After three weeks of the 2009 AFL football season, the cream has risen to the top of the AFL ladder. Geelong, St Kilda and the Western Bulldogs are all undefeated and looking like they will be back in the preliminary final. AFL betting reflects the favoritism invested in these three teams.
It is still a bit early to draw too much from the AFL results. Sydney beats Hawthorn and then loses to Brisbane who lost to Carlton who lose to Essendon. One thing certain is that unless there is a draw, you are going to have eight winners and eight losers every week.
Much of the standings are due to the AFL fixture. Hawthorn lost their opening two matches after a tough draw and conversely Port have benefited from a soft draw. Their two wins have come over Essendon and Melbourne.
It’s still only April but this week is the AFL Grand Final for Terry Wallace. Many are already speculating that he won’t be coaching at Punt Road next year but if the Tigers lose this week to Melbourne, you would get good AFL odds that he would struggle to get through the week.
Things could not have started any worse for the Tigers. After a huge build-up they badly collapsed in their opening match against Carlton. Two more losses have followed and against the winless Melbourne, this is a real litmus test.
Fremantle are also facing a huge test against St Kilda. The winless Dockers are up against a Saints side who are currently on fire.
Elsewhere, Collingwood would be breathing a sigh of relief that Heath Shaw was only suspended for one match for his contact with an umpire. The Magpies will have to take on the Lions without him in a pretty big match.
Sydney celebrate the centenary of its first premiership with a match against Carlton; the side it defeated in 1909 to win the flag. This is a massive game for both sides. The Swans want to get to 2-2 which is where Carlton would fall to if they lost. For the Blues, they haven’t won in Sydney since 1993 so this looms as a big assignment for them.
David Wiseman is a sports journalist, who writes about all team sports for Betfair Australia. As well as the afl season, he is particularly looking forward to following some afl betting.