AFL Round 18 Preview

AFL Round 18 Preview

There’s only six weeks remaining in the AFL regular season and results are beginning to dictate the futures of several clubs.

The round gets underway with a bit of a mismatch between St Kilda and Richmond at Etihad tonight, while the Pies are faced with another good opportunity to climb into the top two when they face North Melbourne on Saturday afternoon.

The Cats and Dees square off in one of two outstanding Round 18 fixtures on Saturday night, while Sunday’s blockbuster between Port and GWS concludes the weekend.

St Kilda vs Richmond
Richmond 1-39 $2.30

The first fixture of the round sees the reigning premiers and 2018 flag favourites Richmond go head-to-head with the resurgent Saints at Etihad Stadium on Friday night.

The Saints fly into this game off the back of delivering a 64-point belting to a sorry looking Blues outfit. Jack Stevens was a stand-out for the red, white and black racking up 33 possessions, 8 marks and kicking 2 goals, while his partner in crime Jack Billings pick up 2 of his own. Jade Gresham found the goals on 6 occasions the last time these two sides met back in round 10, which the Tigers overcoming the Saints late to overturn a 12-point deficit midway through the third quarter to eventually claim a comfortable victory.

The Tigers went down narrowly to an injury-stricken Giants team last round 77-79 in a nail-biting finish at spotless stadium. Richmond stumbled out of the blocks in Sydney with the Giants kicking the first 4 of 5 goals on the night. Hardwick’s boys fought their way back into the game valiantly with their accuracy in front of goal being their ultimate downfall. Dan Rioli looked the goods inside the forward 50, slotting 3 majors while Castangna had a night to forget finishing with 5 behinds. The flag favourites have lost 4 games this season now, with all of those defeats coming on the road.

The Tigers experience back six should prove too much of a challenge for the young Saints forward line.

Collingwood vs North Melbourne
Collingwood 1-24 $3.10

The Pies play host to the Roos and the MCG in the first Saturday fixture. Both sides come into this game off the back of a loss last round and have plenty to fight for in terms of ladder position.

North Melbourne lost out to the Swans by one straight kick in the dying moments from an unlikely hero in Sydney’s backman Aliir Aliir. In a game of momentum shifts neither side could establish ascendancy. The Roos have made a habit of starting the game off hot, leading the comp in first quarter differentials. Veteran midfielder Shaun Higgins dominated proceedings in the centre of the park, finishing the game with 33 possessions. While Jack Ziebell, Ben Brown and Majak Daw made the most of their opportunities in front of goal, kicking 13 majors between them.

The Pies 7 game winning streak came to an abrupt holt as the went down to a recently out of sorts West Coast outfit by 6 goals. Collingwood were without American power forward Mason Cox, who pulled out late due to hamstring tightness, deprived of a big target up front the pies were reliant on the small men, with Jordan De Goey stepping up to kick 4 majors. Unfortunately, only Thomas and Mihocek added to the Pie’s goal scoring column, with Buckley ruing his sides killer instinct inside 50.

This should be one of the games of the round, with both sides playing attractive free flowing football at the moment. With the return of Mason Cox Collingwood should have enough fire power to see off the hungry Roos in a close contest.

Sydney Swans vs Gold Coast Suns
Over 160.5 Points $1.90

Boy oh boy wowee! This round’s fixture-to-miss comes to us from the SCG, where the wounded Swans will play host to the unbackable Suns.

Gold Coast actually produced something close to a respectable first half against an underdone Dons outfit. The Suns went into the half-time break with a slender lead, which would’ve have been more significant if not for their inability to kick straight. Essendon came out firing in the 3rdterm and the Suns predictably fell to their 11thstraight defeat, only managing to add 16 points to their half-time total.

The Swans played out a blockbuster against the Roos in Melbourne last round, with a last gasp goal from the unlikely source in backman Aliir Aliir the only thig separating the sides at the final siren. It was a character-building victory for the young Sydney squad, with club captain and prolific ball magnet Josh Kennedy succumbing to a back injury early in the contest. Young forward Ben Ronke was a standout performer for the Swans kicking 5 majors, while the ever-present Buddy Franklin chipped in with 3 of his own.

The Swans will cherish this valuable week off and look to consolidate their position inside the top four.

Essendon vs Fremantle
Essendon to cover the line (-38.5)

The Dockers travel east to take on the Bombers at Etihad Stadium with both team’s slim finals hopes hanging in the balance.

Essendon overcame the Suns last round finishing the game 44 points up after a nervy start. Similar to last week’s game, this season has been a tale of two halves for John Worsfold and his boys. After a disappoint start to the year the Dons have managed to turn things around winning 6 from their last 8 starts providing the young side a glimmer of hope to for September action in 2018.

Anything outside of a victory will spell the end of the Dockers bid to compete in this season’s AFL finals. Although they comfortable accounted for the Dons back in round 2, the Perth outfit have their work well and truly cut out for them this Saturday. With club captain Nat Fyfe still missing through injury Lachie Neale will need to repeat his heroics of last round, where he found the ball in his hand 34 times 9 of which were clearances.

The Dons hold an impressive record against Freo at Etihad Stadium, winning 9 from their last 10 outing and should look to continue this trend over the weekend.

Brisbane Lions vs Adelaide Crows
Brisbane $2.40

The Lions welcome the Crows to the Gabba on Saturday evening in what is shaping up as one of the more exciting fixtures of round 18.

Despite sitting near the foot of the table the Brisbane Lions have implemented an electrifying brand of football. The Lion’s cubs have really come into their own under the tutelage of Chris Fagan and Luke Hodge and the results are starting to show. Brisbane come into this clash off the back of 3 wins on the trot and will be looking to go 4 straight for the first time since the beginning of the 2010 season.

After seemingly looking all but down-and-out the Crows have revitalised their season in recent weeks while keeping their finals chances alive. The South Australians made light work of the inconsistent Cats last round, treating their home fans to a much-needed victory. All-Australian defender Rory Laird set the standard with a staggering 43 disposals, while sharp shooter Tom Lynch bagged 4 goals at the other end of the park.

The young Lions are currently playing without fear and have the attacking prowess to complete an upset against the Crows in Brisbane.

Geelong vs Melbourne
Melbourne $2.45

The Dees travel to Geelong to take on the Cats with Melbourne looking to break back into the top 4, while a loss for the Cats could see them fall from the 8.

Geelong come into this fixture off the back of a surprise defeat at the hands of the replenished Adelaide Crows. The Cats were beaten through the middle of the ground with Selwood and Ablett not finding the ball nearly as much as they would have liked. This could be an area of concern for Chris Scott’s men as they come up against one of the most dominant ruckmen in the comp in the form of Gawn.

The Demons showed why they’re currently the highest scoring club in the AFL running away 50-point winners against the limping Doggies. Max Gawn had an absolute field day at the G, winning 41 hit outs four of which directly resulted with goals. Clayton Oliver put his hand up in the absence of Jack Viney, finishing the game with 34 disposals, 6 tackles and 8 inside 50’s. Hogan provided the finishing touches in the forward line, slotting 4 goals.

If the Demons want to be taken seriously they’ll need to step-up and knock-off one of their top 8 rivals, Saturday evening provides them with the perfect opportunity to do so.

Carlton vs Hawthorn
Hawthorn to cover the line (-37.5)

I would suggest heading down to your local footy ground to witness a more competitive contest than the one scheduled between the Blues and Hawthorn at Etihad on Sunday.

Carlton had their pants well and truly pulled down last round by fellow cellar dwellers the Saints in a 64-point Friday night fizzler. The Blues seem to be showing little to no signs of improvement on a week to week basis and well and truly deserve to be sitting at the bottom of the 2018 AFL ladder. Patrick Cripps and Charlie Curnow have given Blues fans a glimmer of hope heading into the future, with a couple more first round draft picks we might see a competitive Carlton outfit come 2022.

Alastair Clarkson would’ve been relieved to see Carlton as his side’s match-up this round after a disappointing showing against the young Lions in Tasmania last week. Tom Mitchell continued his surge towards the 2018 Brownlow medal finishing the game with a hand 43 possessions, 29 of which came in the opening half. The Hawks will be without inform backman James Sicily who misses the clash through injury.

The Hawks could show up at half-time and still walk away with the win at the Etihad.

West Coast Eagles vs Western Bulldogs
West Coast to cover the line (-41.5)

The Doggies head west to take on the 2ndplaced Eagles at Optus Stadium in our second Sunday match-up.

Luke Beverage’s Doggies have had a rough time of it in the last couple of rounds, going down to the Dees and Hawks by 50 and 63 points respectively. The Bulldog’s side are not fans of the trip out West losing 10 from their last 11 outings in Perth, with their last victory coming in the 2016 elimination finals when they went on to win the competition. That seems like a lifetime ago for the struggling Dogs who will need to find something special this week to avoid returning home with their tails between their legs.

After exploding out of the blocks with a record of 10-1 to start their 2018 campaign, the Eagles fell to 3 straight losses and looked like they had run their race too early. Many expected them to drop 4 on the trot against the comps inform side in Collingwood. Against the odds the Eagles soared home 6 goal winners in a game of two halves, where the Pies were left rueing their missed opportunities early on in the contest. Jeremy McGovern played like a man possessed, taking 12 marks and picking off 14 intercepts to blunt the Pies attack. While Scott Lycett stepped up in the middle of the pack after the Eagles superstar ruckman Nic Nat sadly suffered a season ending ACL rupture early in the 2ndterm.

With deadly forward-line trio of Josh Kennedy, Jack Darling and Mark LeCras all fighting fit the Dogs could be on the wrong end of a percentage boosting blow-out.

Port Adelaide vs GWS
Giants $2.15

Round 18 ends at Adelaide Oval on Sunday night when the Power play host to the Giants in a contest that sees two of the comps elite midfields go head-to-head.

The Giants storm into this contest full of confidence following their 2-point victory over reigning premiers the Tigers at Spotless Stadium. Lachie Whitfield was instrumental for the Giants off halfback, finishing the game with 35 possessions and 12 marks. While Callan Ward, Stephen Coniglio and Heath Shaw all racked up 30+ disposals, helping the Giants out muscle the Tigers through the middle of the ground.

In contrast the Power arrive at this clash off the back of one of their worst showings of the season, going down 59-50 against the battling Dockers. The Power struggled gaining ascendancy through the middle of the ground after losing All-Australian ruckman Paddy Ryder to a hip flexor injury. Charlie Dixon will need to shoulder some of the rucking responsibilities in Ryders absence, which could prove pivotal in a game which sees 2 of the top sides for centre clearances.

Rockliff, Wines, Powell-Pepper & Wingard will have their work cut out for them in the centre without the prolific Paddy Ryder feeding the pill down their throats. The Giants have an opportunity to claim the scalp of another top 4 side in consecutive weeks.