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David Shortte’s AFL Preview Round 8

Posted on | Posted by David Shortte

THURSDAY

Collingwood v Hawthorn, MCG, 5.30pm

Collingwood turned the Anzac Day clash in to a one act affair dismantling the Bombers and romping home by 77 points. Scott Pendlebury was simply brilliant and thoroughly deserved his Anzac Day Medal for best afield. The victory saw the Pies improve in to 8th spot on the AFL table.

Hawthorn continue to be one of the form sides in the competition and they brought up their sixth win on the bounce when 49 point winners over the Gold Coast last week. Jack Gunston was again destructive up front with 5 goals.

Collingwood will be without Scott Pendlebury, Beau McCreery, Jeremy Howe and Tim Membrey for this match but do welcome back Darcy Moore and Ned Long. Hawthorn duo James Sicily and Dylan Moore return from suspension.  The Hawks are flying and should be too strong.

VERDICT: Hawthorn by 33 points

Same Game Multi: Brayden Maynard and Jack Ginnivan to both get 15 disposals or more, Nick Watson to kick 2 goals or more and Jack Gunston to kick 3 goals or more @ $3.60*

FRIDAY

Western Bulldogs v Fremantle, Marvel Stadium, 5.30pm

The Doggies suffered their third straight hefty loss when going down to the Swans by 66 points last week. You can’t help but feel the footy Gods are against them at the moment with a stack of their top liners out of action. There is potential for Tim English to return for this one and despite what looked a nasty fall for Aaron Naughton last week he may be given the all clear to play here.

Fremantle have had their challenges with Carlton in recent years and while their 14 point win over the Blues was not complete dynamite it was important in the scheme of their season. They now sit with a 6-1 record and find themselves in second place on the ladder.

It is never easy to head to Marvel Stadium and knock off the Dogs but given the injury concerns they have Fremantle really do run in to them at the right time here. It is another wonderful opportunity for the Dockers to secure a valuable road victory.

VERDICT: Fremantle by 23 points.

Same Game Multi: Bailey Williams to get 15 or more disposals, Murphy Reid and Ryley Sanders to both get 20 disposals or more and Jye Amiss and Josh Treacy to both kick two goals or more @ $3.45*

Adelaide v Port Adelaide, Adelaide Oval, 6.10pm

It has been a challenging start to the season for the Crows and they faced a white hot Brisbane outfit at the GABBA last week who eventually ran away for a 52 point victory. It leaves Adelaide precariously placed in 13th spot on the table with a 3 win 4 loss record.

Their cross-town rivals Port Adelaide delivered their finest performance of the season when defeating Geelong by 30 points. Butters and Horne-Francis were hot and Georgiades created plenty of opportunities up front and finished with 4 goals.

Bragging rights in South Australia are up for grabs here and I can’t see either side taking a backward step. Ports last fortnight has been very good against quality opposition and it could be argued that the Crows have had a very tough draw to kick off their 2026 campaign and that there is significant scope for improvement. I think this can go right down to the wire.

VERDICT: Adelaide by 7 points.

Same Game Multi: Either team to win by 39 points or less, Sam Berry to get 15 disposals or more, Wayne Milera, Rory Laird and Jason Horne-Francis to get 20 or more disposals and Mitch Georgiades to kick 2 goals or more @ $4.25*

SATURDAY

Essendon v Brisbane, Marvel Stadium, 10.35am

The Bombers had their first win of the season three weeks ago against Melbourne, were very competitive a fortnight ago against the Suns when losing by just 9 points but last week’s 77 point loss to Collingwood on ANZAC Day was an ordinary effort and they will need to improve sharply to challenge the reigning premiers Brisbane.

The Lions showed flashes of their best in last week’s 52 point win over Adelaide and the depth within their squad continues to be one of their great strengths. Dayne Zorko is expected to return here but Oscar Allen will miss 12-14 weeks with a serious foot injury.

If Brisbane play to the level they did last week and Essendon do likewise this could be a very one sided contest.

VERDICT: Brisbane by 44 points.

Same Game Multi: Brisbane to win, Jaspa Fletcher and Andrew McGrath to both get 15 disposals or more and Logan Morris and Charlie Cameron to both kick 2 or more goals @ $3.20*

West Coast v Richmond, Optus Stadium, 2.15pm

After early season wins over the Kangaroos and Port Adelaide it has been a tough four weeks for the Eagles with a 128 point loss to Sydney, a 46 point loss to Geelong, a 56 point loss to Fremantle and a 101 point loss to St Kilda.

Richmond remain the only winless team in the competition and they were blown away in the last quarter last week with Melbourne going on to beat them by 54 points. They have a lot of inexperienced youth and a very large injury list.

Despite four straight heavy losses West Coast get home ground advantage and a wonderful chance to bring up their third win of the season here. This looks the sort of game where both Reid and Duursma could really come up big.

VERDICT: West Coast by 17 points.

Same Game Multi: Elliot Yeo, Sam Grlj and Ryan Maric to all get 15 or more disposals in to Harley Reid and Willem Duursma to both get 20 or more disposals @ $3.35*

Geelong v North Melbourne, GMHBA Stadium, 2.35pm

A fortnight ago the Cats looked strong in their 75 point win over the Doggies but they came crashing back to earth last week when shock losers to Port Adelaide by 5 goals.

North Melbourne have had a very positive start to their season with 4 wins and 3 losses and they were close to stealing another road victory last week when losing to GWS by just 7 points.

Despite North Melbourne doing a lot of things right of late knocking off the Cats at GMHBA Stadium is a tall order. After a disappointing effort last week I expect Geelong to bounce back hard here.

VERDICT: Geelong by 29 points.

Same Game Multi: Luke Parker and Luke Davies Uniacke to both get 20 disposals or more, Max Holmes and Bailey Smith to both get 25 disposals or more and Jeremy Cameron to kick 3 or more goals @ $3.60*

Carlton v St Kilda, Marvel Stadium, 5.35pm

Carlton have just one win for the season and find themselves in 16th position on the table but a closer inspection sees recent narrow losses by 10 points to North Melbourne, by 5 points to Collingwood and by 14 points when away to Fremantle. Nobody takes any pride in competitive losses but it does show that they are staying in games for long periods and not quite proving capable of delivering the knockout blow when it counts

Saint Kilda have been in some very tight matches so far this season with 5 of their 7 matches being decided by 14 points or less. Last week was not one of those however as they released the shackles and piled on 143 points in a 101 point victory over West Coast.

Saint Kilda will have taken great benefit from their big win last week and while Carlton will remain competitive I think the Saints can get it done

VERDICT: Saint Kilda by 13 points.

Same Game Multi: Either team to win by 39 points or less, Hugo Garcia and Callum Wilkie to both get 20 disposals or more and Jack Sinclair to get 25 or more disposals @ $3.25*

SUNDAY

Sydney v Melbourne, SCG, 1.15pm

The Swans sit on top of the AFL table with a 6 win 1 loss record and a percentage of 178.1%. They were clinical in their 66 point win over the Western Bulldogs last weekend and on top of that they welcome back their champion Isaac Heeney for this clash.

Melbourne have been the surprise packet of season 2026 and they were comfortable 9 goal winners over the Tigers last weekend.

As impressed as I have been with the Demons Sydney are legit and with the aid of home ground advantage I expect them to take a heap of beating

VERDICT: Sydney by 31 points

Same Game Multi: Sydney to win, Jai Serong, Riley Bice and Max Gawn to all get 15 disposals or more and Justin McInerney and Isaac Heeney to both get 25 disposals or more @ $3.00*

Gold Coast v GWS, People First Stadium, 5.20pm

After winning 3 matches in a row the Suns have levelled out in recent weeks losing three of their last four games. Last week they were torched by Hawthorn to the tune of 49 points down in Tasmania and they will be keen to bounce back here.

GWS were forced to pull out all stops last week at Manuka Oval when they scraped in against the Kangaroos by 7 points.

Home ground advantage has me leaning towards the Gold Coast but I thought this would be a pretty tight contest and not much would surprise.

VERDICT: Gold Coast by 11 points.

Same Game Multi: Daniel Rioli to get 15 disposals or more, John Noble and Christian Petracca to both get 20 disposals or more, Clayton Oliver and Lachie Whitfield to both get 25 disposals or more and Aaron Cadman to kick 2 goals or more @ $3.95*

*Odds correct at the time of publication.

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