Gather Round continues on Friday night with a double-header in SA. Second on the slate is an intriguing battle between Port Adelaide and Essendon at Adelaide Oval. Both clubs have a pair of wins to their name which should make for a high quality and entertaining affair. You can find our full betting preview the match 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 4 Preview & Betting Tips
Port Adelaide vs Essendon
Friday 8:10pm AEDT, April 5th, Adelaide Oval
Entering their home Gather Round off a disappointing loss, Port Adelaide will be keen to make amends for last weekend where they succumbed to the Demons by seven points (89-96). It was their first defeat of the season after making relatively light work of both the Eagles and the Tigers in the first two rounds.
The Power have much to ponder after their recent failure against the Demons, as they won the inside 50 battle by 21 (66-45) and the contested possession count (142-140), yet still failed to kick a winning score.
Fortunately for the Power, young gun Mitch Georgiades is set to make his return almost a year after he tore his ACL. His addition is timely considering the lack of inside 50 marks the Power have managed so far this campaign. Interestingly, the Power have dropped a small in Francis Evans to make way.
Meanwhile, Essendon found a way to secure their second win of the season last start with a win against the Saints. The Bombers trailed for 90% of the match and were lucky to hang in there at times, but eventually prevailed by four points thanks to a late Jake Stringer bomb from 55m (71-67).
The Bombers are now 2-1 and have already exceeded early expectations, although Brad Scott and co. are likely to be less than satisfied with their overall play, particularly defensively as they remain one of the easiest teams to score against, particularly in transition.
Match prediction: There’s been little to split these sides in their last two meetings, with the Power securing wins by five points (92-87) and by four points in their most recent matchup, on the back of a miraculous kick after the siren by Dan Houston (78-74).
The Power are currently priced as the heavy favourites and deservedly so, although it’s the total points market which looks slightly enticing here. The over has easily hit in all three of the Power’s games to date and with blue skies on the horizon (at the time of writing), you can expect a shoutout between these two potent clubs on Friday night.
Over 177.5 Points
$1.90 (1 Unit)
Same Game Multi
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Port Adelaide 15+ – The Bombers are certainly capable of kicking a score, but the Power should be too strong over four quarters at home.
Willie Rioli 1+ Goal – Loves to beat up on the lesser teams and will likely get a favourable matchup here. Should kick at least one major.
Zak Butters 25+ Disposals – Has started the season exactly where he finished the last. The class player in this fixture and should find plenty of the ball once again.
Nic Martin 25+ Disposals – Racked up 44 disposals last weekend to equal the club record. Gets so many cheap touches in the backline and the ball should be down there plenty.
Willem Drew 20+ Disposals – Criminally underrated but continues to perform at a high level. Has enjoyed a strong start to the season and will get plenty of time in the middle with Wines out.
SGM Odds: $4.10 at BoomBet
