Saturday’s AFL Round 22 action kicks off at Marvel Stadium, where Essendon will look to reverse their poor run of form against lowly North Melbourne. It’s do or die for the Bombers, who will surely be out of finals contention if they leave this one empty handed, whilst for the Kangaroos it’s an opportunity to send beloved veteran Ben Cunnington out on a high. We bring you our match preview, best bet and value Same Game Multi below!
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AFL Round 22 Preview & Betting Tips
North Melbourne vs Essendon
Saturday 1:45pm AEST, August 12th, Marvel Stadium
North Melbourne’s losing streak now sits at 18, but as silly as it seems to say, there is some cause for optimism in the Kangaroos camp. Alistair Clarkson is back at the helm after his extended absence, which will undoubtedly galvanise the group, and his reputation as a coach is unparalleled in the modern era. Furthermore, the playing group will be motivated to give retiring stars Ben Cunnington and Jack Ziebell a fitting farewell. Both players have been part of the fabric at North for well over a decade, and both have contributed massively at Arden Street. As such, I expect a revitalised Kangaroos line-up to take to the park for the final few rounds. Even last week there were signs of a revival, with North matching premiership hopefuls Melbourne for a half before the Demons kicked away late on. Both Cunnington and fellow midfielder George Wardlaw come back in the 22 this week, bolstering North’s clearance work, so they will be confident that they can match Essendon in the middle at least.
Last weekend was a brutal time to be an Essendon supporter, with the Bombers ever so nearly falling to West Coast, the worst team in the competition. The Dons managed to kick the winning goal through new forward spearhead Kyle Langford with just one minute left on the clock, a close shave that’s for sure. Nevertheless, it goes down as a win in the grand scheme of things, leaving the men in red and black one win out of the top eight with three rounds to play. While finals football is within arm’s reach, most punters including myself now have Essendon missing out, especially considering the poor football that they have played over the last month, albeit against mostly strong opposition. In some ways it’s hard to fathom that the Bombers have been so poor considering the outstanding form of skipper Zach Merrett and Langford, who has kicked 10 goals in his last two outings. Looking ahead to Saturday, Jye Caldwell will miss this must win clash through injury, so Will Snelling gets another chance to impress in a season where he has failed to recapture the form that made him a key player down forward just a couple of years ago.
Essendon have had the better of North for a long time now, winning the last nine encounters between the teams. With that being said, the Kangaroos have come close in recent games between the teams, keeping the margin to just one straight kick in Round 12 of this season. Given how dysfunctional the Bombers have been, and North’s uptick in form, I’m confident that the Roos can keep this one relatively close, especially given that it’s Cunnington’s send off.
North Melbourne +20.5
$1.90 (2 Units)
Same Game Multi
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North Melbourne +29.5 – I will double down on North in the multi, giving them a five goal start against the Bombers.
Peter Wright 3+ Goals – Two Metre Peter has hit this mark in 4/8 games this season, and this week he comes up against a team that notoriously struggles against key forwards. The likes of Taylor Walker and Charlie Curnow have kicked massive bags against the Roos, and I think Wright can do the same.
Darcy Parish 30+ Disposals – Parish has been consistent since returning from injury, returning 30+ disposals twice since Round 17. A renowned accumulator, DP also picked up 30+ in seven of the first eight rounds, and he faces an easy matchup on Saturday.
SGM Odds: $5 at BoomBet
