Sportsbet Blog

Round 18 will hopefully be a more successful week for us in the footy tipping with a few less upsets.

There isn’t any clear game of the round this  week but I think the Carlton V Collingwood game will once again live up to standards and be the most entertaining. The Pies can all but end Carlton’s season with a win here where Carlton has the chance to spoil the near perfect season for Collingwood and maybe start their demise in 2010, fingers crossed!

Best Bet for Round 18

This week I’m taking a simple Freo win bet, although at 1.42 it is pretty short but they are very likely to win the match.

Another great bet for this round is a straight out Richmond win at 2.44. A great way to ensure this win is to take up the new offer that Betfair has. Simply place your first bet with them and if it loses Betfair will refund that amount up to $50 cash.

Checkout the Betfair site for more info on this new offer.

Essendon V St Kilda Friday night at Etihad Stadium

Tip: St Kilda

Odds: Essendon 5.60 St Kilda 1.21

St Kilda will be out to reverse the result from earlier this season and get the win over Essendon. They also have the incentive of a top 4 spot as the teams below start to threaten. Both these points and the fact they are a much stronger and tight knit team will see them get over the line.

The even $2.00 line bet for Essendon is a 28.5 point head start. I think there’s plenty of value for them in this market as its likely St Kilda will try to put the freeze on for majority of the match.

Collingwood V Carlton Saturday at the MCG

Tip: Collingwood

Odds: Collingwood 1.21 Carlton 5.60

The Pies are very hard to exploit with a evenness across the whole team. This will be the biggest struggle for Carlton who have a few weaknesses around the ground.

My prediction is the Pies by 30 points. They will be out to extend their percentage to stop any chance of the other teams with a draw (St Kilda/Hawthorn) finishing above them.

Port Adelaide V Hawthorn Saturday at AAMI Stadium

Tip: Hawthorn

Odds: Port 3.40 Hawks: 1.39

The Hawks need to win majority of their games for the rest of the season to have any real chance in 2010 especially teams out of the top 8. The pretty much full strength Hawks should easily over come any Port Adelaide rally and get the win.

Keep an eye on Shaun Burgoyne, its his first game at AAMI Stadium since leaving SA and will be out to silence the crowd. I’m sure the Port boys will let him know they are there too.

Brisbane V Melbourne Saturday night at the Gabba

Tip: Brisbane

Odds: Brisbane 1.90 Melbourne 2.04

This is a true test for the Lions who have gone from top 4 form at the start of the season to be out of the 8 now. They should have the edge over Melbourne playing at home that should just get them over the line.

Melbourne will be confident of getting the result with Brad Green and James Frawley in All-Australian contention this year but I think the Lions in a close one.

Sydney V Geelong Saturday night at ANZ Stadium

Tip: Geelong

Odds: Sydney 4.90 Geelong: 1.25

Sydney have had a disappointing last month and I predict this to continue into this game.

Geelong has a full strength side and need to continue to win to regain the important 1st position on the ladder from Collingwood. This should give them the motivation to play the game out well.

Richmond V Adelaide Sunday at the MCG

Tip: Richmond

Odds: Richmond 2.44 Adelaide 1.68

Although the bookies think otherwise I expect Richmond to take the 4 points at the MCG.

They were up against it last week against the Pies but playing the Crows at the “G” will be a much better match up for them. The Tigers will have the belief they can win again as they did last month when they played some great football.

For those unsure if the Tigers can do it take the 7.5 point head start paying 2.00 at Betfair here.

Western Bulldogs V North Melbourne Sunday at Etihad Stadium

Tip: Bulldogs

Odds: Bulldogs 1.20 North 5.50

North will need to take risks this weekend to get over the Bulldogs and this is where it will come undone for them. They have been too inconsistent this year and will struggle with the Bulldogs run though the midfield.

The Bulldogs are great on the turn overs and will catch the Kangaroos out enough times to get  a comfortable win.

Bulldogs by 40 points.

Fremantle V West Coast Sunday at Subiaco Oval

Tip: Fremantle

Odds: Fremantle 1.42 West Coast 3.35

The Dockers will bounce back after a 82 point loss last week and be too good for the Eagles who will struggle with the run and carry of their opposition.

Chris Tarrant , Kepler Bradley and David Mundy are all expected to return to the Freo side and will make a massive difference to the way they go about it.

If you looking for a bet on this game I like Freo at the -22.5 point even $2 line. I think they will easily cover the points for us Sunday arvo.

Round 18 is upon us and brings some important games for teams in search of a top 8 spot come finals time. The Collingwood V Brisbane match is the game of the round with both teams level pegging on the ladder with 11 wins and 6 losses. It will be a huge test for both teams and the winner will likely take a top 4 spot by the end of the weekend.

Sports Bet of the Round

Congratulations to everyone that jumped on last weeks $5.00 multi bet. It was touch and go with a few of the games but we pulled through.

My round eighteen tip is Carlton, Richmond, Geelong, Essendon and Collingwood in a multi. It will pay around $4.00 with Sportsbet who will also give you a $50 free bet just for joining them through Sportsbet Blog.

North Melbourne V Carlton Friday Night at Etihad Stadium

Tip: Carlton

Carlton will be desperate to get their game back on track after a dismal performance last Friday night against the Pies. Chris Judd is their only real shining light at the moment and looks set to be a top 3 chance for the Brownlow Medal and is paying $5.00 at Sportsbet.

With club great Adam Simpson announcing his retirement after this weekends match it may add some spark to the Kangaroos side making for a close game. But there’s no doubt that the Blues have a far stronger side and will bounce back and get a win here.

My prediction is 40+ points.

Western Bulldogs V Fremantle Saturday at Etihad Stadium

Tip: Western Bulldogs

The Dogs will be out to get back on the winners list after a heavy loss to the league leaders St Kilda. Freo have trouble playing in Melbourne and will struggle with the pace of the Bulldogs.

Brad Johnson will be the man of the moment when he lines up on Saturday to play a Bulldogs record breaking 342 game for the club. Interesting enough the Bulldogs are letting every child who is accompanied by a paying adult to enter free for this match, which should see a nice sized crowd to the game.

Geelong V Adelaide Saturday at Skilled Stadium

Tip: Geelong

Geelong again need to prove to their supporters they have what it takes to win the Premiership this year. They looked far from impressive in their 1 point win over the Hawks after the siren and need to clean up their skills if they are to get back to their usual form.

Adelaide continue to impress and would be confident coming down to Skilled Stadium this weekend. But Geelong at home are a unstoppable force and should wrap the game up early.

If your looking at betting on Geelong to win the Grand Final now is a good time as I think the odds wont get any longer than they are now. Currently they are paying $2.55 and are close favourites to St Kilda at $2.60. IASbet have a great promo at the moment that will give you a $100 free bet on heaps of events including the Grand Final when making $50 worth of bets.

Sydney V St Kilda Saturday Night at the SCG

Tip: St Kilda

The Saints are on the road to the finals now with the final 5 games being all teams that are out of the eight. Those that took up my St Kilda tip last week will be rubbing their hands together after the odds dropped from $3.15 to $1.85 for the Saints to go undefeated after the win against the Bulldogs. Their perfect run will continue up in Sydney and I’m tipping it will end any chance of the Swans getting to the finals.

As usual Nick Riewoldt and Stephen Milne will be the ones to watch after both kicking 5 goals last weekend.

Collingwood V Brisbane Saturday Night at the MCG

Tip: Collingwood

The Pies are on top of the world with the signing of Nathan Buckley this week and a big win over arch rivals Carlton last weekend. This will spur the Pies on this weekend and should get the points.

The match up against the Lions will still be great with Jonathan Brown showing he can play a one man forward with a massive eight goals last week in their 41 point win. After that effort he is now clear favourite to win the Coleman Medal with Sportsbet and is paying $2.25.

Tim Notting will be missed at the Lions with one week on the sidelines after a high hit on the Kangaroos Scott Thompson.

Melbourne V Richmond Sunday at the MCG

Tip: Richmond

Both teams are playing for pride but have shown some signs of success in the last month or so. Richmond have pleased their supporters will some hard pressure football that has resulted in a nail biting draw and a great win against Essendon.

Jade Rawlings looks to be getting somewhere with the list and has sparked up the team to give all they have. This should see them to a win over an inaccurate kicking Daemons side.

Port Adelaide V Hawthorn Sunday at AAMI Stadium

Tip: Hawthorn

The Hawks are back and this game will show they mean business. They are playing with allot of flair which saw them win the Premiership last year and if they can continue this they may just scrape into the top 8 come the end of the year.

Buddy looks to have his confidence back and playing great footy with goals from all over the ground. His presence on the field is enough to spur the team on which should see them onto a big win at AAMI Stadium.

West Coast V Essendon Sunday at Subiaco

Tip: Essendon

This is a must win game for Essendon to keep their finals chances alive. They seemed to be off their usual game last week losing in a nail biter but should bounce back over in the West.

The Dons will be do it tough though up forward with goal kicker Matthew Lloyd to miss the game with a badly bruised heel.