Opening Round of the 2024 AFL season begins on Thursday night at the SCG with the Sydney Swans playing hosts to the Melbourne Demons. Both clubs are expecting to feature deep into September in 2024 and will be aiming to get their campaigns off to a winning start. We preview the clash below and provide our best bet and Same Game Multi!
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2024 AFL Opening Round Preview & Betting Tips
Sydney vs Melbourne
Thursday 7:30pm AEDT, March 7th, SCG
After being eliminated by Carlton in the first week of finals in 2023, the Sydney Swans will be looking make a sharp improvement in 2024 and become genuine premiership contenders.
The Swans were fairly aggressive in the off-season in an attempt to bolster their squad and managed to land some handy recruits. Brodie Grundy will take over the #1 ruck duties after a failed experiment at the Demons, while James Jordon and Taylor Adams will add much-needed depth to the midfield.
Unfortunately, injuries have already become an issue for the Swans before the home and away season has begun. Adams picked up a four-week knee injury in his first real hitout in the red-and-white last weekend, while Callum Mills and Luke Parker will also miss significant time.
Likewise, the Melbourne Demons 2023 campaign came to an end in early September by the hands of the Blues, although they were eliminated a week later in the semi-finals. Alarmingly, it was their second consecutive straight sets finals exit since winning the premiership in 2021.
The Demons had the roughest off-season of all 18 clubs, with both Joel Smith and Clayton Oliver dominating the headlines for different unflattering reasons. Smith will play no part in the AFL in 2024, although Oliver seems to have made great strides and is a confirmed starter in Thursday night’s team.
Melbourne have brought back a very similar squad to the one that bowed out in the second week of finals last season, which indicates they believe internally that they’re not too behind the best. Along with Oliver, the likes of Max Gawn, Jack Viney, and Christian Petracca will again play a massive role in the fortunes of this club, and it must be said the latter three looked in fantastic touch in their pre-season hitouts.
Match prediction: These clubs met twice during the 2023 home and away season and it was the Demons who saluted on both occasions, once at home by 50 points (134-84) and later on the road by 21 points (77-56).
The Swans were very lucky to make the eight last season and just might find it tough in the early goings in 2024 due to the injuries to Parker, Mills, and Adams. On top of that, Grundy might take a couple of weeks to build proper chemistry with his new midfielders, and Jordon is another fresh face in the engine room that will have to quickly acclimatise to John Longmire’s system.
In my opinion, the Demons have a far more settled lineup and they all already know what’s expected of them. Kozzie Pickett (suspension) is the only notable absentee, and having Oliver available is a huge bonus.
With all of that said, no one can be quite sure what will transpire in the first game of a brand new season, so I’ll be playing it safe by wagering only 1.5 units on the Demons to win.
Melbourne to Win
$1.96 (1.5 Units)
Same Game Multi
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Bayley Fritsch 3+ Goals – He just loves playing against the Swans. Four straight games of 3+ goals against them and there’s no reason why he can’t repeat the dose again.
Christian Salem 20+ Disposals – Had the most Centre Bounce Attendances (CBA’s) in last weekend’s practice match with 22 and managed to find plenty of the footy. He looks good value for 20+ touches.
James Jordon 20+ Disposals – Was everywhere in the practice match with over 30 disposals and will get his opportunity on ball due to the Swans injuries. He’ll also be keen to play well first up against his former club.
SGM Odds: $4.75 at BoomBet
