2018 AFL Round 20 Betting Tips
We had a solid week with our Round 19 tips, hitting on 3 of our 4 best bets. We’ll look to continue our form heading into the final few rounds of the season, so without further ado, we present this weekend’s instalment of our AFL Round 20 Best bets.
Hawthorn vs Essendon (Saturday, 1:45PM AEST)
The first match of Round 20 to feature in our best bets is the Hawthorn vs Essendon clash at the MCG. Both sides are coming off wins in Round 19 and are right in the mix for the final few position in the top 8. The Hawks are currently sitting in 7th and have a tough run home that consists of matches against the Bombers, Cats, Saints and Swans. While the Bombers have potentially the hardest run home in the competition, taking on the Hawks, Saints, Tigers and Power.
The rivalry between these two sides has been fierce since the early 80s, and interestingly enough, the head-to-head record stands at 33-33 between them since 1980. The Hawks, however, have had the bragging rights on 7 of the last 10 occasions, and won the most recent match by 23 points, which was early this year in Round 7.
Despite the Hawks having the wood over them lately, we suspect the Bombers to be too good for them in this one. The Bombers are arguably the form team of the competition at the moment and have elite speed sprinkled throughout their lineup, making them hard to beat on grounds with an abundance of space, like the MCG, for example.
TIP: Essendon to win – $1.80 at CrownBet
Brisbane vs North Melbourne (Saturday, 2:10PM AEST)
Our next best bet comes from the other Saturday afternoon match, featuring Brisbane taking on North Melbourne. The Lions have been ultra-competitive for over a month now, and despite losing to the Cats last weekend by 42 points, they still showed glimpses of a genuinely decent side. Meanwhile, North Melbourne are coming off a terrific win over the Eagles in Tassie, where they blew them out of the park in the second half to come home 40-point winners.
What may be surprising for some is the fact that the Lions will start this match as favourites, despite only winning four games for the season, compared to the Kangaroos 10. However, when you look at recent form for the Lions and the outs for North (most notably, Shaun Higgins), it’s more than reasonable. The Lions have won 3 of their last 5 games, and have a +109 point differential over those 5 matches.
Simply put, we’re more than happy to back in the young Lions to defeat the Higgins-less Roos at home.
TIP: Brisbane to win – $1.80 at Sportsbet
Melbourne vs Gold Coast (Sunday, 1:10PM AEST)
Our final best bet for Round 20 comes from the Melbourne vs Gold Coast clash at the MCG. It looks like a one-sided match on paper and we expect it to be a (extremely) one-sided match on the field. The Demons are a great side and are coming off a form-building win away to Adelaide last weekend. While the Suns, simply put, are just pure garbage.
How on earth they managed to defeat the Swans two weeks ago is surely beyond us all. It probably says more about the how the Swans are currently travelling more than anything. Nevertheless, the Demons won’t show any sympathy on Sunday on their way to what may well be a triple figure margin of victory.
TIP: Melbourne at the line (-65.5) – $1.92 at Ladbrokes
