Gold Coast v Western Bulldogs betting tips and prediction
It’s last chance saloon stuff for the Gold Coast in their AFL round 19 clash against Western Bulldogs at Metricon Stadium on Sunday.
The Suns (1.80) are remarkably favourites to defeat the Bulldogs (2.05) with Aussie betting sites despite having slumped to 14th on the ladder, off the back of seven successive losses.
While a victory would put Damien Hardwick’s team back into the wildcard mix, they are a hard team to back with any confidence, given their glittering list’s output; while a loss would rule them out of finals.
The Bulldogs form has been patchy at best but they did defeat the West Coast by 16 points last match and have a recent win over Hawthorn in the tank.
The Dogs win this tricky clash on the road and it will give them some breathing space, and put them in the mix to finish in the top six.
Gold Coast has recalled Ben Long and Daniel Rioli from suspension and injury, while key defender Caleb Lewis will make his debut. Will Graham, Ethan Read and Nick Holman go out of the line-up.
The Bulldogs have suffered a key injury blow with Bailey Dale (shoulder) set for a stint on the sidelines. Young star Joel Freijah, Luke Cleary and Luke Kennedy also go out of their team.
No.1 ruckman Tim English, Nick Coffield, Ryley Sanders and Riley Garcia return to the Bulldogs line-up.
Gold Coast v Western Bulldogs betting tips
Our AFL betting expert has assessed the odds and found some value Suns v Bulldogs tips:
Ben Long 3+ goals
Long played close to his best game this year against the Magpies before he was suspended for a cheap shot on Collingwood defender Brayden Maynard. We’ll back him in against a Bulldogs backline that could be described as leaky. He is paying 4.80 to kick 3+ with NextBet Australia.
Marcus Bontempelli 25+ possessions
The Bont is going to need to play a strong game in the midfield against the star-studded, but misfiring Suns. He is short at 1.50 but we’re very confident he reaches 25.
Cody Weightman 2+ goals
The Bulldogs forward has been serviceable since returning from his long term injury, but is yet to hit the scoreboard with any great impact. The Suns have been chopped up by decent smalls, and Weightman is good when he’s on. He is paying 3.40 to kick 2+ goals.
Gold Coast v Western Bulldogs prediction
How can we predict a Suns victory here, given their horrific run of losses, and they way they have lost the games? Their no.1 forward Ben King spent big chunks of last week on the bench, their high-priced recruit Christian Petracca just can’t get into games, and their two midfield maestros, Brownlow Medal winner Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson are not having much impact. The Dogs have injury concerns, with Dale out, but have proven to be more consistent and are at better odds than their opponent. Take either team to win by 1-24 points in the tri-bet market. Our final Gold Coast v Western Bulldogs prediction? Dogs by four points.
