Sunday afternoon brings us a battle of the battlers in the AFL, with West Coast hosting North Melbourne in a match that will go a long way to deserve which team takes home the wooden spoon in 2023. Not a lot has gone right for either side in recent months, but at least one team will go home smiling as Round 20 concludes at Optus Stadium.
We bring you our preview, best bet and value Same Game Multi for the Eagles vs Kangaroos battle below!
AFL Round 20 Preview & Betting Tips
West Coast vs North Melbourne
Sunday 4:40pm AEST, July 30th, Optus Stadium
Despite regaining some players from injury over the last month, West Coast have remained wholly uncompetitive, losing all four of their matches. Two of those defeats have come by 71 points or more, so it really is a depressing time to be an Eagles fan. Furthermore, just when the injury crisis was beginning to ease, the curse has struck again with Tom Barrass and Luke Shuey struck down. The former will miss the rest of the season, while Shuey will also be out for some time with a hamstring injury. As such, the kids will have to shoulder the burden again as the Eagles limp towards the end of a tragic campaign. Are there any shining lights? Perhaps the form of Oscar Allen, or the emergence of Bailey Williams in the ruck. But, ultimately West Coast have found out what rock bottom looks like this year, and undoubtedly heads will roll in the off season.
Incredibly, North Melbourne have not won a game since their 2-0 start to 2023, losing 16 games in succession. The Kangaroos definitely haven’t been as poor as West Coast, but it’s certainly been a disappointing season considering the fantastic energy coming out of Arden Street over the opening month. Nevertheless, there is still plenty of pride to play for in this game and North have called in the big guns, naming Jy Simpkin to return from injury. He will line up alongside a debutant, Robert Hansen Jnr, who will play his first game in a bottle of the table clash away from home. In other news, Jack Ziebell announced his retirement during the week, bringing to an end a long and storied career in white and blue.
So, who wins this one? The Kangaroos have matched up well against the Eagles in recent years, winning the last three matches between the teams, and I can see them extending that streak on Sunday. West Coast have looked all at sea without Tom Barrass down back, and North’s midfield is nearly at full strength so the likes of Larkey and Xerri should see plenty of supply. For those reasons, the Roos will get home and snap their winless run.
North Melbourne 1-39
$2.25 (2 Units)
Same Game Multi
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Luke Davies-Uniacke 30+ Disposals – Since returning from injury, LDU has had disposal tallies of 28, 26 and 33. Against a leaky and depleted Eagles midfield, the rising onballer should clear 30 in a Kangaroos victory.
Nick Larkey 2+ Goals – No Barrass means no West Coast when it comes to containing key forwards. Without an appropriate matchup, Larkey could be on for a big here, considering that Charlie Curnow booted 10 against the Eagles last week.
Tristan Xerri 1+ Goal – Same principle as above. Xerri will share the ruck duties with Goldstein and spend the rest of his time up forward. All it takes is one grab inside the 50 and Xerri should be able to hit the scoreboard as he did last week.
SGM Odds: $6 at BoomBet
