Second up on Super Saturday in AFL Round 18 is a clash between Gold Coast and St Kilda at Heritage Bank Stadium. What will the Suns dish up in their first game post-Dew? We preview the fixture and provide our betting strategy below.
Also, make sure to check out our AFL page regularly to keep up to date with all of our content, including tips for every game, weekly Brownlow recap, and more!
AFL Round 18 Preview & Betting Tips
Gold Coast vs St Kilda
Saturday 2:10pm AEST, July 15th, Heritage Bank Stadium
Gold Coast vs St Kilda on a Saturday afternoon at Heritage Bank Stadium wouldn’t usually be a matchup of particularly high interest, but it’s one we’ll all be watching intently this time around.
Big news out of the Suns camp midweek was that Stuart Dew’s tenure as senior coach had come to an end. After being backed by the higher-ups less than a week prior, the long-serving coach was relieved of his duties effective immediately. Assistant Coach Steven King has taken the reins for the meantime and will be in the hot seat for the first time this weekend.
Dew’s sacking came at a bit of a surprising time considering the Suns put up a decent fight on the road against the rampaging Power last weekend. However, that loss was their third from their past four and the board clearly has higher expectations for how their current list should be performing.
Meanwhile, St Kilda were gallant in defeat against Melbourne last weekend. They lost three players to injury in the first half but never gave up and were perhaps unlucky to come away as 21-point losers. Still, Saints fans would be concerned that their club has been unable to string together consecutive wins since starting the season at 4-0.
What will cheer up Saints fans is their recent record against the Suns. They’ve been utterly dominant with wins in each of their last eight meetings include four at Heritage Bank Stadium.
The last time the Suns had success in this matchup was way back in Round 15 2016 when Rodney Eade was at the helm. They went 0-6 against the Saints with Dew in charge, so it’ll be interesting to see how they go on Saturday.
Regardless, I don’t see how the Suns can be listed at around $1.50 favourites considering everything that’s transpired between the four walls this week. I’m more than happy to take them on at that price and back the Saints to make it nine in a row in this matchup at juicy odds.
St Kilda to Win
$2.68 (1.5 Units)
Same Game Multi
The easiest way to place your Same Game Multi is to click on the BoomBet BetShare banner below! This will add our SGM selections straight into your BoomBet bet slip! You can then enter how much you wish to wager and with one click, your bet has been placed!
Jack Steele 25+ Disposals – After a tough season, the skipper looked back to his best last weekend. Was covering the ground well and racking up the touches.
Mitch Owens 2+ Goals – With King out, I wouldn’t be surprised if Owens is used closer to goal. He’s a freakish talent and knows where the big sticks are.
Sam Flanders 20+ Disposals – Has been getting opportunity in the midfield over the past three weeks and hasn’t disappointed with 27, 27, and 24 disposals. He remains solid value.
