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The business end of the 2015 AFL season has arrived and the first week of finals looks set to deliver some mouthwatering match-ups. As they were for the regular season, The Roar‘s panel of expert tipsters are back for the finals.
Here are their tips and predictions for the qualifying and elimination finals.
MORE AFL FINALS:
>> EAGLES VS HAWKS PREVIEW
>> DOCKERS VS SWANS PREVIEW
>> DOGS VS CROWS PREVIEW
Cam Rose
Hawthorn (15), Fremantle (32), Adelaide (8), Richmond (17)
West Coast vs Hawthorn: Can the old firm of the Hawks stand strong? Can the Eagles defensive mechanisms hold up under the heat of a final? The answer to both questions is probably yes, and like in two of the other three games this week, no result would surprise. I’m tipping experience to just hold sway against home ground advantage, but West Coast are attractive odds, and will be incredibly hard to topple. Hawthorn by 15 points.
Fremantle vs Sydney: I expected the Dockers to win this before the likes of Franklin and Jack were confirmed as absentees, to go with Parker and Smith. Ross Lyon will have his men fit, refreshed, and hitting the contest at a hundred miles an hour. Expect a repeat of the 2013 preliminary final. Fremantle by 32 points.
Western Bulldogs vs Adelaide: It’s hard not to think football is going to be the real winner out of this game, especially if it gets played in an attacking style that we’ve come to expect from both sides with their multiple exciting forward options. Sections of this match will be played at dizzying speed. Adelaide by 8 points.
Richmond vs North Melbourne: Only a fool would be confident that the Tigers could get through this one victorious, given the weight of recent finals history and their poor record against the Kangaroos. It won’t surprise me to see North concede a start, but then come charging back once the Tiges’ mental demons take hold. If Richmond can get the game played on their terms, and forget the peripheral stuff, as they mainly have in the last three months, they’ll win. Richmond by 17 points.
Ryan Buckland
West Coast (18), Fremantle (36), Adelaide (6), Richmond (24)
So we’ve made it to the real season, after what feels like a very quick 23 weeks of football action. I don’t know about you, but I’m finding this post season particularly hard to pick. The bottom four are all excellent sides on their good days, and the spectre of two Western Australian teams at the top of the tree makes picking against them a dicey prospect at best.
I’ll be running the rule over each game in a little bit of detail on the morning of, so will leave my remarks here brief.
West Coast lost against the Hawks in Round 19, but they faced a really good set piece team without their two best ruckmen. The home field does it for me, though, and I expect West Coast to win by 18 points. Unfortunately I’ll be watching from the pub – general public tickets sold out in literally seconds. Sad face.
Fremantle could make as many as 13 changes to last weekend’s “team”. That’s got to be a record I reckon. Meanwhile, the Swans will be down three of their prime movers, having played the softest of soft draws in the lead in to a game against the six foot colossus that is the Dockers. Sorry Swans fans, I just don’t see it. Fremantle by 36.
Now the Saturday night game looks mighty tasty, doesn’t it? Two sides that thrive on speed and forward line play, on what is essentially a neutral deck. In a lot of ways, this match is the one I’m looking forward to most for those two reasons. Can’t wait to dig a bit deeper into the numbers. I’m backing the Crows, by six.
Finally, a game that might just rival the Richmond vs Carlton elimination final from 2013 in terms of crowd numbers. Surely, surely, surely the Tigers win a final this season. I also hope for karmic reasons that North Melbourne lose. Richmond by 24.
That’s it for now! Look out for my more rounded previews later on this week, or check out my Wednesday column for a view on some of the finals themes for 2015.
Sean Lee
Hawthorn (18), Fremantle (25), Adelaide (8), Richmond (15)
Hawthorn to defeat West Coast by 18 points: Is Hawthorn’s three-peat under threat? Or are the horrible Hawks as unsociable and deadly as ever? A trip to Perth this weekend will soon tell us. The Eagles have been great all season and thoroughly deserve their home final. Kennedy, Darling and Le Cras need to kick more goals than Roughead, Breust and Gunston as well as being able to contain the X factor Cyril Rioli for the entire game. Tough game to tip, but I’m not game enough to give up on the Hawks yet.
Fremantle to defeat Sydney by 25 points: The well rested Fremantle team take on an injury riddled and limping Sydney opponent. With Parker, Jack and now Buddy Franklin not available, the spluttering Swans will find it hard to conjure up a victory.
Adelaide to defeat Western Bulldogs by 8 points: The Crows and the Bulldogs have both played some stunning football at different times this year, with the exciting Doggies impressing everyone with their rise to the top end of the sport. But this is new territory for the Young Pups and although they will be as audacious as ever, I think it will be another year before they make real inroads into the September action.
Richmond to defeat North Melbourne by 15 points: Tony Jewel reckons Richmond can win the flag. I don’t know about that, but they can beat North Melbourne. It will be a different Kangaroos side than last week and Richmond won’t want to start slowly, but the Tigers are ready to roar and their attitude for this game will be first rate.
| Finals – Week 1 | Cam | Ryan | Sean | The Crowd |
| WC v HAW | HAW | WC | HAW | WC (65.88%) |
| FRE v SYD | FRE | FRE | FRE | FRE (89.57%) |
| WB v ADL | ADL | ADL | ADL | ADL (55.45%) |
| RIC v NM | RIC | RIC | RIC | RIC (70.14%) |
| LAST ROUND | – | – | – | – |
| OVERALL | – | – | – | – |
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