AFL action in Round 6 continues on Sunday with three more games on card. Here, we preview the match between Richmond and Melbourne and provide our best spread and player prop betting tips!
As always, we have you covered with a full preview and betting tips for the game and remember to head to our AFL Tips page, where you can catch our coverage of all the Round 6 action.
Richmond vs Melbourne Betting Tips
MCG, Sunday 23rd April, 7:25pm (AEST)
Richmond
Injuries: Tom Brown (H&S Protocols), Josh Caddy (Hamstring), Dylan Grimes (Hamstring), Dustin Martin (Personal), Hugo Ralphsmith (Ribs)
The Tigers continue to be without a couple of their star players due to various reasons. Dustin Martin remains on the sidelines for personal reasons and co-captain Dylan Grimes will miss again with a hamstring, as will Josh Caddy. Hugo Ralphsmith is also out for the next week or so due to a ribs injury.
The Tigers were disappointing in a loss against the Crows last weekend. Their opposition looked like the much hungrier dog in the fight and certainly deserved the four points. Trent Cotchin was the best player for the Tigers on the day with 24 disposals and a goal, but was lucky to escape suspension after a dirty kick at Taylor Walker. That loss was their third for the season from five matches, which means the Tigers are currently on the outside of the top eight looking in.
Melbourne
Injuries: Michael Hibberd (Calf), Blake Howes (Foot), Christian Salem (Knee), Daniel Turner (Foot))
There isn’t too much to report in terms of injuries for Melbourne. They’re only without two half-back flankers for their clash with the Tigers. Michael Hibberd is rehabbing a Calf injury, while Christian Salem continues his lengthy rehab of an injured knee.
The Demons made very light work of the out-of-sorts Giants in their Round 5 encounter, defeating them by a whopping 67 points in Melbourne. That win continued their perfect start to their premiership defence and impressively, all five wins have been by at least a couple of goals. The Demons remain the best form team in the competition and are thoroughly deserving of sitting on top of the ladder, being the only team yet to suffer a defeat.
Match Prediction
The Tigers have traded wins with losses this season but I expect that it changes this Sunday. They were dismal in their loss against the Crows last weekend, while the Demons were workmanlike in their win. The latter remain the best team in the competition by a country mile in my opinion, and I expect to see nothing less than a dominant win here. Demons to be able to cover the spread here.
Melbourne Demons -22.5 (2 UNITS)
$2
Prop Bets
I don’t mind the odds this week for Charlie Spargo to kick a goal at some stage. He’s only kicked the two for the season from five games, but he banged in 18 last season and is always a threat when the Demons are playing well. $2.25 is over the odds for me.
Charlie Spargo Anytime Goal Kicker ($2.25 Ladbrokes)
Daniel Rioli let us down last weekend with just 16 touches, but the result of that is he’s even better value this week. He’s had 20+ in three of his five game prior and with the role he’s currently playing, I expect some more high disposal numbers from him this weekend.
Daniel Rioli 20+ Disposals ($1.98 Ladbrokes)
Again, Jayden Short disappointed us last weekend with only 18 touches when we were looking for 30. There was no one more frustrated with him than me, but he spent an uncharacteristically long time on the pine and I expect that to change this weekend.
Jayden Short 30+ Disposals ($2.25 Ladbrokes)
