Gold Coast v Hawthorn betting tips and prediction
Welcome to our Gold Coast v Hawthorn betting tips and winner prediction for their AFL round 15 clash at People First Stadium on Friday night.
The Suns (2.07) enter this clash against the Hawks (1.79) as underdogs, but will believe they can cause an upset against the fifth-placed outfit, despite their patchy form and rumblings of players being upset at the coach.
The Suns were 45 point losers against Geelong last Friday in Geelong, and lost their previous two games to Brisbane and North Melbourne, to leave them precariously placed in ninth.
Damien Hardwick has confirmed they will debut academy graduate Beau Addinsall against the Hawks, while veteran Nick Holman will be called up for his 150th match.
Hawthorn would be bitterly disappointed to kick 9.17 in their six-point loss to the Western Bulldogs, which will be exactly a fortnight ago when Friday rolls around.
The Hawks, who will again be without star forward Jack Gunston, struggled to connect with their forwards and were horribly inaccurate when they had chances.
They will be boosted by the inclusion of gun defender Tom Barrass (hamstring), but important midfielder Conor Nash will need at least another week with his neck injury.
Gold Coast v Hawthorn betting tips
Our AFL betting expert has assessed the markets and found some value Gold Coast v Hawthorn tips:
Christian Petracca 2+ goals
The Suns midfield has seemingly been upset by the addition of Petracca into the mix, and this was reflected by the former Dees star spending more time forward last round. We expect more of the same and he’s offering nice value at 2.35 to kick 2+ goals with Aussie betting sites.
Nick Watson 3+ goals
He might not get 30 possessions every week, but Watson is almost impossible to stop when it comes to finding a few special moments in a game. He’s short at 2.25 to kick 3+ goals, but the Hawks need him to fire, because he is undoubtedly the X-factor in a forward line that can look a little pedestrian, with Mabior Chol and Mitch Lewis as the front men. Blake Hardwick is another good option, with the swingman likely to get chances up forward given Gunston’s absence, but is a little short for 2+ goals.
Under 177.5 points
The Hawks will attempt to put the clamps on the Suns ability to move the ball quickly, while the Suns will try and stop the Hawks short game and ability to find loose men in the corridor. We think this will result in a low-scoring contest, with both teams needing a win to shore up their ladder positions.
Tribet – Either team to win by 1-24 points
We can’t see this clash being a blowout, given the ramifications for both teams and the fact they are evenly matched on paper. A good way to cash in on these lineball fixtures is the tribet, which offers punters 1.90 odds on either team winning by 1-24 points.
Gold Coast v Hawthorn prediction
Gold Coast need to respond after their disappointing showing in Geelong and coach Hardwick knows the best way to shut the media up about players being discontent, is to win. The Suns match up well in the midfield against Hawthorn and look to have the weapons in the front half to challenge a strong Hawks backline – they just need to make sure they don’t bomb long to intercept kings Barrass and James Sicily. The Hawks enter as favourites fresh, after a week off, and know what needs to be done. Their challenge will be stopping the Suns from finding the cohesion that could propel them towards a top four berth. If the Suns put in another shocker, it might be hard to deny there are issues at the club and this tipster for one, will be jumping off. Our final Gold Coast v Hawthorn prediction? Suns by three points.
