Two of the top teams in the AFL will do battle in the headline Saturday night game of Round 8 as the Power Adelaide Power take on the Western Bulldogs from Adelaide Oval. As usual, PuntingInDanger has his full preview and betting tips for the clash below.
AFL Port Adelaide vs Western Bulldogs Betting Tips
Adelaide Oval, Saturday 14th May 7.40pm (AEST)
The Dogs and Power sit in 2nd and 3rd on the ladder respectively so this clash has blockbuster written all over it and could even be a preview of a finals clash later in the season.
Match Prediction
After a disappointing loss to the Tigers in Round 7, the Bulldogs were pushed to the brink on the weekend, trailing the Blues for the majority of the game before a dominant final quarter gave them a 16 point win. There were certainly some worrying signs for the Bulldogs throughout the game, who struggled to keep up with the pace of the Blues at times, and they’ll come up against one of the slickest and fasting moving teams in the league on Saturday night in the Power.
Port Adelaide were too good for their cross-town rivals in the first Showdown of the season on the weekend. They ran out 49 point winners over the Crows on the back of brilliant performance from the trio of key forwards in Todd Marshall, Mitch Georgiades and Charlie Dixon.
The Power are still without some key players in the likes of Xavier Duursma and Zak Butters, while Dan Houston could be in doubt after injuring his shoulder in the win over the Crows. They will also be missing ruckman Scott Lycett, who was suspended for four games.
The Dogs were cruising on the injury front earlier in the season, but the list of names has slowly started to grow. Josh Dunkley is the big name who is out for 10-14 weeks with a shoulder injury, but joining him on the list is the likes of Stefan Martin, Toby McLean, Lin Jong and Ed Richards who will all miss this week. Lachie Hunter Tim English, Laitham Vandermeer and Bailey Williams will all need to pass fitness tests to play this week.
Port Adelaide start as slight 7.5 point favourites for this clash, a line that would probably be 7.5 points in the Dogs favour if the game was scheduled at Marvel. I think these two teams are so evenly matched that the home field advantage and the support of the Adelaide crowd should be a big advantage for the Power. They are 4-0 at Adelaide Oval this season with an average winning margin of 39.75. I think they hand the Dogs their 2nd loss of the season on the weekend.
Power -7.5 (1.5 Units)
$1.90
Power Prop
Kane Farrell has booted a goal in two of his last three games against the Dogs and returned the Power line-up in Round 8 with a one goal performance in the win over the Crows. He had two scoring shots in the clash and I really like the value of him to snag another one on Saturday night.
Farrell Anytime Goal
$2.00
Bulldogs Prop
Jack Macrae is without doubt the premier accumulator of disposals in the league at the moment. He is averaging over 35 touches per game this season and in his last four games in full length quarters against the Power, Macrae has racked up 41, 12, 36 and 36 touches. Like him to pass the 35 touch mark on Saturday.
