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Round 21 of the 2011 AFL footy season will see a few teams fighting for their future, a few looking to hang onto their spot and a couple of blowouts. Below you will find all your footy tips, predictions, match previews and latest odds in a tricky Round as we come to the business end of the season.

Round Twenty One kicks off Friday night at Etihad with last years 2 Grand Finalists St Kilda and Collingwood locking heads and concludes Sunday evening in Adelaide with the Crows looking to make it 3 for 3 under new coach Mark Bickley as they tackle a Geelong team in red hot form. The Kangaroos have the week off with the bye which virtually puts an end to their finals chances.

Best Bet of Round 21 is Melbourne to upset the West Coast between 1-39 which is paying a massive 4.70 at Sportsbet

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Saints V Pies Friday night at Etihad Stadium

The Saints have the bright lights of Etihad on a Friday night for the second week running after knocking off Fremantle last week. This is the Saints biggest test to date to see if they are a legitimate final 8 contender coming up against the might of the Magpies. Zac Dawson will come back into the side after missing a game through suspension but I can’t see any other major changes for the Saints.

Coming off a massive win against Port in the wet this will be a real test for the Pies to see where they are. Harry O’Brien will return for Collingwood with Chirs Dawes and Sharrod Wellingham to face fitness tests. I am sure the Pies would prefer this game to be at the MCG but I still think the will come away with the points.

Tip: Pies by 33 points

Odds: Saints 6.25 Collingwood 1.12

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Hawks V Port Adelaide Saturday at the MCG

Hawthorn got a scare late last week against North Melbourne but will have no trouble against the Power this week. The only problem for the Hawks is at the selection table with Bateman, Lisle, Savage, Ellis, Shoenmakers & Bruce all fit and ready for a return to senior footy. Do the Hawks rest a few players in this one maybe?

Coming off kicking their lowest score in the AFL Port Adelaide will be out to redeem themselves. Unfortunately for them they come up against another Premiership contender, this time away from home. I expect the Power to kick more than 21 points this time around but I wouldn’t be putting any money on them to win, even at the odds of $21.

Tip: Hawks by 70 points

Odds: Hawks 1.01 V Port 21.00

Fremantle V Carlton Saturday at Paterson Stadium

The Dockers return home needing a win to stay in touch with the 8 after dropping to ninth after last weeks loss. They will lose Adam McPhee for a week with suspension but should regain superstar ruckman Aaron Sandilainds as Mark Harvey now realises Frmantles season is on the line.

Carlton had an easy win against Melbourne last Saturday but coach Brett Ratten was not overly happy with the Blues game. It’s always harder to beat Fremantle in Perth than it is at home and they will need all guns firing to get the win and stay in the top four.

Tip: Blues by 14 points

Odds: Freo 2.95 Blues 1.40

Western Bulldogs V Essendon Saturday night at Etihad Stadium

The Dogs are rested after a week off with the bye and have a long list of people to include in the side headlined by Cooney, Morris and Higgins but are sure to be without Tom Williams. They need to win 4 out of 4 in the run home to have any chance of making finals so expect them to come out all guns blazing.

What a comeback by the Bombers last week against the Swans to sneak home by a point. These are the games Essendon needs to win though to secure its top eight spot. With a bye in Round 24 they will not be able to do anything but sit back and hope results go their way to stay in the eight. Andrew Welsh and Nathan Lovett-Murray are two possible inclusions for the Bombers but I don’t expect to many changes to the side that beat the Swans.

This could be another Saturday night nail biter.

Tip: Dogs by 5 points

Odds: Bulldogs 2.10 Bombers 1.74

Brisbane V Gold Coast Saturday night at the Gabba

Q clash #2 should be a great game to watch with Brisbane out to show the Gold Coast that they are the number one team in Queensland and the Gold Coast wanting to prove that the win over the Lions earlier in the season was no fluke.

Brisbane let one slip against the Crows last week after leading by 4 goals mid way through the last term. Josh Drummond will come back into the Lions side to bolster their defence. Expect to see Ash McGrath forward again this week after his stellar effort against the Suns earlier in the year.

The Gold Coast are coming off a footy lesson against the Cats last week being thrashed by 150 points. Captain Gary Ablett will have a fitness test to determine if his hamstring is ok to play which would be a huge boost for the young Suns. Campbell Brown will miss the remainder of the season though which is a big loss down back. I think the Lions might have a sour taste in their mouth after the loss earlier in the year and will be too strong for the young Suns who look to be tiring as the season goes on.

Tip: Lions by 34 points.

Odds: Lions 1.41 Suns 2.90

Melbourne V West Coast Sunday at Etihad Stadium

The Demons need to show some pride, come out hard and get stand in coach Todd Viney his first win. If they stick to their game plan and use the knowledge of the MCG to their advantage I can see them pulling off a big upset this week and keeping finals hopes alive. Liam Jurrah, Colin Sylvia, Mark Jamar and Cale Morton all look to be recalled to the side this week.

The Eagles have some injury worries with star ruckman Dean Cox and defender Eric Mackenzie facing fitness tests this week and Matt Rosa definitely out. The Eagles are another team that needs to keep winning to keep the pressure on Hawthorn and Carlton for a top four spot but I have a sneaky suspension that the Dees might get up here.

Tip: Demons by 24 points

Odds: Melbourne 3.75 West Coast 1.25

Richmond V Sydney Sunday at the MCG

With the Tigers season effectively over they need to start working out what to do for next year and try a few players in some different roles, will they start that this week against the Swans though as they still need to win back some respect from the footy public and their supporters after a very disappointing second half to the season. Daniel Jackson is likely to miss for the Tigers which could open the door for Damien Hardwick to get a youngster in there and get him some experience.

The Swans cost themselves the game with some very poor kicking for gaol in the last quarter against Essendon last week. Adam Goodes will be out to have a good game after he missed a few he would normally convert including that kick after the siren. Gary Rohan looks to be fit again and could be an inclusion into the side.

Too much to play for for Sydney here, they should get the points.

Tip: Swans by 28 points

Odds: Tigers 3.50 Swans 1.30

Adelaide V Geelong Sunday at AAMI Satdium

The Crows are 2 for 2 under Mark Bickley and are finally putting some decent scores on the board with back to back 100 point games. Will the new attacking game style help them out against the Cats or leave them wide open to be hurt on the turnover against a Geelong side that has won by a combined 336 points in the past 2 weeks.

Geelong will bring back Brad Ottens and defender Corey Enright for Brownlow Medalist Jimmy Bartell’s 200th game. I am not sure if the Cats will make it 2 straight games winning over 100 points but they will win easily over in Adelaide and keep the pressure on Collingwood for top spot.

Tip: Cats by 80 points

Odds: Crows 9.00 Cats 1.07

Round 21 is upon us and it looks to be a fairly easy week for footy tipping with only a couple of tricky games.

The match of round 21 is Sydney V Bulldogs, both teams need a win leading into the finals which should make for some great football.

See the latest odds for round 21 at Betfair here

Best Bet of Round 21

This week I’m taking a bit of a punt and taking Geelong (-34.5), Pies (-54.5) and Saints (-46.5) all to win at the even money line in a multi bet. Its paying a massive $8 at Sportsbet to win so lets keep our fingers crossed the top three teams of the competition can repeat their performances from last weeks games and get some big wins on the board.

Geelong V Carlton Friday night at Etihad Stadium

Tip: Geelong

The Cats will dominate as they continue to build coming into the finals. Matthew Scarlett is a massive inclusion for the Cats and shouldn’t have much trouble holding Lachie Henderson to a few goals.

I predict the Cats to win by over 39 points. Its currently paying $2.25 at Sportsbet here.

St Kilda V Richmond Saturday at Etihad Stadium

Tip: St Kilda

The Saints will get a comfortable win against a side that struggles with consistent footy. Nick Riewoldt will be the better of the two Riewoldt’s as Jack has gone pretty quiet of late.

Expect the Saints to go about their usual game plan and fine tune some parts before the big first final against likely against Geelong in a couple of weeks.

The Saints are paying a very short 1.70 to beat the Tigers by over 40 points so the bookies are also predicting a big winning margin.

Hawks V Fremantle Saturday in Tasmania

Tip: Hawks

The weather will be freezing for this match in Tassie which will suit the Hawks much better. They have played that ground well this year and with some good for coming from the big names at Hawthorne I expect them to take home the 4 points as they look to secure the all important home final.

Collingwood V Adelaide Saturday night at the MCG

Tip: Collingwood

The Crows look like they will have a tough night at the office coming up against the Pies at the top of their game. Adelaide had a tough win last week in Brisbane which could take the edge off their game so look out for the Pies to hit them from the get go.

After seeing the Pies massive win last week I think they can drag back the -54 point $2.00 line betting market and bring us home the bacon.

Sydney V Bulldogs Saturday night at the SCG

Tip: Bulldogs

Allot of clubs will be paying attention to this game and hoping for a Bulldogs win to keep Sydney away from 5 and 6 spot on the ladder and a home game in week 1 of the finals.

After last weeks very disappointment loss to Geelong the Bulldogs will be out for blood but I don’t think they will pull it off.

The bookies have started them as 1.78 favorite compared to 2.05 for Sydney. I think they may have the odds wrong. Sydney show they are a tight knit side snatching an important win in WA last week and as this match is being played in Sydney the Swans will be to stron

Take Sydney between 1-39 points paying a handy $2.75 at Sportsbet here.

Port Adelaide V Melbourne Sunday at AAMI Stadium

Tip: Port Adelaide

I predicted Port will finish off the season well and I’m sticking with them. Although it was a pretty ugly win against the Eagles last week they took allot out of the game which will show this weekend.

Melbourne have improved over the last week but the home ground advantage will be the difference.

Essendon V Brisbane Sunday at Etihad Stadium

Tip: Essendon

This could turn out to be an ugly game with both clubs without a finals chance after a promising first half to the season.

Essendon should bounce back after the thumping the Pies gave them last week. The run and carry they have through the midfield should be enough get them out of trouble and kick a winning score.

The Lions have lost all belief to win and look doubtful for the remaining 2 games.

West Coast V North Melbourne Sunday at Subiaco Oval

North must win this game to keep any slim chance of a finals spot this year and looking at that fact I’m picking them to beat the Eagles in WA. They can play some good exciting football at times and looked to be on top of St Kilda in the early stages of last week but fell way short when the pressure was applied.

My prediction is North will rectify that problem to some degree and play the tough brand of footy they are known for.

As we come closer to the Finals tips become more and more important so following the Expert/Celebrity tips can pay off.

They put alot of time into their tips each week knowing a massive amount of people that don’t know much about tipping the winners will be following them each week.

I like Mike Sheahan’s and Ex Essendon star and future coach James Hird’s tips this week and think their winning margins all look about right as well.

Mike Sheahan	James Hird	Jason Akermanis
Geelong 10	Geelong 14	Western Bulldogs 14
Carlton 16	Carlton 30	Carlton 20
Adelaide 30	Adelaide 30	Adelaide 34
Brisbane Lions 25	Brisbane Lions 20	Brisbane Lions 25
Hawthorn 10	Hawthorn 5	Hawthorn 24
St Kilda 15	St Kilda 50	St Kilda 30
Collingwood 12	Collingwood 32	Collingwood 13
Essendon 10	Essendon 8	Essendon 10
Mark Robinson	Kevin Sheedy	Damian Barrett
Geelong 10	Geelong 12	Western Bulldogs 16
Carlton 30	Carlton 40	Carlton 71
Adelaide 30	Adelaide 17	Adelaide 29
Brisbane Lions 20	Brisbane Lions 25	Brisbane Lions 19
Hawthorn 10	Hawthorn 11	Hawthorn 41
St Kilda 40	St Kilda 42	St Kilda 43
Collingwood 30	Collingwood 32	Collingwood 37
Essendon 10	Fremantle 8	Fremantle 11

See the 2010 Round 21 tips here

Round 21 becomes crunch time for the teams trying to secure a place in the finals. The one that becomes most important is the Freo V Essendon game. If the Bombers get the win in the West they will have all but secured the 8th spot. This will knock out all hope of the Hawks, and Sydney scraping in and makes it very tough for Port to make the finals.

The game of the round is the Friday Night Football blockbuster with the Dogs V Cats at Etihad Stadium. This game will show how both teams will be heading into their finals series as they try and build some momentum going into September.

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Western Bulldogs V Geelong Friday Night at Etihad Stadium

Tip: Geelong

With only 2 games to go until the finals both teams need to start getting into top form to avoid an early exit in September.

The Bulldogs need to win at least one of the remaining two games (Pies next week) to secure 4th position so will be desperate to get a win here. Their injury worries continue with Ryan Griffen and defender Tom Williams declared they will miss the rest of the home and away season.

Geelong is still yet to show their unbeatable form they had at the start of the season so it will be interesting to see how they preform. I think they will step things up this weekend and comfortably beat the Dogs.

Take Geelong by under 40 with odds of $2.30 at Sportsbet

Carlton V Melbourne Saturday at Etihad Stadium

Tip: Carlton

The Blues have a good chance to get a top 4 spot on the ladder if they win the remaining two games so will be out to make a statement against Melbourne on Saturday.

Melbourne now sitting on four win for the season wont be too eager to get another win and loose the priority draft pick. On the other hand if Melbourne finish the season with only 4 win they become the worst team in the AFL since Fitzroy in the early 90′s and we all know what happened to them.

After the thumping they gave Freo last weekend the Demons now have a better percentage than Freo who are 15th on the ladder.

The Blues will get the win here its just a matter of how much.

I like Carlton to win between 40 and 59 points paying $4.15

Adelaide V West Coast Saturday at AAMI Stadium

Tip: Adelaide

The Crows will dominate the up and coming Eagles at AAMI stadium this weekend with both Patrick Dangerfield and David Mackay expected to play. Adelaide still have a few injury worries with Nathan Bock and Brett Burton unlikely to be right for the match but have enough depth to cover for them.

Crows by 40 points.

Take the Crows to be leading at evey quarter with odds of $1.47 at Sportsbet

Brisbane V Port Adelaide Saturday Night at the Gabba

Tip: Brisbane

An interesting game here with the final chance for Port to scrape into the 8 depending on the result of the Essendon game later in the weekend.

With Brisbane’s position pretty much set in stone it gives Port a good chance to snatch a win if they can overcome their bad form on the road. Live wire forward Daniel Motlop is a good chance to return to the Port side after recovering from a fractured ankle he suffered in round 12 this year.

I think it will be an even game going into the last quarter but think the Lions will be able to kick a winning score in the end.

Brisbane by under 40 points is a good bet here at $2.37

Richmond V Hawthorn Saturday Night at the MCG

Tip: Hawthorn

Hope is not gone for the Hawks to play finals this year but it is the hands of the Football Gods as they need other results to go their way. If by chance they are still a chance after this round they will be playing Essendon in round 22 for a potential spot in the 8.

This is what the Hawks will be basing their game and should break their winning drought this weekend. Richmond have gone back to their hopeless ways after a very disappointing game last week and will miss Jake King and Tom Hislop after being suspended as a result of the melee with the Pies.

The Hawks are paying $3.15 to win by over 40 points, the way the Tigers are playing I think the Hawks have a good shot of getting there too.

St Kilda V North Melbourne Sunday at Etihad Stadium

Tip: St Kilda

Momentum is a key factor going into September and St Kilda will be keen to get a comfortable win over the Kangaroos in round twenty one. If the Saints don’t win easily serious questions will be asked and massive doubt will cloud over them.

Now that the Saints have the apparent “the loss they had to have” I think they will bounce back firmly and get the points here.

My prediction is the Saints by 35 points so take the under 40 points bet at $2.80

Collingwood V Sydney Sunday at the MCG

Tip: Collingwood

This could end up being a very interesting game. Can the Swans de-rail the flying Pies? Sydney have beaten the Saints and just gone down to 2nd placed Geelong by 5 points, can they now knock off the 3rd spot?

It will be a massive effort for Sydney to win at the MCG which would give their finals hopes a boost going into the final round.

The key to the game will be the return of Josh Fraser to the Pies side. It will make it and even tougher task for the Swans one that will be too great for them in the end.

I like the odds of $2.20 with Sydney to win with a 24.5 point headstart at Sportsbet

Fremantle V Essendon at Subiaco Stadium

Tip: Essendon

Last weeks stars Paddy Ryder and lightning Courtenay Dempsey will both miss this match due to injuries they suffered in the 2 point win against the league leaders St Kilda last week. They were superb on Sunday and at time ran rings around the Saints. They will be expected to play the same football against the hapless Freo. The bookies have gone in cautious with this game with both teams paying $1.90

The Dockers will be trying to get a win for Luke McPharlin’s 150th game but will fall way short to the target Essendon will reach.

Take Essendon for the straight win at $1.90