Sydney v Geelong betting tips, prediction & odds; AFL Rd 18 preview
Welcome to our Sydney v Geelong betting tips, prediction and odds update ahead of their AFL round 18 clash at Metricon Stadium on Sunday.
While the Swans cannot make the AFL finals, Geelong have plenty to play for and must win to book themselves a top-four position, after West Coast and Richmond won their respective final-round matches on Thursday and Saturday.
The Cats will also be keen to allay fears they are getting the wobbles following their thrashing at the hands of premiership favourites Richmond last round.
Fifteenth-placed Sydney have notched up five wins this season, but it is the development of players such as James Rowbottom, Oliver Florent and Nick Blakey that would have coach John Longmire elated.
The Swans have lost their last three encounters against the Cats dating back to 2018, with several significant trends including the dominance of Tom Hawkins up forward and strong output from the Cats midfield.
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Geelong have wheeled out the big guns for the clash against the Swans, with skipper Joel Selwood (hamstring) playing his first match since round 12, and league legend Gary Ablett (personal leave) playing his first match since round seven. If that was not enough of an injection of experience the Cats have also added veteran forward Gary Rohan and midfielder Jack Steven.
The four players to make way for that classy quartet are youngsters Ben Jarvis, Brad Close and Lachie Fogarty, who are all dropped, and the injured Tom Atkins.
Sydney are coming off a 32-point loss to Brisbane Lions, and have regained ruckman Callum Sinclair, James Rowbottom and Jordan Dawson to replace injured duo Joel Amartey and Lewis Taylor and the dropped Sam Wicks.
Read on for our free Sydney v Geelong tips ahead of their clash at Metricon Stadium on Sunday.
Swans v Cats odds
| Start: | 3.35pm AEST, September 20 |
| Venue: | Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast |
| Head-to-head odds: | Sydney ($5.50) v Geelong ($1.14) |
| Line betting: | Sydney +28.5 ($1.90) v Geelong -28.5 ($1.90) |
| Premiership odds: | Sydney -; Geelong $4.50 |
Sydney v Geelong tips
Our AFL betting expert has scoured the odds and found several value Swans v Cats tips for Sunday’s game.
Tom Hawkins to kick 4+ goals
In Hawkins’ past three outings against the Swans he has booted 11 goals, including one game where he booted 2.5. There is no respite on the Hawkins front this time around either for the Swans, with the veteran spearhead leading the Coleman and arguably in career-best form. The Swans are short down back and if weather permits Hawkins is primed for another bag. He is paying $3.75 to kick 4+ goals but keep a close eye on the weather.
Mitch Duncan to get over 25+ touches
Duncan eclipsed the 25-possession mark last time these clubs met and is offering some good value at $3.50 to do it again here. Duncan’s possession count was down against Richmond and he will want to run into some form before finals. We can see Patrick Dangerfield spending plenty of time forward against the Swans, which could mean Duncan is given more midfield minutes, even with the return of Ablett and Selwood.
Cats to win by 1-39
Sydney will guts out any contest they enter and we can’t see them being blown away by the Cats. Things are well in the Emerald City after talented small Tom Papley indicated he was staying despite trade speculation. But they face a team that is well and truly in the premiership race, with many more experienced bodies than them. We can see Geelong easing away in the second half to win by a few goals. The 1-39 margin is paying $1.72 and looks a sensible multi leg.
Sydney Swans v Geelong Cats prediction 20/9/2020
Geelong are not expected to have any trouble accounting for Sydney in this clash and they have been boosted by two of their greatest players of all time returning. The Cats will want to head into the pre-finals bye in-form and we just can’t see Sydney scoring enough to trouble them. Keep a close eye on the Cats. Plenty of us have queries on them given their recent meek finals efforts. Anything less than a preliminary final would be an abject failure. Our final Sydney v Geelong prediction? Cats by 24 points.
Swans vs Cats lowdown
Subscription TV: Foxtel; streaming/IPTV: Kayo; mobile: AFL Live Pass.
All of the top online betting sites will offer markets on the AFL.
The game starts at 3:35pm local time on September 20, 2020.
