Easter Sunday night football is here! The Bulldogs will host the Saints in what promises to be an intriguing clash at Marvel Stadium from 7:20pm AEST. Both teams will see this as a winnable game and it’s certainly tight in the betting markets. Check out our full preview and betting tips for the clash 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 our AFL Tips regularly to keep up to date with all of our free content.
Western Bulldogs vs St Kilda
Location: Marvel Stadium – Melbourne
Date: Sunday, 20th April
Time: 7:20pm (AEST)
Odds: Western Bulldogs ($1.60) vs St Kilda ($2.30)
Line: Western Bulldogs -9.5
Total: 181.5
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
The Bulldogs sit mid table at 2-3 through their five games so far. They’ve shown flashes of brilliance but haven’t been able to put it all together just yet. The good news for them is that captain Marcus Bontempelli is back, which is a massive boost. His leadership and skill in the middle will be crucial to getting the Bulldogs back on track.
They are coming off a disappointing loss to the Lions at Gather Round in a game where they were leading by as many as 39 points in the third quarter. Sam Darcy was impressive again in the loss, booting 2.3 and looking imposing up forward. He currently sits in eighth place in the Coleman race, having booted 14 goals so far, and should give the undersized Saints nightmares defensively this week.
The Saints sit just outside the eight at 3-2 on the season, having won three straight games against the Cats, Tigers and Power before going down in a hard fought game to the Giants at Gather Round. Their young midfield is looking promising, but they are still eagerly awaiting the return of some key players from injury. Most notably, Max King, Mattaes Philippou, Dougal Howard, Hunter Clark and Dan Butler remain on the sidelines for the Saints, but Liam Henry will return this Sunday night.
With Bontempelli back in the line-up and the Saints fielding a largely inexperienced midfield, the Bulldogs should have the ascendency in the middle of the ground, which will be crucial to supplying the likes of Darcy and co.
The one thing that should give the Saints an edge here is their sheer dominant form at Marvel Stadium of late. They play the ground better than any other team in the league, having won eight of their last nine games there dating back to last season. They were, however, smashed by the Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium early last season, going down by 60 points as forward Aaron Naughton booted six goals.
The Saints are seriously undermanned for key defenders at the moment, so I think it will be difficult for them to contain the likes of Darcy and Naughton here. I expect the Dogs to get the better of them and cover the 9.5 point line under the roof.
Bulldogs -9.5
$1.90 (2.5 Units)
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Sam Darcy 3+ Goals - With no Dougal Howard in the line-up, the Saints are seriously lacking a matchup for Sam Darcy here. Anthony Caminiti has been playing down back this season but was comfortably handled by both Mitch Georgiades and Jesse Hogan over the last few weeks. With his height, Darcy is a horror matchup in his current form.
Jack Sinclair 25+ Disposals - The running half back has been one of the standout players in the league this season, currently leading the 11th ranked player in the league. He is averaging 27.6 touches per game and has had at least 25 in four straight games.
Tom Liberatore- Sits just a few places behind Sinclair in the player rankings and averages 29.6 on the season so far. Has had 25+ in every game this year except the most recent, where he had 24.
SGM Odds: $2.20 at BoomBet
