Round 4 in the 2020 AFL season continues this Saturday with a fanastic four game slate to sink our teeth into! The action gets underway at 1.45pm as top of the table Port Adelaide face off against West Coast in what should be an interesting battle. In the afternoon, the Saints host the Tigers from Marvel Stadium before a pair of big clashes kick off at 7.40pm!
As usual, we have you covered with a preview and betting tips for all four games of the day. Remember, you can head to our dedicated AFL Tips page to view our preview and betting advice for EVERY game in Round 4.
AFL Round 4 Saturday Betting Tips
Port Adelaide vs West Coast
Metricon Stadium, 1.45pm (AEST)
A very intriguing battle opens up Super Saturday in the AFL as the Power and Eagles do battle from Metricon Stadium. The Power have started the season like a house on fire, winning their first three games and accumulating a massive 243.8 percantege. They have, however, only faced the Gold Coast, Adelaide and Frementle, who will likely all be bottom eight sides this season. They'll get their first real test come Saturday, albeit against an Eagles side that has looked a bit shaky so far.
The Eagles won their first game of the season back in March, defeating Melbourne by 27 points at home. Since the return, however, they have lost both of their games and now sit in the bottom few teams on the ladder. They were comfortably beaten by Gold Coast in Round 2 before losing again to Brisbane on the weekend. They'll be desperate to get this Queensland quarantine overwith so they can get back to Optus Stadium, where they play their best football.
Hard to look past the Power in their current form. It will no doubt be a step up in opposition for them this week, however, they haven't done anything to make us doubt their form at the moment, handling all three of their matchups with relative ease. They start as 8.5 poitn favourites, a line which we are more than happy to back them at. They have a near full strength line-up to call upon while the Eagles could be without key players Liam Ryan and Jeremy McGovern.
Charlie Dixon 2+ Goals ($1.72)
St Kilda vs Richmond
Marvel Stadium, 4.35pm (AEST)
The Saints had a tough matchup against the Pies last week and there will be no respite as they come up agianst the Tigers at Marvel Stadium from 4.35pm. After a good win against the Bulldogs in Round 2, the Saints looked well off the pace as they were beaten by 44 points by the Magpies. Jake Carlisle was the only Saints player who stood up and played a good game, which is a telling sign considering there were reports that the Saints would part ways with him at the start of the season.
Richmond are an interesting case. There is no doubt that they are one of the better teams in the league and could compete for another premiership this year, however, they have looked sluggish in the two games since footy returned, drawing a low scoring contest with Collingwood in Round 2 before having their pants pulled down by Hawthorn last week. They'll have a point to prove on Saturday, which does not bode well for the Saints in our opinion.
The Tigers have won their last four games in a row against the Saints by an average margin of 39 points. The last time the Saints beat Richmond was in Round 16 of the 2017 season, when the Saints piled on 14 goals to 1 before HT. Richmond would go on to lose just one more game for the rest of the season and win their first premiership since 1980. Richmond start as 16.5 point favourites here, and by their recent history against the Saints combined with the probably return from injury for Dustin Martin, you have to like them to bounce back this week.
Jack Lonie Anytime Goal ($1.83)
Essendon vs Carlton
MCG, 7.40pm (AEST)
There was doubt over whether this game would even go ahead given last week's news that Conor McKenna had tested positive for COVID-19 and the resulting postponment of the Bombers-Demons game. Since then, however, every Essendon player, including McKenna himself has tested egative for teh virus, meaning the game will go ahead as scheduled. The Bombers could be grateful for the two week rest period, which has allowed what is a large injury list more time to recover. Orazio Fantasia looks set to return this week, which will give the Dons added firepower in the forward line.
The Blues captured a fantastic win on the road in Geelong last weekend. leading the whole game, they held off a late run from the Cats to win by two points and move out of the bottom four on the ladder. Star midfielder Patrick Cripps played a great game, racking up 24 touches and botting two goals while second string ruckman Marc Pittonet was great in Matt Kreuzers absence.
The Dons will start as 4.5 point favourites here, which seems like it should be a little higher but given the outside factors that they have had to deal with at the club over the last week as well as some good form by Carlton, the line has stayed relatively low. Despite the extra week off for the Dons, we actually like Carlton here. They will be buoyed by a fantastic win in Geelong last week and should bring the momentum into Saturday night.
Sam Walsh 20+ Disposals ($2.00)
Gold Coast vs Fremantle
Metricon Stadium, 7.40pm (AEST)
The Gold Coast Suns will start as favourites for the second time in a row as they face off against Fremantle on Saturday night. They were superb against the Crows on the weekend, winning by 53 points to move to 2-1 on the season and sit in 3rd place on the ladder. The form of rookie Matt Rowell is truly astonishing, with the midfielder picking up another 20 touches and 2 goals to go with his 26 touches and two goals in the win over West Coast the week before.
Fremantle looked well off the pace in Round 3 as they came up against a rampant Port Adeliade side. They were defeated by 29 points at Metricon Stadium as Nat Fyfe and Michael Walters were the only Dockers players to put up a fight, combining for 46 touches and two goals. They are still without a bunch of players but could get Stephen Hill and Sean Darcy back from injury this week.
Tough game to call here. The Suns have set the world on fire over the past two weeks but you feel with a list as young as theirs is, the bubble will have to burst at some stage. This should be a pretty close contest, one that could swing either way, so we like the 'any other result' in the wire to wire market here.
Matt Rowell Anytime Goalscorer ($1.90)
W2W - Any Other Result
$2.00
