Geelong v St Kilda betting tips and prediction
Welcome to our Geelong v St Kilda betting tips and winner prediction for their round 19 Thursday night blockbuster at GMHBA Stadium.
The Cats are a 1.53 favourite to defeat the Saints (2.50) but have suffered some serious injury blows, with star forward Jeremy Cameron (AC joint) the big talking point.
Chris Scott’s team have also lost Tanner Bruhn, while Jack Martin, Mark Blicvacs and Jake Kolodjashnij have all been managed. Mitch Knevitt, and Jack Bowes have been dropped. In better news, veteran Patrick Dangerfield has been picked after ending the Giants match on one leg.
The Cats have recalled Gryan Miers after a dominant VFL display, but are clearly wary of his own ACL injury, which is “partially torn” but stable enough to play. Mark O’Connor, Brad Close, debutant Jay Polkinghorne, Mitch Edwards, Jhye Clark and James Worpel have been also been called up.
St Kilda, who have won three from their last four to sit in 10th, did not make bulk changes to the team that defeated Port Adelaide by 14 points, with spearhead Max King and Tom De Koning still another couple of weeks away.
The Saints have opted to recalled Hunter Clark for Angus Hastie, in what will be their superstar Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera’s 100th game.
Geelong v St Kilda betting tips
Our AFL betting expert has assessed the markets and found some value Geelong v St Kilda tips:
Shannon Neale 3+ goals
The young Cats forward might be their most important player in the next six weeks, with Jezza on the sidelines, and he must kick goals. Making his task harder this week will be Callum Wilkie – one of the league’s best. But sometimes football is a simple game, and knowing you’re the big banana can change your outlook. We think Neale is up to the challenge at 2.20 for 3+.
Hugo Garcia 25+ possessions
We hit with Garcia last week and we’re going to roll with him again. He has shone with more midfield minutes in the absence of Jack Sinclair, who might find himself onto the back flank in the future. He’s still nice value at 25+ at 1.50, or 2.65 for 30+.
Jack Higgins 4+ goals
Higgins is paying 9.25 to kick 4+ goals and looks well-placed to have a strong game against the Cats. While four is a stretch, the Cats were chopped up by the Giants smalls last week. Don’t drag a multi down with Higgins for four goals, but he is worth a small flutter outright.
Geelong v St Kilda prediction
The Cats are favourites but with seven changes for this game, Saints supporters should feel bullish about causing an upset in Geelong. While we are not confident enough to back the Saints to win this, we expect it to be a low-scoring slog in what is likely to be tough conditions. Could this signal the Saints arrival as a premiership contender? St Kilda +11.5 at 1.90 with NextBet is our final tip, in a match that should be much closer to even money. Our final Geelong v St Kilda prediction? Cats by two points.
