Round 8 AFL tips and best bets

Friday night’s AFL game at Adelaide Oval will be a blockbuster. The Adelaide Crows and Geelong Cats go head-to-head in what should be a high-scoring game.

Adelaide are a formidable force at home and despite Geelong showing a dominance of old, and a new midfield spark with Patrick Dangerfield’s inclusion, I cannot go past ‘Eddie and the Crows’ at home.

Hmm, sounds like a new rock band! Anyway, I’m looking forward to a blistering Friday night game.

On a side note, it’ll also be one of those awkward moments where a former star returns to face his old team. Will Dangerfield get booed? Yep! Will he mind? Nup!

After the lopsided free-kick count against the Crows last week, I wouldn’t be surprised to see #FreeKickAdelaide become a trending tongue-in-cheek hashtag on Twitter during this week’s game.

Bet: Adelaide, 1-39.

Saturday’s games start with Essendon and North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium. You have to give the Bombers a round of applause, they’ve shown some real spirit and spark.

Despite their losses, there’s a clear gameplan, along with genuine grunt and effort. They’re up against it each and every week, but they’re giving it a real crack! That’s all we can ask of them under the circumstances.

Despite Essendon trying hard, they won’t beat top of the table North Melbourne this week. The Roos will continue along on their winning way, making it eight wins from eight.

Bet: North Melbourne, 40-plus (as long as North don’t rest players, which is on the cards).

Hawthorn take on a winless Fremantle at Aurora Stadium in Tasmania. The rumbles that the Hawks have ‘come back to the pack’ and aren’t as good as years gone by is absolute rubbish. In reality, they’re humming along under the radar, banking those four points like bandits.

That’s all they need to do. And at the end of Saturday arvo, Hawthorn will still be humming and Fremantle will still be winless and sitting on the bottom of the ladder. It’s supposed to be a rainy Saturday in Tassie, so if it’s a wet weather game it should bring Hawthorn’s winning margin down a bit. Matthew Pavlich will be rested for this one, which means Ross Lyon already knows it’s another loss.

Bet: Hawthorn, 25-plus.

Greater Western Sydney take on a fractured Gold Coast Suns at Spotless Stadium. These Giants are a force to be reckoned with. They’re on fire at the moment, and the Suns will be looking at the backs of most of them as they blaze away to a score that will see ‘Gary and his Suns’ (hey, there’s another new rock band possibility…) limping home to Queensland after being beaten by a hefty margin – yet again!

I really feel for Rodney Eade. I believe he’s a very good coach but his run of injuries and bad luck continues. The only saving grace with this one is that Gary Ablett won’t have to bother with crowd control after the final siren. When your supporters turn on you, you know you’ve hit rock bottom.

Their skipper is hobbling and the Suns are setting. Seriously, this team rises and falls as quickly as one of my chocolate soufflés!

Bet: GWS, 40-plus (this will be the biggest margin of the round).

Brisbane versus Collingwood at The Gabba. Boy, oh, boy… this is now a game that I can see Brisbane winning, and the bookies feel the same, apparently, as they’re now favourites to take the four points at home.

The appalling Magpies outfit that used to show a toughness that other teams feared will lose this one. They don’t run. They don’t chase. They can’t kick. Their unforced errors are embarrassing. The list goes on and on. Nathan Buckley has lost his players. They don’t look like they want to play. Not for their coach, or for each other.

Buckley has systematically destroyed Collingwood. There’s already been 36 player rotations in seven rounds, the most out of any team in the competition. The Magpies have won just four games from 18 (not including NAB Challenge). No coach should still have his job and keep it based on the same old excuses, week in, week out, with that appalling record.

A rebuild will only happen with Buckley and his flying monkeys gone. Then, and then only, will the Magpies have a chance of being true contenders. Buckley has had more than enough time to prove himself as coach. He’s stripped the playing list bare, recruited underperforming players from other clubs and taken the team down the ladder, rung by rung, each and every year.

Collingwood are rock bottom!

I am not joking when I say that Collingwood should speak to Mick Malthouse about returning to the club. No doubt, Eddie McGuire would have to be shown the door, along with Buckley, for that scenario to play out. But hey, stranger things have happened!

McGuire has already come out and said he “considered” quitting as club president after the unexpected loss to Carlton, but it was a past tense statement, meaning, he didn’t really mean it, he just wanted us all to feel sad that he felt sad too.

Travis Cloke is in the reserves and didn’t play in the VFL last week because of a “sore back”, which is basically disgruntled player talk for, “I’m done playing in the reserves. Oh, my aching back!”

With or without their $800,000 man, Collingwood are cooked. That said, Brisbane are pretty much in the same boat. Their inexperience, inaccuracy in front of goal, along with their inability to run out four solid quarters is letting them down badly. Still, they’re a different team at home.

It could be an ugly game, with plenty of skill errors, and despite losing their injury-prone skipper Tom Rockliff to a hamstring injury, Brisbane will get the four points. Dayne Beams is a welcome return for the Lions. With one game under his belt, he’ll be fitter for the run and he’ll be pretty keen to remind the Magpies what they’re missing in their decimated midfield.

Bet: Brisbane, 1-39.

The last match on Saturday is a night game between Richmond and Sydney at the MCG. As if the poor old Tigers haven’t got enough problems. Now the Swans are flying down to belt them up under lights. Damien Hardwick and Buckley better have each other on speed dial… they’ll need to comfort each other yet again after Round 8!

Bet: Sydney, 25-plus.

There are three games on Sunday…

It all starts with Carlton versus Port Adelaide at Etihad Stadium. The Blues have won three in a row! I know, hard to believe, but this is the warped reality we’re now living in. The Blues have won three consecutive games, Melbourne are scoring machines, North Melbourne haven’t lost a game, and Fremantle, minor premiers from last year, are on the bottom of the ladder. Go figure!

I’m tipping Port Adelaide here. After thumping Brisbane by 77 points last Sunday, even travelling to Melbourne won’t stop the rampaging Port Power. Besides, Carlton can’t possibly win four on the trot, right?

Bet: Port Adelaide, 25-plus.

Melbourne versus Western Bulldogs. Well, I’m still recovering from Melbourne kicking 160 points, the highest score of the round last week. What’s going on? Against the equally high-scoring Bulldogs, this game is going to be lightning fast.

Despite flying back from Queensland after crushing the Gold Coast Suns, that game was a mere training drill for Melbourne. Their confidence is at an all-time high. On the flipside, the Bulldogs, despite some additional help from the umpires, had a tough, rough game against the Adelaide Crows. As long as the umpires even up the free-kick count, Melbourne will get over the line in a close one, especially at the MCG.

Bet: Melbourne, 1-39.

The last game of Round 8 is the West Coast Eagles versus St Kilda. For the Eagles’ sake, it’s a good thing this game is played at Domain Stadium. No doubt, West Coast are a formidable force at Domain, but their vulnerability on the road is something that needs fixing – fast!

After being clawed apart by the Cats at Simmonds Stadium last week, West Coast are back in the comfort of their own nest for the last game of Round 8. They should take care of an improving Saints.

One thing’s for certain, until West Coast can play a consistent game of footy on any ground, they’re not genuine finals contenders, even if they’re sitting in the top eight! They’re just taking up space.

Bet: West Coast, 25-plus.