts over the last month. Port Adelaide’s last four games have resulted in defeats by 76, 97, 12 and 59 points with the absences of Zak Butters and Connor Rozee clearly hurting them. The Power will be without Jason Horne-Francis and Aliir Aliir as well this week, so it’s well and truly a depleted side that Josh Carr will be fielding this weekend. The key for the Power this week will be finding a way to get back the defensive form they showed across the opening 18 rounds of the season, where they were one of the best defences in the league. Across their last five games, they’ve conceded 132, 167, 75, 126 and 103 points.
Recent Head to Head History
Port Adelaide has been a bogey side for Essendon since 2019, winning nine of their last ten games against the Bombers. That run includes a 63 point win against Essendon in Round 2, and six wins above 50 points. The Power had an excellent record at Marvel Stadium between 2021 to 2024 winning 11 out of 12 games, however they’ve lost their last five games at Docklands, with no wins at the venue in 2025 or 2026.
Bombers or Power? Here Is Our Essendon vs Port Adelaide Tip
This is an incredibly difficult game to pick between two sides that really have nothing to play for. Port Adelaide have been much more competitive than Essendon across the majority of the season, however their last month has been a big struggle and they will be without arguably their best three players in Butters, Rozee, Horne-Francis. On the other side, Essendon have no incentive to win given that they would jump Richmond into 17th place and lose the number one pick in the draft. Regardless of their desire to win, the Bombers have been the worst team in the competition this season, so it’s impossible to have any faith in them producing a good performance.
Given the above factors, the head to head market is too hard to predict, so the tri bet market is where we will look to in this game. This will be a scrappy game between two sides who are in terrible form, missing some key players and looking towards the end of the season. Given the struggles of both teams, it’s difficult to see this game being a blowout, so there’s good value in the 19 points or less market.
Either Team 19 Or Less
$2.05 (1 Unit)
Essendon vs Port Adelaide Prop Bet
Will Setterfield is out of contract at the end of this year and is playing like a player who is playing for his career. Setterfield has had a big increase in CBA’s over the last three weeks, recording 75%, 77% and a team high 84% CBA’s last week. The increase in his role saw Setterfield record 32 disposals last week and 28 disposals against Adelaide in Round 21. Expect Setterfield to play with plenty of desperation on Sunday afternoon as he looks to keep his AFL career alive.
Will Setterfield 25+ Disposals
$2.05
Essendon vs Port Adelaide Same Game Multi
Will Setterfield 25+ Disposals: As highlighted above, Setterfield has been given an excellent role late in the season, and has performed over the last three weeks.
Zach Merrett 25+ Disposals: In what will likely be his last game as Bomber, Zach Merrett will be eager to end his Essendon career with a big performance. Merrett has averaged 27 disposals per game this season and has loved playing against the Power, recording 25, 34, 36, 31, 28, 26, 27 and 28 disposals across his last eight games against Port.
Mitch Georgiades 3+ Goals: Despite Port Adelaide’s struggles late in the season, Mitch Georgiades continues to impact the scoreboard. Georgiades has produced returns of 4, 3, 2, 0, 3 and 3 goals across his last six games. The key forward has kicked 2.2 in each of his last three games against the Bombers, and is used to getting plenty of looks at goal against them.
Essendon vs Port Adelaide Betting Odds & Match Info
Date: Sunday 22nd August
Time: 12:20pm AEST
Location: Marvel Stadium, Melbourne
Odds: Essendon $2.05 vs Port Adelaide $1.67
Line: Port Adelaide -6.5
Points: 176.5
Where to Watch Essendon vs Port Adelaide
You can watch the Bombers vs Power live and ad-free on Kayo Sports.
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