Round 7 of the AFL season continues this Thursday night as the Geelong Cats take on the Collingwood Magpies from Optus Stadium! As usual, we have a full preview and betting tips for the clash, which gets underway at 8.10pm.
As well as the dedicated Thursday night preview, you can also view our full preview and betting tips for EVERY game in Round 7 by heading to our AFL Betting Tips page!
AFL Geelong vs Collingwood Betting Tips
Optus Stadium, Thursday July 16th, 8.10pm (AEST)
The Cats and Pies had a storied rivalry throughout the early part of the 2010s and with both teams now sitting near the top of the ladder again, this is sure to be an interesting battle. Both teams will be coming off wins in Round 6, and can solidify a spot inside the top four with another win here.
Geelong
After an extremely disappointing two point loss to the Blues at home, the Cats have bounced back to win their last three games on the trot over the Demons, Suns and Lions. The win on the weekend was particularly impressive and catapulted them into 2nd spot on the ladder. Sam Menegola was dominant in the win, racking up 26 touches and two goals while Tom Hawkins continued his impressive form with three goals.
The Cats have a strong looking injury list at the moment, with only Mitch Duncan, Quinton Narkle, Tom Atkins, Tom Stewart and Josh Jenkins missing from their potential best 22. Rhys Stanley is a small possibility to make his return from a Knee injury this week, which should bolster the Cats struggling ruck department.
The Cats have won three of their last four against the Pies and in those four games, Patrick Dangerfield has been the standout player. The Brownlow Medalist has averaged 27.6 disposals across those games and booted six goals. After spending a lot of time in the forward line last year, he has been able to move back into the midfield this season due to the lack of injuries to the Cats small/mid sized forwards in Menegola, Dalhaus, Steven, Miers and Rohan. Expect Danger to spend more time in the midfield here and rack up the touches.
Dangerfield 25+ Disposals
$2.37
Collingwood
The Pies lost back to back games against the Giants and Bombers but bounced back with a fantastic win over Hawthorn on Friday night. They’ll get another marquee time slot this week, their sixth in seven games as they line up on Thursday night. Adam Treloar was dominant in the win, racking up 35 touches while Brody Mihocek continued to mount his case for the Coleman Medal, booting four goals.
The Pies will still be without Steele Bottom, who has two more matches to serve on his suspension. Jordan De Goey will also miss the game due to a few different reasons. The Cats definitely look to have the advantage in terms of available players, with the Pies also missing key defender Jeremy Howe.
Taylor Adams has been far and away the Pies best player in their last five games against the Cats. In that span, the hard-nosed midfielder has racked up 28.3 touches per game as well as a massive 10.3 tackles to accumulate 129 fantasy points. Will get a big job once again on one of the Cats star midfielders so expect him to be around the contest plenty.
Adams 20+ Disposals
$1.72
Prediction
Really not sure what to make of this game. The Pies are battling some major injury and suspension problems at the moment but at the same time, they were really impressive against the Hawks on in Round 6. We have this game as pretty much a 50-50, which is why we think the Cats represent some great value at 2.25.
They have barely put a foot wrong in the last three weeks, and easily dispatched of one of the best teams in the league in Brisbane in Round 6. Take the value here and back the Cats to get the job done.
