Round 8 in the 2025 AFL season begins on Thursday night with a clash under the Marvel Stadium lights between Essendon and North Melbourne. The Bombers will be aiming to bounce back from a disappointing Anzac Day defeat, while the Kangaroos will be out to snap a five-game losing streak. Check out our full match preview, best bet, and Same Game Multi below!
Also, Before You Bet will be providing free previews and betting tips for EVERY game in the 2025 AFL season, so make sure to head over to out our AFL Tips regularly to keep up to date with all of our free content.
Essendon vs North Melbourne
Location: Marvel Stadium – Melbourne
Date: Thursday, 1st May
Time: 7:30pm AEST
Odds: Essendon ($1.42) vs North Melbourne ($2.85)
Line: Essendon -13.5
Points: 180.5
Odds and lines provided with thanks to Dabble. Note that odds and lines can fluctuate throughout the week, and are correct at the time of writing.
Match Preview
Essendon will be out to bounce back after their Anzac Day disappointment, and they’ve got the perfect opportunity to do it when they face a struggling North Melbourne outfit. The Bombers were well beaten by the Magpies last round, going down by 41 points in a clash that reminded everyone just how far they’ve still got to go to match the elite. But at 3-3, it’s been a solid enough start to the season, and with a win here, they can push themselves into that busy logjam of teams sitting just above .500. There’s plenty on the line, and you’d expect a strong response.
North Melbourne come into this game in familiar territory — down the bottom and trying to find positives. The Kangaroos have now lost five in a row and sit 17th on the ladder, ahead of only the winless Eagles. They’ve won just 16 games since the start of 2020, and while there were signs of life last week in Adelaide, it still wasn’t enough. They pushed the Power and were in it late, but again couldn’t convert late chances and fell short by 9 points. Adding to the pain, livewire forward Paul Curtis will miss the next three games after being suspended for a tackle that concussed Josh Sinn. North challenged the decision midweek but were unsuccessful, and they’ll have to rejig their forward line again.
You’d expect a few more changes for the Kangaroos too, especially after Darcy Tucker didn’t touch the footy for over three quarters last weekend. It’s the kind of thing that usually leads to a week off. The Bombers will again rely on Todd Goldstein in the ruck, with Nick Bryan and Sam Draper both ruled out long term. Darcy Parish remains sidelined too, but even with a few injuries, the Bombers have more than enough talent to cover. They’ve had the wood over North for a while now, winning the last 11 clashes between the two sides, including a comfortable 40-point win the last time they met. Essendon were dominant that day and there’s every chance of a repeat.
The stats back it up too. Essendon sit third in the AFL for contested possession differential, while North are bottom eight in that category. The Bombers are also significantly better around stoppages, ranking in the top half for clearances and top six for scores from stoppages. North Melbourne sit in the bottom four in both of those key areas, which tells you all you need to know about how this contest could be won. If Essendon bring the heat around the ball — which they’ve done most weeks this year — then North are going to struggle to stay in it.
The Bombers have the midfield strength, the recent form against North, and the structure to bounce back in a big way. They’ve been consistent enough this season to trust in a response after a poor outing, and with North still very much in a rebuild, this is a matchup they should control. Essendon to win and cover the -13.5 line looks like a strong play.
Essendon -13.5
$1.78 (2 Units)
Same Game Multi
Throughout the 2025 AFL season we’ll be putting together a fun same game multi for every match at BoomBet using their BetShare feature.
To follow our multi, just click on the BoomBet BetShare button below and our same game multi selections will be added straight into your bet slip on BoomBet. You can then enter how much you wish to wager, and with a single click, your bet has been placed!
Kyle Langford 3+ Goals – Slow start to the year due to injury but gets one of the best matchups in the league for key forwards here. Expecting a big game for Langford in this one.
Nick Larkey 3+ Goals – The radar was off for Larkey last weekend which was a touch bizarre. However, he returns to the perfect conditions at Marvel Stadium and gets a nice matchup for key forwards.
George Wardlaw 20+ Disposals – Has looked fantastic in his two games since returning from injury, collecting 21 & 20 disposals. There’s no reason why he won’t continue to build his form on Thursday night.
SGM Odds: $6.00 at BoomBet
