The four game slate in the AFL this Saturday is headlined by an interesting clash between the Saints and Demons from 7.25pm at Marvel Stadium. Both teams had solid wins in Round 1 and will be looking to continue the momentum on Saturday.
Catch our full preview and betting tips for the clash and remember, you can view our preview and tips for every game in Round 2 and beyond of the AFL season, just be sure to head to our AFL Betting Tips page for regular updates.
AFL St Kilda vs Melbourne Betting Tips
Marvel Stadium, Saturday 7.25pm (AEDT)
The clash between the Saints and the Demons on Saturday night will have added significance as the two teams compete in the first ‘Spud’s Game’, a game dedicated to the memory of Saints great Danny Frawley and a fundraiser for men’s mental health awareness. Click here if you want to donate to Spud Frawley’s Legacy.
Match Prediction
Not enough people are talking about how good the Saints win in Round 1 was. Brett Ratten has spent the past two off-seasons recruiting and building a team for pace and skill in perfect conditions under the roof at Marvel. In the Saints first game of the season, they travelled to Sydney to take on a gritty GWS team with 9 of their best 22 players out in wet and windy conditions. Saints teams of old would have chalked that up as a loss but this St Kilda side fought from 13 points down in the last quarter to capture a brilliant win.
The Demons didn’t look as impressive, but still got the job done at home against Fremantle on Saturday afternoon. The Dees kicked away to a three goal lead late in the first quarter and the margin hovered around that mark for the rest of the game. Star midfielders Clayton Oliver and Christian Petracca were great in the win but it was forward Tom McDonald who dominated the game for the Dees, bagging 2 goals and taking 9 marks.
The Saints will still be without a host of key players in the likes of Brad Crouch, James Frawley, Jarryn Geary, Dan Hannebery, Rowan Marshall, Ben Paton and Paddy Ryder. They will, hwoever, get both Max King and Zak Jones back into the line-up, which will be a massive boost to their aggressive style of play.
The Dees had some good news over the week in terms of injury, with Michael Hibberd, Jake Melksham and Jack Viney all getting through the VFL game unscathed. They should all be available this week, giving the Dees a pretty solid squad to choose from come selection night.
Regardless of their outs at the moment, it’s hard for me to look past the Saints given how good they were in Round 1. They will be a completely different side in perfect conditions under the roof at Marvel Stadium and their pace through the middle of the ground combined with arguably the best small forward contingent in the league could be lethal. Back them to cover the 7.5 point line.
Saints -7.5 (2 Units)
$1.90
Saints Prop
Saints small forward Jack Higgins impressed in his first game in red, white and black, kicking 2.1 and looking threatening all night. He will play a big role alongside the likes of Jack Lonie, Dan Butler and Jade Gresham in the damaging Saints small forward line this season and $2.88 for him to bag another two compared to the likes of Membrey at $1.30, Butler at $1.67 and King at $1.67 is great value.
Demons Prop
Outside of a couple of star midfielders like Christian Petracca who floated forward and kicked two goals, Tom McDonald looked like the only viable threat in the Demons forward line against the Dockers in Round 1. Hard to believe that the big man is still paying $2.00 to back two goals. He’ll have a tough time against a talented Saints defence but that value is too good to pass up.
