Friday night footy in Round 5 pits the Western Bulldogs against Essendon under the roof at Marvel! Both clubs have had mixed results in the early goings this season and have a fantastic opportunity to go ahead of the ledger. We bring you our full match preview and betting tips right here!
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2024 AFL Round 5 Preview & Betting Tips
Western Bulldogs vs Essendon
Friday 7:40pm AEST, April 12th, Marvel Stadium
The Western Bulldogs began their season with a poor loss against the Demons but have performed well in their three matches since, picking up two wins and a loss along the way. That loss was their most recent fixture against the Cats where they came up four points short (91-95).
Coach Luke Beveridge has flicked the magnets around quite a bit early on in the season to try and find the best formula. Star midfielder Jack Macrae started as the sub against the Cats and replaced another star in Caleb Daniel who’s surprisingly been out of favour in 2024. Further reports suggest Daniel will now be spending some time in the VFL to recapture his form.
Similarly, Essendon coach Brad Scott will likely make some personnel adjustments ahead of this clash simply due to how poor his side was against the Power in Gather Round. The Bombers were absolutely beaten up around the footy in the 70-point loss (42-112) and managed to score only 20 points after quarter time.
There’s more bad news for the Bombers on the injury front, with elite defender Jordan Ridley suffering another setback. He’s now listed as 4-6 weeks away as he continues to rehab his quad. On top of that, inside mid Will Setterfield suffered a knee injury against the Power and will be out for at least a fortnight.
Match prediction: The Western Bulldogs vs Essendon is always a fun matchup due to the high-scoring nature, although the results have been completely lopsided in recent times. The Bulldogs have won three in a row and nine of their past 10 meetings with the Bombers.
On the back of their recent performance, I’m surprised to see the Bombers as competitive as they are in the H2H market, particularly considering the Bulldogs have played well three weeks in a row.
In better form and with a great history in this matchup, I like the Bulldogs to win and cover the relatively small spread on Friday night.
Western Bulldogs -14.5
$1.90 (1.5 Units)
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Western Bulldogs H2H – For the reasons mentioned above I’m happy to include the Bulldogs to win.
Kyle Langford 3+ Goals – Loves playing at Marvel with 3+ goals in his last four appearances at the venue. He should hit the scoreboard again here.
Tom Liberatore 25+ Disposals – What a machine this guy is. Dominated against the Cats last weekend and should have plenty of it again against the Bombers.
SGM Odds: $5 at BoomBet
