We had a great bounce back weekend in Round 8 of the AFL as PuntingInDanger and fans hitting on six out of nine bets after a poor performance the weekend before. We’ll be looking to continue our momentum as we take a look at every game in Round 9 of the AFL and give our betting tips below.
Adelaide vs Western Bulldogs (Friday 7.50pm AEST)
See our standalone preview for the big Friday night clash here!
North Melbourne vs Greater Western Sydney (Saturday 1.45pm AEST)
North Melbourne will host the Giants for their first game down in Tasmania on Saturday afternoon. The Roos are coming off a gallant performance against the Tigers on the weekend in which they had a real opportunity to cause an upset late in the game. They have definitely been the surprise packet of the year so far, and currently sit just one game outside the top eight with four wins from their eight games.
Injuries have been the theme of the Giants season so far. After losing Tom Scully for the season due to a broken ankle, a host of star players have also missed games throughout the last month including Toby Greene, Josh Kelly, Brett Deledio, Jeremy Cameron and Zac Williams. Phil Davis could also be in doubt for this weekend’s clash after suffering a concussion against the Tigers on the weekend.
The Giants have won their last three games in a row against North Melbourne, but they will start as underdogs here given the Roos hot run of form. One thing that worries me about the Giants is their ability to play in tough conditions. Wind and rain is forecast in Hobart on Saturday, which will hinder GWS and their playstyle which relies so heavily on clean ball usage. The hard-nosed midfielder of North Melbourne should love the conditions. I like the Roos to take this one.
TIP: North Melbourne by 1-39 - $2.25 at CrownBet
Gold Coast vs Port Adelaide (Saturday 3.15pm AEST)
The annual game between Gold Coast and Port Adelaide hosted by China will take place this Saturday afternoon as the Power look to carry on some hot momentum after a big Showdown win last weekend. The Power looked down and out of their game against Adelaide before a five-goal quarter from star Robbie Gray carried them to a five-point win.
The Gold Coast were fairly competitive against Melbourne in their Round 8 clash before an 8-goal last quarter to the Demons helped them to a 69-point win. The Suns midfield just lacks enough class and ball winning ability to match it with the best teams in the league at the moment, as Melbourne boasted 9 of the top 11 disposal winners on the ground on Saturday.
Port Adelaide were big winners in both of the team’s games last year, downing them by 72 points in China then by 115 points later in the year in Adelaide. They start as 41.5-point favourites here and I think they cover that comfortably, especially if they bring some of their Round 8 form to the clash.
TIP: Port Adelaide -41.5 - $1.92 at Sportsbet
Essendon vs Geelong (Saturday 4.35pm AEST)
Another week, another extremely disappointing performance from the Bombers. They were favoured against the Blues on the weekend but handed their opponents their first win of the season in a 13-point loss at the MCG. They’ll return to the MCG this weekend but will be up against it again as they face the Cats, who had an impressive win over Collingwood in Round 8.
The Cats looked ominous with their big four midfielders in Dangerfield, Ablett, Selwood and Duncan all in the line-up against the Pies while Sam Menegola was really impressive, racking up 24 touches and booting 3 goals in the win. The Cats got four players back from injury last weekend including key defender Harry Taylor, who will be massive for their structure moving forward. Tom Hawkins will come back after suspension this weekend while Scott Selwood could also return after a back injury.
The Cats start as strong favourites here and given the Bombers woeful form of late, it’s hard to see a scenario in which they stay competitive. The Dons midfield just hasn’t looked up to scratch lately, especially with last years best and fairest winner, Zach Merrett struggling for form. Geelong’s midfield should control this game and earn a comfortable win.
TIP: Geelong -31.5 - $1.92 at CrownBet
Sydney vs Fremantle (Saturday 7.25pm AEST)
Sydney played out one of the games of the season against Hawthorn last Friday night, coming from two goals down in the final quarter to defeat the Hawks by 8 points. The Swans will still be without star forward Lance Franklin this weekend as he recovers from a bruised heel but Dan Hannebery should return to the line-up.
Fremantle recorded a comfortable win over the Saints in Round 8 as star midfielder Nat Fyfe continued his dominant season so far and moved into early favouritism for the Brownlow Medal. The Docker racked up 36 touches and kicked a goal in the win, but should have a bit tougher time against the Swans midfield in Sydney this weekend.
Tough game to call here, I think the Swans just get over the line but not sure if they have what it takes to cover a 27 point line without the goal scoring power of Buddy Franklin. They had to get 7 goals out of third gamer Ben Ronke on the weekend just to put 79 points on the board. The Swans have won just one game by over 27 points this season and that was back in Round 1 against the Eagles. They love a close game and this has the signs to be another one.
TIP: Fremantle +27.5 - $1.92 at Ladbrokes
St Kilda vs Collingwood (Saturday 7.25pm AEST)
Yet again the Saints were disappointing on the weekend, albeit faced with the difficult task of travelling to Perth to play the Dockers. They went down by 30 points and has he has been on many occasions this year; defender Jimmy Webster was the sole shining light for the Saints. St Kilda have plenty of in and under midfielders but lack some class on the outside and should struggle this weekend against the elite midfield of the Pies.
The Pies can keep their heads high after a 21-point loss to the Cats last weekend in trying conditions. Their midfield was fantastic, boasting 5 of the top six ball winners on the ground, however, they really struggled to find an avenue to goal, scoring just 45 points on the day.
The Saints will welcome the return to Etihad Stadium here and call me stupid for thinking it, but I just think this could be the game where we finally see the ferocious tackling and pressure which they led the league in last year. There were glimpses of it on the weekend against the Dockers and this game has a similar feeling to the Richmond game last year where the Saints were travelling poorly leading into a Saturday night clash against Richmond. They ran out 67-point winners that night.
TIP: St Kilda +20.5 - $1.92 at CrownBet
Carlton vs Melbourne (Sunday 1.10pm AEST)
Carlton finally notched up their first win of the season on the weekend as they downed the Bombers by 13 points at the MCG. Patrick Cripps was dominant once again in the win, racking up 27 possessions, 19 of them contested as he continues to stamp himself as one of the best ball winning midfielders in the league.
He’ll have a tougher day this week, however, as he comes up against the Melbourne midfield, who have proved to be one of the tougher ones to play on so far this season with Nathan Jones regularly playing hard run with roles on opposition guns. The Demons were great in their win over Gold Coast on the weekend, kicking a season high 21 goals as Tom McDonald addressed a key forward line problem by booting 5 goals in the win.
Melbourne have won their last three games in a row against pretty easy competition in Essendon, St Kilda and Gold Coast. They get one more relatively easy opponent before their schedule starts to become tough so they’ll want to make the most of this and cement their place in the eight.
TIP: Melbourne -33.5 - $1.92 at CrownBet
Brisbane vs Hawthorn (Sunday 3.20pm AEST)
The Lions are now the only team in the AFL without a win to their name as they went down to the Bulldogs by 14 points in Round 8. Dayne Zorko backed up his dominant performance in Round 7 with another great game, racking up 24 touches and kicking 4 goals but ultimately it wasn’t enough for the Lions. Eric Hipwood looks like an exciting talent, but his kicking needs a lot of work after he kicked two behinds and three out of bounds on the full when going for goal on the weekend.
The Hawks were unlucky not to get over the line in their Friday night clash against Sydney. James Sicily continued to make his case as one of the elite defenders in the league with another standout performance including 26 touches and 9 marks. Tom Mitchell was relatively quiet by his lofty standards, racking up only 20 disposals and could be in for another tough day against Mitch Robinson.
Brisbane have been competitive in a lot of their games so far this year and should bring their best at the Gabba this weekend. I think the Hawks get the job done but expect it to be a fairly close affair.
TIP: Hawthorn to win by 1-39 - $2.05 at Sportsbet
West Coast vs Richmond (Sunday 4.40pm AEST)
The game of the round sees first and second on the AFL ladder going at it as the Eagles host Richmond over in Perth on Sunday afternoon. It should be a packed house full of rampant West Coast supporters at the new Optus Stadium as their team looks to make a statement against the best team currently in the AFL.
The Eagles could be bolstered by some big inclusions from injury in Jeremy McGovern, Dom Sheed and Lewis Jetta but will still be without star midfielder Luke Shuey. The Tigers are absolutely flying on the injury front at the moment and should have a near full contingent of players to call upon for the trip West.
Extremely tough game to pick here in my opinion, and the bookies agree as the odds are around even. West Coast boasts arguably the best attack in the game while Richmond’s defence is second to none. I’m not touching this one at all.
TIP: No bet
