Sports

David Shortte’s AFL Preview: Round 13

Posted on | Posted by David Shortte

THURSDAY

Adelaide v Geelong, Adelaide Oval, 5.30pm

The Crows are coming in fresh off the bye and last played a fortnight ago when beaten by Hawthorn at UTAS Stadium by 9 points. They have a 6 win, 5 loss record and sit 8th on the AFL table.

Geelong had a shock 4 point loss to Carlton last week at the MCG. Their prior month had been elite with comfortable victories over North Melbourne, Collingwood, Brisbane and Sydney. They are 4th on the ladder with an 8-4 record.

The Crows will be without the dangerous duo of Izak Rankine and Riley Thilthorpe while the Cats will be minus Lawson Humphries. Geelong have had the better of this match-up in recent years winning the last 6 straight against Adelaide and I think that looks likely to continue here.

VERDICT: Geelong by 9 points

Same Game Multi: Gryan Miers to get 20 or more disposals, Max Holmes to get 25 or more disposals and Bailey Smith to get 30 or more disposals @ $3.35*

FRIDAY

Hawthorn v Western Bulldogs, MCG, 5.40pm

Hawthorn completely dominated last week beating St Kilda by 52 points and the successful returns of Will Day and Jack Gunston were very important. They sit in 3rd spot on the ladder with 8 wins, 3 losses and a draw.

The Western Bulldogs snuck home to win by 4 points against Collingwood. It took their season record to 7 wins and 5 losses and sees them in 7th position on the table.

The Hawks are close to having a completely clean bill of health for their entire roster and both Barrass and Nash are potential ins for this one. For the Dogs, livewire forward Cody Weightman looks likely to return here in what will be a real boost to the Doggies forward setup. Hawthorn’s attack looks very potent at the moment with Gunston, Watson, Lewis, Chol and Hardwick all firing on all cylinders. The Doggies defence has looked vulnerable against the better attacking outfits and that is where the Hawks look to hold the edge in this match up.

VERDICT: Hawthorn by 23 points

Same Game Multi: Ryley Sanders, Ed Richards, Karl Amon and Bailey Dale to all get 20 or more disposals and Jack Gunston to kick 3 or more goals @ $3.15*

SATURDAY

North Melbourne v Fremantle, Hands Oval, 12.15pm

The Kangaroos head in fresh here off the bye and prior to the week off they were excellent coming from well behind to storm home and defeat the Gold Coast Suns with the last kick of the contest. They sit in 13th spot with 5 wins and 6 losses.

Fremantle continued on their merry way hitting the road to defeat the back to back premiers Brisbane by 25 points. It was their 11th straight victory and the win sees them sitting on top of the AFL table.

The Dockers have been most impressive in recent times and providing they maintain the hunger and focus again here for four quarters they will take a power of beating. The Kangaroos can remain competitive but Freo look to have an edge on their 2026 performances.

VERDICT: Fremantle by 33 points.

Same Game Multi: Luke Davies-Uniacke, Shai Bolton, and Murphy Reid to all get 20 or more disposals, Harry Sheezel to get 25 or more disposals and Josh Treacy to kick 2 or more goals @ $3.65.*

Gold Coast v Brisbane, People First Stadium, 3.15pm

The Suns won three games on the trot prior to a disappointing loss to the Kangaroos where they coughed up a sizeable lead in the second half. Despite the loss they remain well placed on the AFL table in 5th spot with a 7 win and 4 loss record.

The back to back premiers Brisbane now find themselves in a genuine form slump with 3 straight losses to Geelong by 41 points, to GWS by 78 points and to Fremantle by 25 points. They have slipped to 9th spot on the table with a 6 win, 6 loss record.

Brisbane have been a mighty outfit for a number of years now but in fairness they are not playing anywhere near that level at the moment and until they recapture that level of consistency they will remain vulnerable.

The Suns get home ground advantage here and they won’t get many better opportunities to knock off their cross town rivals.

VERDICT: Gold Coast by 7 points.

Same Game Multi: John Noble, Darcy Wilmot, Christian Petracca and Will Ashcroft to all get 20 or more disposals and Logan Morris to kick 2 goals or more @ $3.85*

West Coast v Port Adelaide, Optus Stadium, 6.15pm

The Eagles brought up their 4th win of the season in wet and blustery conditions against Essendon last week prevailing by 5 goals. The Eagles would be delighted with the growth being shown by their young guns like Reid and Duursma while the more seasoned players such as Waterman, Kelly and Ginbey continue to set the tone.

Port Adelaide are in a bit of a rut with losses at 6 of their last 7 matches including their 34 point loss to Carlton prior to their bye.

I must admit to being a little surprised as to how far apart these two sides are in betting for this match. West Coast defeated Port Adelaide earlier on this season in round 3 at the Adelaide Oval by 2 points and this time around the Eagles get home ground advantage, plus they played at home last week so they will have had a fortnight home in the build up to this match. This is a tremendous opportunity for the Eagles to bring up their fifth victory of the season.

VERDICT: West Coast by 5 points.

Same Game Multi: Milan Murdock and Willem Duursma to both get 15 or more disposals and Jason Horne-Francis, Tom McCarthy, Harley Reid and Tim Kelly to all get 20 or more disposals @ $4.10*

SUNDAY

Sydney v St Kilda, SCG, 1.15pm

The Swans absolutely torched Richmond last weekend winning by a whopping 114 points. They remain one of the most powerful sides in the competition and sit 2nd on the table with a 10 win, 2 loss record.

Saint Kilda have had a challenging schedule in recent weeks and have done it tough losing 3 of their last 4 matches against Gold Coast, Fremantle and Hawthorn. They now sit in 12th spot with a 5 win and 7 loss record.

Sydney are one of the most damaging teams in the game right now and with home ground advantage they look the goods.

VERDICT: Sydney by 31 points

Same Game Multi: Max Hall to get 20 or more disposals and Isaac Heeney and Nick Blakey to both get 25 or more disposals @ $3.75*

Essendon v Carlton, MCG, 5.20pm

Essendon remain the only team in the competition with just 1 win for the season and their injury list is eye watering.

Carlton have gone Bingo Bango Bongo since parting ways with Michael Voss recording wins over the Western Bulldogs, Port Adelaide and Geelong and they look a completely different outfit.

The Blues have broken the shackles in recent weeks and if they bring that form here they will be making it 4 wins on the bounce.

VERDICT: Carlton by 33 points.

Same Game Multi: Sullivan Robey and Jagga Smith to both get 20 disposals or more and Sam Walsh and Archie Roberts to both get 25 or more disposals @ $3.35*

MONDAY

Collingwood v Melbourne, MCG, 1.15pm

Collingwood made a late surge to come back hard at the Western Bulldogs last weekend but just missed going down by 4 points. They sit in 11th place on the AFL table with 5 wins, 6 losses and a draw.

Melbourne have had a tremendous start to the season but they have come back to the pack a bit over the last fortnight with losses to the Bulldogs by 3 points and the Giants by 49 points. They are 6th on the ladder with 7 wins and 5 losses.

This is the Big Freeze game farewelling the great Neale Daniher and there will barely be a dry eye in the house. I expect the players to respond accordingly and this will be a fierce contest. It is a genuine 50/50 game in my opinion and I could see it going right down to the wire.

VERDICT: Collingwood by 2 points

Same Game Multi: Either team to win by 24 points or less, Jake Bowey, Jordan DeGoey, Jack Steele and Jack Crisp to all get 20 or more disposals @ $4.75*

*Odds correct at the time of publication.

Market Market



Recent Articles