2024 AFL Round 2 Preview & Betting Tips
Richmond vs Port Adelaide
Sunday 4:00pm AEDT, March 24th, MCG
Richmond were brave in a five point defeat to Carlton last week, going down to only one fit player on the bench against one of the best teams in the league. Dion Prestia (hamstring), Josh Gibcus (ACL), Jacob Hopper (knee), Nathan Broad (calf) and Tylar Young’s (concussion) injuries mean the Tigers will have multiple changes to their side this week.
Tom Brown, Ben Miller, Sam Banks, Mykelti Lefau and James Trezise are the five inclusions to the Richmond side. Miller and Brown’s inclusions will allow Noah Balta to remain forward which Adam Yze has been steadfast on.
Port Adelaide were inaccurate but it didn’t affect their dominance in a 50 point win over the Eagles on Sunday, despite kicking a club record 24 behinds. The Power’s young stars led the way as Connor Rozee (27 disposals, 2 goals) and Zak Butters (27 disposals, 1 goal) starred in the victory.
The Power dominated all the key stats recording +65 disposals,+59 uncontested possessions, +52 marks, +17 inside 50’s, +9 tackles, +5 clearances and +5 contested possessions. The most impressive stat however was the fact the Port Adelaide scored from 40 of their 57 inside 50’s a conversion rate of 68.4%
The only sour point for Port Adelaide was Jed McEntee’s concussion, which will see him miss the clash against Richmond. Jason Horne-Francis will also miss through a hamstring injury, with Jase Burgoyne and Dylan Williams coming into the side, while last week's sub Francis Evans looks set to be in the starting 22.
Although it won’t be as easy as last week, given Richmond’s depleted backline, Port Adelaide should be able to generate an abundance of scores as they did last week. The Tigers conceded 65 inside 50’s against the Blues, with Carlton’s inaccuracy (12.14) keeping Richmond in the game.
Ivan Soldo had a big impact on debut for Port Adelaide recording 28 hitouts, 14 disposals and 2 goals in what was an excellent showing by the former Tiger. Despite being a perennial top four side over the last five years, the ruck position has been a major issue, and it looks like Port have found the answer in Soldo.
Match Prediction: It’s another game for Port Adelaide against a side that is at an opposite stage of their development, with the Tigers likely to be featuring closer to the bottom four than the top eight. They didn’t fully capitalise on their dominance last week, but there were a lot of signs that the Power are more than capable of being one of the best teams in the competition.
As to be expected from a top four side Port Adelaide were a good side on the road, with a 7-3 record interstate in 2023. The Power won two of their three games at the MCG with their only loss coming against the eventual premiers Collingwood. Richmond were brave last week, however Carlton weren’t at their best with their inability to convert keeping Richmond in the game. If Port Adelaide can generate the quality of inside 50’s they did last week, they won’t have any troubles getting past the Tigers.
Port Adelaide -12.5
$1.90 (2 Units)
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Connor Rozee 25+ Disposals: Rozee had an excellent start in his first game as Port Adelaide captain, racking up 27 disposals. Since Round 17 Rozee has averaged 26 disposals per game, hitting the 25+ disposal mark in nine of the eleven games in that timespan. Rozee had 33 and 27 disposals in his two games against the Tigers last year, and will be looking for another big performance on the road.
Zak Butters 25+ Disposals: Like his running partner Rozee, Zak Butters recorded 27 disposals in a big Round 1 performance, picking up where he left off from in 2023. Butters has a great recent record against Richmond, producing performances of 30, 32 and 28 disposals in his last three games against the Tigers. Butters has reached the 25 disposal mark in his last nine games.
Tim Taranto 25+ Disposals: After a stellar first season at Punt Road, Tim Taranto has had a quiet start to 2024, with 16 and 21 disposal performances to start the season. Taranto averaged 28 disposals per game in 2023, hitting the 25 disposal mark in 17 of his 2023 games. Taranto produced one of the best games of his career in his last game against the Power with 33 disposals and 4 goals, and he’ll be looking to bounce back after a quiet start to the season.
