The final day of the 2024 AFL home & away season begins in Ballarat with a top eight shaping game between the Bulldogs and the Giants. Check out our full preview below, courtesy of Jack Tobin. And of course, good luck to everyone following along!
2024 AFL Round 24 Preview & Betting Tips
Western Bulldogs vs GWS
Sunday 12:30pm AEST, 25th August, Mars Stadium
Mars Stadium plays host to a crucial fixture as both the Bulldogs fight to secure their spot in the top eight, while the Giants push to make it an all Sydney top two. The Giants can’t finish outside of the top four, however if the Bulldogs lose, they will fall out of the top eight if Hawthorn, Carlton and Fremantle all win.
This isn’t an unusual scenario for the Dogs, who have played for a spot in the top eight of the final day in 2022 and 2023, and given their percentage shouldn’t finish any lower than sixth if they beat the Giants. A spot in the top four is a possibility if Geelong and Brisbane lose, given the Dogs incredible percentage.
GWS secured the double chance thanks to a thrilling nine point over Fremantle in one of the best games of the year. Jesse Hogan was enormous, kicking 6.4 and taking 9 marks to move ten goals clear at the top of the Coleman Medal race heading into the final game of the season.
The Bulldogs had a much easier day out, demolishing North Melbourne by 96 points, led by Sam Darcy’s career high 7 goals. Adam Treloar (33 disposals, 7 tackles) and Marcus Bontempelli (29 disposals, 6 clearances) continued their outstanding seasons.
It was a dominant performance with the Bulldogs recording +54 disposals, +35 inside 50’s, + 14 tackles and +9 clearances. The win could have been even bigger if the Dogs had converted better as they kicked 20.18, the Bulldogs scored from 49.3% of their inside 50’s.
This matchup presents two different scoring methods between the Giants turnover game, and the Bulldogs clearance brand. The Giants scored 65 points from turnover against the Dockers, an area they rank sixth in the AFL for averaging 49 points per game. The Dogs are ranked second in the league for both scores from stoppage (37 points per game) and centre bounce (13.2 points per game).
Match Prediction: The Dogs and Giants have produced one of the best rivalries in the AFL across the last decade, and the Dogs have had the wood over the Giants in the last four years. Luke Beveridge’s side have won six of their last seven games against GWS, including a 27 point against the Giants in Sydney earlier this season, where the Bulldogs registered 30 scoring shots to 13.
These two teams are in the top echelon of in-form teams over the past two months, so this should be a cracking contest. However, given what is at stake for the Bulldogs in comparison to GWS, they will be desperate to find a way to get across the line in this fixture. The game also being played in Ballarat with certain rain and wind of up to 32 km per hour, will make the Giants Tsunami difficult to produce for at least half of the game when kicking into the wind. The Dogs will come out on top in a close affair.
Western Bulldogs 1-39
$2.10 (1.5 Units)
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Adam Treloar 30+ Disposals: Adam Treloar is catapulting the Western Bulldogs towards September, as one of the hottest players in the competition. Treloar has picked up 33, 28, 30, 40, 31 and 38 disposals across his last six games, which has resulted in five Bulldogs wins. Treloar had 35 disposals against the Giants in Round 10.
Tom Green 30+ Disposals: When GWS fell behind at half time last week, Tom Green grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck and turned it in the Giants favour. Green willed his side to victory with 40 disposals, in what was the eighth time in his last ten games that he’d hit the 30 disposal mark.
Jesse Hogan 2+ Goals: Jesse Hogan has all but secured the Coleman Medal in what has been a remarkable turnaround late in his career. Hogan was dominant with 6 goals last week, in what was his eighth straight game with multiple goals, with his last eight games producing 6, 3, 5, 4, 4, 4, 5 and 2. Hogan has kicked 2+ goals in 18 of his 22 games in 2024.
SGM Odds: $3.25 at BoomBet
