Round 6 in the AFL kicks off on Friday night with the Giants hosting the Saints from Manuka Oval. The Saints have been flying while the opposite can be said the Giants through five rounds. Catch our preview and betting tips for the round opener below.
Remember to head to our AFL Tips page for betting tips on every game across Round 6 of the season.
GWS vs St Kilda Betting Tips
Manuka Oval, Friday 22nd April, 7.50pm (AEST)
GWS
Injuries: Jack Buckley, Brent Daniels, Phil Davis, Jacob Hopper, Daniel Lloyd, Conor Stone, Zach Sproule
The Giants got through their clash with the Demons unscathed on the weekend, but still have a pretty extensive injury list with important players in Phil Davis, Jacob Hopper and Brent Daniels out of the line-up. The big plus for the Giants is that skipper Toby Greene will finally be able to return from his suspension, giving the Giants a huge boost in their forward line.
The Giants had the tough test of facing the Demons in Round 5 and while they were gallant in the first half, Melbourne ultimately ran over the top of them in what was a pretty disappointing effort in the end. Tom Green continued his impressive start to the season, but there wasn’t much else to be excited about for Giants fans.
Getting Toby Greene back is massive for the Giants, as they have lacked creative attacking options so far this season. The small forward has been a barometer for the Giants for the past few years, and if there is one player that can turn their season around, it’s him.
St Kilda
Injuries: Nick Coffield, Dan Hannebery, Zak Jones, Jimmy Webster (Out) Paddy Ryder (Susp) Hunter Clark, Jack Billings, Jarryn Geary (Test)
The Saints also got through their Round 5 clash with no significant injuries and could get a few key players back this week in Jack Billings Hunter Clark and Jarryn Geary. Jimmy Webster will likely have another week on the sidelines in the heath and safety protocol while Paddy Ryder will miss one more through suspension.
The Saints have been fantastic through five rounds, maintaining a 4-1 record to sit in fourth place on the ladder. Since a R1 upset loss to Collingwood, they have been nearly unstoppable, rolling through Fremantle, Richmond, Hawthorn and Gold Coast. The one knock on them so far is that they are the only team in the competition that are yet to play a team that finished in the top eight last season.
Their cohesiveness in defence has gone to another level and they are arguably the best team in the competition at turning defence into attack at the moment. Their speed is on another level and they have outside movers in great form at the moment in Brad Hill, Seb Ross, Jack Sinclair and Nasiah Wanganen-Milera.
Match Prediction
The Saints start as $1.80 favourites on the road, and I have to admit, I love that price for them. They have looked infinitely better than the Giants this season and over the past few years, even when the Giants were one of the best teams in the competition, St Kilda’s style of play has always seemed to give them a little trouble.
The Saints have won their last two in a row against the Giants, including a 52 point thrashing in 2020. Dealing with extremely high pressure has been one thing this Giants team has struggled with over the past few seasons and the Saints are in the top few teams in the league when it comes to applying pressure at the moment, particularly in the front half. Back them to get the job done here.
St Kilda H2H
$1.74 (2 Units)
Prop Bets
Young Matt Flynn will have a big job on Friday night as he goes up against Rowan Marshall and Jack Hayes in the ruck. Marshall has had a significant bump in production in the games he’s played without Paddy Ryder this season, averaging 93.3 fantasy points per game in those thee games as opposed to just 63 in the two games with Ryder. Expect him to have a big game on Friday night against the inexperienced Flynn.
Marshall 20+ Disposals ($1.87 at Ladbrokes)
Tom Green has been the standout player for the Giants so far this season. He is doing a large portion of the grunt work in the middle of the ground and through five rounds, he is averaging 29.3 disposals per game. Had 34 on the weekend in the loss to the Dees, expect him to accumulate again on Friday.
Tom Green 30+ Disposals ($2.35 at Ladbrokes)
