Will the Saints march on? St Kilda return to Etihad stadium this Friday where they take on an Essendon side buoyed by last week’s victory over North Melbourne. The Saints will consider themselves lucky to have escaped with 2 points last week, and will be hoping to avenge their surprise loss to the Bombers earlier this year. The saints will be short odds to win, but the value bet could be in the total game score market. While the Saints have been involved in some low scoring matches this year, the bombers tend to be involved in high scoring games. Back the over in the game total if the game total is 175.5 or below – The TOTE football betting odds.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JULY 24: Mick Malthouse coach of the Magpies addresses his players during the round 17 AFL match between the Collingwood Magpies and the Richmond Tigers at Melbourne Cricket Ground on July 24, 2010 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Mark Dadswell/Getty Images)

Pies to hold top spot a little while longer! Traditional rivals Collingwood and Carlton meet at the MCG on Saturday with a crowd in the vicinity of 80000 expected to attend. The Blues returned to the winners list with a come from behind victory over West Coast last weekend while the Magpies completely outclassed Richmond to continue on their impressive late season form. The Magpies have defeated the Blues by 50+ last two occasions and expect that they will be too classy again. Back Collingwood 39+ @ $2.35.

Does Primus have Power primed? Hawthorn travels over to Adelaide on Saturday to take on Port Power in what is shaping as a crucial encounter for the Hawks. Having to settle for 2 points last week after having a seemingly unassailable lead would have stung the Hawks who are in red hot form with only 1 loss in their last 10 games while the Power finally got back into winners list in last week’s showdown against cross-town rivals Adelaide Crows. The Power has won 7 of their last 10 meetings against the Hawks and while the betting suggests an easy win for the Hawks, caretaker coach Matthew Primus may have breathed new life into the Power list and the game may be a bit closer than expected. Back the Power at the +21.5 line @ $1.90 – The TOTE footy betting odds.

Go Gazza! Reigning Premiers Geelong head to Sydney to take on the Swans at ANZ stadium in a crucial encounter for both sides.  The Swans were very disappointing last week against Melbourne while the Cats had little more than a glorified training run against the hapless Lions. The match betting points towards a Cat victory, and it’s hard to argue with that. Gary Ablett is averaging 37 disposals per game in his last 4 outings against the Swans, expect him to be prominent again and back him for high possession winner.

The Bookies have this one back to front! Melbourne travel to Brisbane fresh from a confidence boosting win against the Swans last week, while Brisbane’s season is going from bad to worse after another large defeat, this time at the hands of the Cats. When these teams met earlier this year the Demons claimed a 50 point victory and there is no reason that this result will be reversed in Brisbane. Surprisingly Brisbane has been installed as slight favorites for this game, despite Melbourne’s good form last form and Brisbane’s poor form. Back the Demons @ $2.03 head to head

Tigers to bite back! Even though they have dropped their last two games Richmond look a good value bet when they take on the Adelaide Crows at the MCG on Sunday. When these teams met in round 7 the Tigers looked capable of a huge upset at 3 quarter time, only to be convincingly defeated by 50 points. However both teams have shown an improvement in form as the season has evolved and with Jack Riewoldt on song, the Tigers look capable of an upset. Back the Tigers @ $2.30

The Doggies have regained their bite! Last week’s demolition of top 4 contender Fremantle showed the football world that the Western Bulldogs have put the Jason Akermanis saga behind them and that they are gearing up for an attack on the flag in September. This Sunday they take on North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium, who lost a very tight encounter against Essendon last weekend. Also of interest will be the matchup of Barry Hall and Scott Thompson after fireworks they created earlier this year. The reality is that the dogs won by 70 points then and will do something similar this week. Back the Bulldogs to win by over 39.5 @ $2.27.

Freo heave ho! Fremantle and West Coast meet in the Derby on Sunday afternoon at Subiaco in a game which takes on great importance to the Dockers top 4 aspirations. After a heavy defeat to the Western Bulldogs last week the Dockers need to regain the winning feeling, while the West Coast will be disappointed with their loss last week against Carlton when they seemed to be in control at half time. Fremantle have won the last 6 Derbies and it’s hard to see them losing this week. Matthew Pavlich kicked 5 goals when these two teams met in Round 6 and he will once again pose some problems for the West Coast Eagles. Back Matthew Pavlich for top goal scorer in the match.

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