Collingwood will be out to put a tumultuous week off the field behind them on Sunday as they face up against GWS. The Pies are well and truly in finals contention, so expect plenty of faithful to get to the MCG to support their team.
Remember, Before You Bet will be previewing every game of the 2022 AFL season, so be sure to check out our AFL Tips page for regular updates.
Collingwood vs GWS Betting Tips
MCG, Sunday 26th June, 3.20pm (AEST)
Collingwood
Injuries: Jordan De Goey (personal), Brodie Grundy, Nathan Kreuger, Jack Madgen, Reef McInnes, Tom Wilson
Jordan De Goey is the high profile out for Collingwood this weekend, withdrawing himself from selection after copping criticism from all angles.
Collingwood head into the home stretch of the season in a great position, considering preseason expectations. Players are overperforming across the park, Nick Daicos flying as the Rising Star favourite while Darcy Cameron fills a Brodie Grundy sized ruck hole with aplomb. The small forwards are also getting it done – Jack Ginnivan, Jamie Elliott and Oliver Henry forming a lethal combination. Things should only get better for the Pies, who will regain All Australian ruckman Grundy in a few weeks before a potential finals campaign.
GWS
Injuries: James Peatling (out), Ryan Angwin (out), Bobby Hill, Leek Aleer, Jack Buckley, Finn Callaghan, Brent Daniels, Josh Fahey, Jacob Hopper, Daniel Lloyd, Conor Stone
Peatling and Angwin have been added to an already lengthy injury list, however the Giants will be buoyed by the inclusions of Tim Taranto and Phil Davis.
Mark McVeigh’s Giants are entertaining, but they are still failing to put wins on the board. The season is gone in terms of finals aspirations, however at least GWS can still set a blueprint for how they want to play going forward. It was great to see the infinitely talented forward pairing of Toby Greene and Jesse Hogan score 10 goals between them last week, and the men in orange will hoping that those efforts can be repeated for the remainder of the year.
Match Prediction
Until the media storm of the past week, I would have been confident in tipping Collingwood.
However, it is not unknown for off field scandals to create distraction amongst a playing group, and I sense a distinct opportunity here for the Giants to record an upset.
GWS have won the last three encounters between these two sides, one of which was at the MCG which is usually an intimidating venue for interstate teams.
In fact, the Giants have put in a few decent performances at the ‘G historically. Furthermore, the inclusions of Davis and Taranto are key to their structure and leadership on the field.
As such, I’m tipping the underdogs.
Prop Bets
Darcy Cameron has been outstanding as the #1 ruckman at Collingwood and will come up against a team with no recognised ruck this week. He has hit 15+ disposals in both of his last two matches.
Darcy Cameron 15+ disposals ($1.72 at Ladbrokes)
All three previous encounters between these teams went under this line and there is 2-5mm of rain forecast for Sunday in Melbourne. If you want to get greedy, consider a custom line at around 150 points for value.
Under 165.5 total points ($1.88 at TAB)
