Sportsbet Blog

The round 15 game of the week is Carlton v Western Bulldogs. The winner will secure 5th on the ladder and potentially a game clear from the rest of the 8. It’s the first true “must win” game of the year and bound to be one of the best of the year.

Best Bet of Round 15

This week I’m loading up on Essendon to beat the Dees at 1.94. They are likely winners and there plenty of value at $1.94. Click here to see the latest odds for this bet.

Port Adelaide v Collingwood Friday night at AAMI stadium
Tip: Collingwood
Odds: Port Adelaide 6.60 Collingwood 1.17
The Pies have the wood over Port even at AAMI stadium winning their last three encounters.
The bookies have the odds about right for the pies at 1.17. My prediction they will win by 50 plus points so if your betting account is loaded up put a big chunk on them and take home the easy winnings.

Geelong v Hawthorn Saturday at the MCG
Tip: Geelong
Odds: Geelong 1.40 Hawthorn 3.40
The Cats will be out to have a big win to squash any hopes the hawks have of making 2010 theirs.
Geelongs midfield is much to strong to be held by the hawks and will dominate in that area, I expect their big name to lead the way to a comfortable Cats win.
The hand injury to star Sam Mitchell will only make the task harder for the threatening Hawks.

West Coast v Adelaide Saturday at Subiaco Oval
Tip: West Coast
Odds: West Coast 2.84 Adelaide 1.53
Although the Crows are back in town I think the trip to WA will be to much of them. They haven’t had a win away from home this season and have only taken the points over the eagles three times in their history when in the west.West Coast will be desperate for a win after hitting rock bottom of the ladder last week and if they can hold Kurt Tippett to a couple of goals I think they can get the job done.

Brisbane v St Kilda Saturday night at the Gabba
Tip: St Kilda
Odds: Brisbane 4.80 St Kilda 1.26
It is proven that when a certain player is in a team it can lift a team and the expected return of Nick Riewoldt will give that lift.
Kosi and Jason Gram are also expected to come back for the Saints giving them a full strength side.
The Saints will get a big win over the undermanned and out of form Brisbane side.

Richmond v Fremantle Saturday night at the Etihad Stadium
Tip: Fremantle
Odds: Richmond 2.74 Fremantle 1.57
The two surprise clubs of this year will go head to head in what could be one of the games of the year.
I think Jack Riewoldt will have a rare tough day at the office with the Richmond side likely to struggle to get a clean ball to their forward line. This is where I expect Freo to win the game and take the points.

Sydney v North Melbourne Sunday at the SCG
Tip: Sydney
Odds: Sydney 1.51 North Melbourne 2.90
I predict the Swans to bounce back in a big way and start to work their way back up the top 8.
They played a great 3 quarters against Richmond last week and dropped away in the last so expect a full four quarter game from Sydney.
Keep an eye on Mumford in the ruck, he has had a great season for the Swans and should do well this weekend against a weaker ruck combination in McIntosh and Goldstein.

Melbourne v Essendon Sunday at the MCG
Tip: Essendon
Odds Melbourne 2.04 Essendon 1.94
Although the Bombers have lost Fletcher and Pears in Defense for this match I think they will be fired up from the get go and take the win to quell the bad press they have had recently.
Melbourne were very disappointing last week against the Saints, they had the opportunity to take the game on but simple turnovers kept them out of reach. If they play a similar type of game again expect a big win for Essendon.

Carlton v Western Bulldogs Sunday at Etihad Stadium
Tip: Western Bulldogs
Odds Carlton 2.64 Western Bulldogs 1.59
Both these teams desperately need a win to keep any hope of a top 4 end to the season and will be going into the match as they would in a finals match.
I think the game will be won in the Carlton forward line with Bulldog Brian Lake taking ownership of majority of the time in defense.
If he can continue his usual form a think the Bulldogs will get the win in a tight match.

Match Details

Saturday 20th March. 7:10pm at Etihad Stadium.

Sportsbet Odds

Western Bulldogs 1.91

St Kilda 1.91

Preview

The 2010 AFL season is yet to kick off and we already have an epic on our hands for the NAB Cup grand final.

If this game is half as good as the 2009 preliminary final against the two sides (where St Kilda went onto win by 7 points) we will be in for a cracker.

Both teams have played good footy (when needed) leading into the final showing off some new talent along the way which could be the telling part of Saturday nights game.

For the Saints Rhys Stanley and Ben McEvoy have inspired in the last few weeks and both have been named to play in the grand final. Their height and speed played a welcome part in last weeks 70 point dismantling of Fremantle.

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The battle for the 2009 Brownlow medal is starting to hot up with a number of players coming in to contention with some fantastic performances in recent weeks. Geelong superstar Gary Ablett is still the hot favourite to finally take out his first medal, but there is a group of players that includes former winner Chris Judd and St Kilda pair Nick Dal Santo and Leigh Montagna that could cause another upset for Ablett. Here at Sportbetblog we will give you a quick run down of who is really in contention.

Gary Ablett $2.00

At $2.00 Ablett is the hottest favourite to win the Brownlow medal since betting on the medal was allowed and rightly so. He is the all round footballer and is considered the best that there has ever been by many people. He tackles hard, scores his fair share of goals and regularly wracks up 30 + disposals. It would take a brave man to bet against him but stranger things have happened. Go to sportsbet now and register for your free bet.

Chris Judd $5.50

It was 2004 when Judd picked up his Brownlow medal in what was an outstanding season with The West Coast Eagles. In 2009 he looks like he has fully settled down with his new club Carlton and is again putting in some outstanding performances. Judd is averaging 27 disposals a game and 5 tackles. While these are some pretty impressive figures it is his presence and composure under pressure that set him apart from the majority of AFL players.

Dane Swan $12.00

Once you get past Ablett and Judd the odds start to lengthen significantly. But we should all know by now that bookmakers odds mean nothing when it comes to the Brownlow medal. Collinwoods Dane Swan has come from nowhere and is actually topping the overall stats list ahead of medal favourite Gary Ablett. Averaging 33 disposals, 19 kicks and 8 marks a game he has to be in with a shot, making $12.00 a great price.

Nick Dal Santo and Leigh Montagna $14.00 Nick ‘Dangerbolt’ Riewoldt $16.00

The performances of these three players in 2009 have been one of the main reasons that the Saints have performed so well this year. And you have to think that if they can keep it up and finish above Geelong that the 2009 Brownlow medallist will be one of these three. If I had to pick one of them it would definitely be Nick Riewoldt. To me he is one of the best players in the competition, but if the umpires tend to ignore forwards Nick might just miss out.

But when it comes down to it there is really only one winner and that is Gary Ablett. He is easily the best AFL player around if not of all time. Many people think he was unlucky not to win the medal in 2007 and 2008 and I feel that this will finally be his year. Go to sportsbet now to get your $50 free bet just for signing up.

It is nearly upon us. The game that everyone in the football world is dying to see. Both teams unbeaten, both teams looking almost unbeatable. So who will win the most anticipated game of football in years.

Despite St Kilda’s unbelievable form so far  it seems as though no one can see past the glitz and glamour of Geelong. Ablett, Bartel, Chapman and Corey, there is no doubt that Geelong is a team packed with superstars and it is because of those stars that sportsalive and every other bookmaker have them as hot favourites against St Kilda. But the saints have been on fire so far this year and shouldn’t be written off so easily. In Nick “Dangerbolt” Reiwoldt they have one of the best players in the competition. For the last few years Nick has promised so much, but has never really delivered on a regular basis, but this year is a totally different story. With 42 goals so far there is no doubt he is in fine form and has caused problems in everyone of St Kilda’s 13 victories. The Geelong defence are going to have a hard job keeping him under wraps. On top of having probably the best big forward in the competition they also have a revitalised Leigh Montanga in Brownlow Medal winning form. But it is their pressure on the ball that has impressed most people this year, and it is this that I feel will strangle the life out of Geelong and that will see The Saints cause something of an upset.

Sportsalive are paying $2.45 for the Saints to win this game and I feel that these are great odds. St Kilda will be out to prove a point and while I feel Geelong will go on to win the flag this will be the Saints night.

Sportsalive are also offering lots of different ways to get your money on this game with some fantastic little bets if you can’t pick a winner. They are paying out $3.70 that the first points of the game will be a St Kilda goal. Again I see this as a great bet as The Saints are going to come out all guns blazing. The only thing you would have to worry about would be that some of the St Kilda players can be a little wayward with their kicking early on and it might just slip past the post for a behind. But sportsalive are even paying $3.90 for that outcome so just take your pick.

Or how about a draw sportsalive are paying $61.00 for this very rare event, but it has been hard to pick between them so far this year so you just never know.

If anyone needed reminding just why AFL is the greatest sport on earth all they have to do is watch the round 6 tie between Hawthorn and Carlton. The sides seemed inseparable and went in to the final quarter with just one point between them. It was here that Hawthorn seemed to have the game wrapped when Buddy Franklin and Stuart Dew scored five majors between them to give the Hawks a 25 point advantage. But Carlton never gave in and Judd, Murphy, Gibbs and co replied with three unanswered goals to get themselves within five points. In the dying seconds Brendon Fevola, who had missed an easy chance early in the first quarter, found himself thirty yards from goal with an opportunity to claim and amazing victory. At this point he had kicked an impressive 8 goals 3, but it just wasn’t to be. Fev left punters all around the country kicking whatever was closest to them as his shot dipped and swerved only to hit the post, giving Hawthorn a 106 to 102 victory.

Round 6 also saw St Kilda continue their 100% start to the season and cemented their status as Geelong’s main rivals for the 2009 flag. The Saints were extremely wasteful in the first quarter kicking 3 goals 7, but they soon clicked in to gear with Nick Dal Santo playing a vital role in what was his 150th game. Nick Riewoldt continued his amazing season by scoring another 4 goals as he terrorised the Doggies defence all afternoon and proved that he could be a good outside bet for the Brownlow. The 104 to 76 defeat is the Bulldogs third in a row, but they definitely showed enough in this game to not be counted out just yet.

Garry Ablett went in to Geelong’s match against the Demons as the hottest Brownlow favourite since betting was allowed on the medal. So punters all over the country were left crying in to their meat pies when the star limped from the field with a suspected groin injury. Ablett will miss at least three weeks of action confirming many people’s fears and lengthening his Brownlow odds ever so slightly. The injury to Ablett was the only downside to another dominant Cats display. Paul Chapman, Jimmy Bartel and Joel Selwood all racked up over 30 possessions in the 111 to 68 win at the MCG. The win continues Geelong’s 100% start to the season. But they can only slot in to second place behind St Kilda, while another loss sees the Demons in a world of trouble at the bottom of the ladder.

Elsewhere in Round 6. Collingwood bounced back from last week’s disappointing defeat against Essendon, defeating North Melbourne 127 to 75. The Pies are looking good and could be a good bet to hand St Kilda their first defeat of the season in round 7.

Dustin Fletcher’s 300th game for the Bombers will definitely be one he would rather forget. After limping off with a hair line fracture in his leg, he then had to watch Brisbane Lions Captain Jonathan Brown lead his side to a 43 point win. After round 6 both sides have a patchy 3 and 3 record with the Lions sitting 9th and Essendon 10th.

The Tigers tried to back up their round 5 win over North Melbourne with a good performance against Sydney. They showed a lot of spirit coming back from 27 points down at half time to get within 6 points in the final quarter, only to fall away losing by just 15 points.

West Coast Vs Freemantle was the first of two derbies in round 6. West coast led at half time, but wasteful kicking saw them finish on 9.20.74 while Freemantle and Captain Matthew Pavlich playing his 200th game got over the line scoring 13.9.87.

Port Adelaide totally dominated their local rivals in the other round 6 derby. Warren Tredrea, Daniel Motlop and Robbie Gray all scored three goals a piece to seal a 105 to 79 victory over the Crows.