Round 19 Preview

After failing to defeat Melbourne last weekend, the Bombers should easily be able to defeat Adelaide as their normally play their best football against team outside the top eight.

Nic Martin has been a standout performer for the Bombers down the half-back line and has been racking up possessions with ease at the moment.

After a perfect start to their season, Jesse Hogan’s form has picked up in the past two weekends and is the ideal forward to keep an eye on this weekend for the Giants.

As the Giants hang onto a top-eight spot desperately, they face the Gold Coast Suns who are yet to win a match away from their home stadium.

In the ‘Battle of the Bottom Ladder’, the Saints and Eagles sit in 15th and 16th place respectively and the victory could go in the direction of either team. The Eagles are a slim chance to create an upset as they continue to play without Adam Simpson.

If the Eagles are to contend with the Saints this weekend, they will need to get off to a quick start in the opening two quarters to set the tone of the match.

Both teams are averaging around 345 disposals per game, making it tight in the midfield with their respective midfielders adding a lot of disposals to their stat sheets.

The Magpies have lost their last three matches and are in a horror run of form at the moment, while the Hawks have won four of their past five matches.

Playing at their home fortress, the Geelong Cats are in line to win against the Bulldogs. However, expect the Western Bulldogs to keep the scoreline close and the match to go down to the final quarter.

It’s hard to see the Geelong Cats not emerging victorious at every 20-minute break as they attempt to cement their spot in the top-eight and show doubters they can perform against good sides.

The two teams have struggled in recent weeks with the Power losing three of their last five matches and the Tigers losing the past three games. However, with the match been playing at Adelaide, an easy Power victory is set to occur.

While the Power should clinch an easy victory, expect the team to get off to a shaky start with a behind opening the clash.

In one of the matches of the round, the Lions have won their last six consecutive matches, while the Swans have lost to the Dockers and Saints in recent weeks.

The Lions’ forward line has been solid in recent weeks, in which they have been averaging 13.6 goals per match, with Joe Daniher playing a crucial role in scoring goals.

The Dockers are coming off a loss to the Hawks but won their last three beforehand, while the Demons two recent victories have shown their struggles and just managed to get over the line.

The Fremantle Dockers should be able to do the half-time and full-time double as they are slightly better than the Demons in efficiency inside 50 and clearances.

As the Blues look to bounce back from a couple of defeats in the past two weeks, forwards Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay should have a field day in their forward 50.

The Blues will be looking to improve their points differentiation this weekend and will easily score above 40 points against the Kangaroos.