There are just the three AFL games on Saturday in Round 2, but each have their own intrigue surrounding them. First up on the slate we head to Marvel Stadium where North Melbourne will take on Fremantle. Check out our full match preview and free betting tips for the clash below!
Also, Before You Bet will be providing free previews and betting tips for EVERY game in the 2024 AFL season, so make sure to head over to out our AFL Tips regularly to keep up to date with all of our free content.
2024 AFL Round 2 Preview & Betting Tips
North Melbourne vs Fremantle
Saturday 1:45pm AEDT, March 23rd, Marvel Stadium
Arguably facing the toughest test in the AFL in Round 1, North Melbourne were able to put in a decent enough account of themselves in their clash against the Giants in Sydney last weekend. They were the massive underdogs and the game certainly played out that way, but to only go down by 39 points against the premiership favourites on the road was far from a disaster (82-121).
In saying that, the Kangaroos were soundly beaten in a lot of the key statistics from the match, and the one that stands out the most is the contested possessions where they were -32 (113-145). It’s an extremely young midfield that the Kangaroos are going with to start the season, although the likely return of Jy Simpkin in Round 2 will be largely beneficial.
Another massive area of concern is in defence where there’s been a huge hole left by Ben McKay’s departure to the Bombers. Toby Pink was thrown straight into the deep end against the Giants in his first AFL game and was absolutely destroyed by star forward Jesse Hogan who kicked 6.2 and took seven marks inside 50.
Unfortunately for North, there’s no quick fix in defence with key defender Griffin Logue unavailable for the next 10-12 weeks as he rehabs a knee injury. On top of that, medium-sized defender Josh Goater ruptured his Achilles against the Giants and will be out for the remainder of the season. On a positive note, Luke McDonald is a strong chance to return on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Fremantle were able to get their season underway with a strong win against the Lions in Round 1. It wasn’t looking great early when they fell behind by four quick goals, however a couple of goals of their own just before quarter time steadied the ship and they were able to take control of the game from that point onwards. In the end the Dockers secured a relatively comfortable 23-point win on their home deck (93-70).
The new-look Dockers midfield was highly impressive first up and soundly beat the Lions engine room in most key statistics. They edged last year’s runners up in total clearances (41-34) and centre clearances (13-7), and also had more contested possessions (125-118) and uncontested possessions (246-224).
Caleb Serong was nothing short of phenomenal in the season opener with 46 disposals, which is a new club record at Fremantle. Nat Fyfe was also impressive around the ball with 21 disposals, while Hayden Young was a strong presence with 24 disposals and 10 tackles.
Unfortunately for the Dockers, their Round 1 win didn’t come without a cost as a number of players went down with long term injuries. Brennan Cox suffered a high-grade hamstring tear and will be out for 12-14 weeks, while Oscar McDonald will be sidelined for an extended period with a knee injury, and Karl Worner will be monitored after his nasty head knock.
As per the Official AFL Injury List, the Dockers now 11 have players unavailable for at least the next two weeks. The only one close to returning is Jaeger O’Meara who withdrew from last weekend’s game due to knee soreness.
Match prediction: There are a couple of form lines to consider in this contest with the first obviously being the Kangaroos inability to win games over the past 12 months. They’ve won only once from their last 22 matches and that sole win came in Round 23 last year in what was a dead rubber for both teams involved. The other form line worth noting is the Dockers struggles at Marvel Stadium. They’ve found success in only four of their last 15 trips to the venue.
Regardless, the Dockers are clearly the class outfit in this matchup and deserve to be shorter favourites than they’re currently priced at. I expect them to be too good, particularly entering their forward 50 where they’ll have a bunch of favourable matchups considering the lack of experience and height the North have in that area of the ground. With that said, I’ll be taking the Dockers in the 1-39 range, as North showed enough signs against the Giants last weekend to suggest they’ll be able to stick around long enough to avoid a blowout loss.
Fremantle 1-39
$2.18 (1 Unit)
Same Game Multi
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Fremantle to Win – North have won only one of their last 22 games and the bookies are giving us some meat on the Fremantle H2H bone here.
Luke Ryan 25+ Disposals – With Young now a midfielder, there’s little competition for the kick-out duties. Ryan had 33 touches and eight kick-ins last weekend, so I like him to get to at least 25 here.
Harry Sheezel 25+ Disposals – Was fantastic against the Giants when roaming all over the ground. He should find a way to at least 25 touches again.
Nat Fyfe 20+ Disposals – Looked solid enough in Round 1 with 21 disposals and should be better for the run.
SGM Odds: $6 at BoomBet
