We are set for a Thursday night thriller when Port Adelaide host Melbourne at Adelaide Oval as both teams look to lock away top four positions.
The best bets for the head to head, first goal scorer and total point scored markets have been selected with plenty of value to be found.
HEad to HEAD
July 8th 7:40pm
Melbourne will attempt to regain top spot on the AFL ladder when it faces Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval on Thursday night.
The Demons were well and truly humbled by an inspired GWS Giants at the MCG last week to fall short by nine points and in the process lose first place to Western Bulldogs.
Port Adelaide, meanwhile, left Marvel Stadium on Saturday night with a 34-point win in the bag after Ollie Wines (43 disposals) and Charlie Dixon (four goals) led the charge to a 13.9.87 to 7.11.53 victory.
Ken Hinkley has had the wood over Simon Goodwin in the last three matches played between the clubs with the most recent win being the 12.11.83 to 4.8.32 drubbing of the Demons in Round 9 last season.
But Melbourne has proven one of the best teams in the competition this year, and despite the hiccup last week, are the strongest defensive unit in the league.
Dixon will not have the freedom he was gifted against Hawthorn with the Demons backline boasting two of best intercept marks in the league in the form of Steven May and Jake Lever.
The knock on Melbourne now is their offensive armoury.
Of the top five teams in the league, the Demons ranked the lowest for point scored.
If there is one thing Port Adelaide know how to do very well it is hitting the scoreboard hard in front of its home fans.
Prediction: Port Adelaide by 21 points
Suggested Bets:
Port Adelaide head to head at $1.80
FIRST GOAL SCORER
Connor Rozee/Kysaiah Pickett
Going for the double figure value.
With Steven May and Jake Lever likely to play lockdown roles on both Charlie Dixon and Mitch Georgiadis, it might open the door for Connor Rozee.
The young Port forward knows how to the scoreboard early in games and if Port Adelaide get on top early he can be the man to get under the radar.
Kysaiah Pickett managed to kick the first goal for Melbourne last weekend in the loss to GWS.
His energy will be on show from the first bounce and expect him to be zipping around the Melbourne forward 50 if Melbourne win the first few clearances forward of centre.
Suggested Bet:
Connor Rozee first goalscorer at $15
Kysaiah Pickett first goalscorer at $13
total points scored
Over 149.5
The last three fixtures between Port Adelaide and Melbourne have fallen well short of the currently 148.5 points scored set by the market at the moment.
The shortened quarters in 2020 had a big bearing on the 115 point scored in Round 9 at the Gabba as did the dewy conditions.
The 2019 score hit exactly 148 when Melbourne was arguably at its worst after a host pre-season surgeries contributing to their scoring struggles in that game.
Good weather is forecast for this game and expect Simon Goodwin to put an emphasis on hitting the scoreboard this week after his side struggled to score against the Giants.
Suggested Bet: Total points over 149.5 points at $1.88
