AFL 2023 Round 12 – Betting Tips, Odds & Predictions

The first week of the AFL’s bye rounds is here, with four teams set to enjoy a week off in Round 12. That leaves us with just seven games this weekend, but what’s lacking in quantity is certainly made up for in quality – or at the very least, intrigue. It starts with a Friday night clash between the Demons and under-fire Blues, while on Saturday night the Bulldogs host the Cats and the Suns play the Crows. Sunday will see the Giants take on the Tigers in a must-win game for both teams, before the Bombers get a great chance to make it three on the hop against the Kangaroos to conclude the round. Check out all the fixtures, detailed match previews and tips for Round 12 of the AFL season below.

It’s yet another Friday night featuring the Blues, and hopefully this time around they can deliver a better performance than what they’ve managed in most of their primetime matchups this year. They’ll certainly have their work cut out doing so though; the Demons, having suffered two close losses in a row, will be desperate to force their way back onto the winners’ list, and the Blues certainly look like a good team against which to do it. After their disappointing defeat to the Swans last week Carlton have now lost four in a row and six of the last seven, and are gradually tumbling from a potential Premiership contender to a team which doesn’t look capable of playing finals. Their performance on the field is not remotely indicative of their talent, and their goalkicking is deplorable, to put it nicely. But maybe that’s not such a bad thing; for all their disappointing losses, had they been able to kick straight they would have been a lot closer in many of them. As the old adage goes, bad kicking is bad football, but surely – surely! – at some point they’ll start finding the big sticks. They’ll need to this weekend, because despite their consecutive losses the Demons remain one of the best teams in the business, and opportunities for Carlton will likely be few and far between. If they don’t capitalise on them, they’ll be blown out of the water. If they do, they might be able to keep it a little closer, but Melbourne should be too good regardless.

Predicted Squads

Melbourne Demons: B: M.Hibberd, J.Lever, J.McVee HB: C.Salem, S.May, A.Brayshaw C: E.Langdon, J.Viney, T.Sparrow HF: B.Fritsch, T.McDonald, K.Pickett F: K.Chandler, B.Grundy, C.Spargo FOLL: M.Gawn, C.Petracca, A.Neal-Bullen I/C: .J.van Rooyen, J.Harmes, L. Hunter, T.Rivers

Carlton Blues: B: S.Docherty, J.Weitering, J. Boyd HB: B.Kemp, M.McGovern, A.Saad C: B.Acres, P.Cripps, Z. Fisher HF: M.Kennedy, H.McKay, J. Silvagni F: M. Owies, C.Curnow, J.Motlop FOLL: T.De Koning, A. Cerra, S.Walsh I/C: E. Curnow, P. Dow, M.Cottrell, L. O’Brien

The Power just keep on winning. After a tight win in an intriguing Sunday afternoon affair with the Tigers last weekend, they’ve now gone two months without a loss, taking their record to 9-2 in the process. That’s good to have them in second place, and has seen them go in the opposite direction to the Blues – from a team expected to be fighting for a spot in the top eight to a legitimate Premiership contender. One thing which they would certainly like to improve on is their percentage – it sits at just 111.8%, inferior to the three teams directly below them on the ladder and even the Cats who are outside the eight – and this weekend offers a great opportunity to do that. The Hawks, in fairness, are actually coming off two straight wins; the first was a 116-point shellacking of the disastrous Eagles, but last weekend they backed it up with an impressive showing against the stumbling Saints. They appear to be separating themselves from the Kangaroos and the Eagles as the best team in that trio, but while they deserve credit for showing improvement, they’re still not exactly world beaters. It’s not easy for anyone to come away from a trip to Adelaide to face the Power with a win, and it’s hard to see the Hawks getting particularly close in this one.

Predicted Squads

Port Adelaide Power: B: D.Byrne-Jones, T.McKenzie, D.Houston HB: R.Burton, A.Aliir, D.Williams C: M.Bergman, J.Horne-Francis, R.Bonner HF: T. Boak, C. Dixon, C.Rozee F: Z.Butters, J.Finlayson, S.Powell-Pepper FOLL: S.Lycett, O.Wines, W.Drew I/C: L.Jones, K.Farrell, O. Lord, J.Rioli

Hawthorn Hawks: B: J.Weddle, J.Blanck, S.Frost HB: B.Hardwick, L. Bramble, J.Impey C: S.Mitchell, J.Worpel, K.Amon HF: W.Day, L.Breust, S.Butler F: L.Meek, M.Lewis, D.Moore FOLL: N.Reeves, C.Mackenzie, J.Newcombe I/C: C.Nash, C. Wingard, J.Koschitzke, T.Brockman

It really couldn’t get much worse for the Eagles. A terrible team littered by injuries to their best players, they have been completely uncompetitive for months, with their latest 50-point loss coming at the hands of the Bombers. Indicative of how badly they are going, that actually wasn’t too bad a result given they went down by over 100 to the Hawks the week prior. As if it could get any worse, they now have to face the best team in the league at the moment, a Magpies side which has lost just a solitary game all year. It’s been a friendly couple of weeks for the Pies, who enjoyed a pretty cruisy win against the Kangaroos last week, and they could probably win this one by about as much as they want to. Their defeat of the Kangaroos came by only 35 points, and if the Eagles can limit it to even close to that they should be pretty satisfied with themselves. After hardly getting out of second gear last week, however, Collingwood might be keen to put the foot down a bit more in this one and accumulate a little bit of percentage against one of the worst sides in recent history. This could get ugly, and with clear conditions forecast it wouldn’t surprise to see the Magpies win by close to triple figures.

Predicted Squads

West Coast Eagles: B: R.Bazzo, T.Barrass, A.Witherden HB: S.Hurn, J.Rotham, L.Duggan C: J.Hunt, T.Kelly, A. Gaff HF: D.Sheed, J.Waterman, J.Petruccelle F: N.Long, O.Allen - C, C.Jamieson FOLL: B.Williams, E.Yeo, L. Shuey I/C: R.Ginbey, G. Clark, L.Foley, C.West

Collingwood Magpies: B: I.Quaynor, B. Frampton, B.Maynard HB: J.Daicos, N.Murphy, J.Noble C: N. Daicos, T.Mitchell, J.Crisp HF: A.Johnson, T.Adams, B.McCreery F: B.Mihocek, W. Hoskin-Elliott, B.Hill FOLL: M.Cox, S.Pendlebury, J.De Goey I/C: T. Bianco, J.Ginnivan, O.Markov, D.Cameron

• The Cats have won their last four games against the Western Bulldogs.
• The Eagles haven’t lost a game by less than 40 points since March.
• The Power haven’t lost a game against an interstate side in Adelaide this year, and three of those have been against top eight sides; the only which wasn’t came by 40 points.

Multi of the Week

After a couple of warm-up games to kick off Saturday, things get a little bit more serious come nightfall, with the first game of the evening seeing the Bulldogs welcome the Cats to Marvel Stadium. Both of these teams are coming off surprise defeats; the Doggies having gone down in a tight one to the Suns last weekend and the Cats losing their third in a row, this one at home to the Giants. Prior to those games the Dogs had actually been in good form while the Cats had not, but while the Western Bulldogs find themselves in sixth place with a 7-4 record and Geelong is back in 10th at 5-6, the respective percentages of these two sides is perhaps more representative of where they should be. The Bulldogs sits at 106.9%, the worst in the top eight but similar to most sides within that 6-11th range. The Cats, meanwhile, are at 118.1% despite having lost more games than they’ve won. The reigning Premiers have put themselves in something of a hole after a poor start to the year and now another string of close losses, but this is still a very capable side which could easily get on a run in the back half of the year and mount another challenge. Despite their poor form, they look to be at very juicy odds in this matchup, and can get themselves back on the winners’ list with a solid victory.

Predicted Squads

Western Bulldogs: B: T.Duryea, L.Jones, T.O’Brien HB: B.Dale, R.Gardner, E.Richards C: A.Scott, M.Bontempelli, B.Williams HF: J.Macrae, A.Naughton, C.Daniel F: C.Weightman, J.Ugle-Hagan, R.Lobb FOLL: T.English, B.Smith, T.Liberatore I/C: J.O’Donnell, A.Jones, O.Baker, A. Treloar

Geelong Cats: B: M.O’Connor, J. Bews, J.Kolodjashnij HB: O.Mullin, S.De Koning, T.Stewart C: Z.Guthrie, T.Atkins, I.Smith HF: B.Close, O.Henry, T.Stengle F: T.Hawkins, J.Henry, J.Cameron FOLL: J.Ceglar, M.Blicavs, T.Bruhn I/C: J. Bowes, Z.Tuohy, P. Dangerfield, G.Miers

Neither of these two sides have been of particular interest to neutral fans over recent years, but that’s beginning to change this year. They’re now two of the more intriguing teams in the league, both of them having appeared to have improved this season – in particular the Crows – and the AFL world trying to determine whether they are legitimate finals contenders or simply plucky, bottom half of the ladder sides. The Suns looked to be tumbling towards another disappointing season a few weeks ago, but their last month or so has been excellent, with the only poor outing coming when they were beaten comfortably by the Lions; that aside, they’ve beaten the Tigers, Eagles easily and last week the Dogs, while they also lost by just five points to the Demons. The Crows, meanwhile, started the season really well before hitting something of a road bump with a few losses, but two big wins in the last two weeks against the Saints and Lions appear to have them back on track and right in the top eight mix. Being played at TIO Stadium, this will likely be a game played in slippery conditions, something which should benefit the Suns. They’ve played there a fair bit, but more importantly they’ve been the best contested ball side in the league the past few weeks, and with suboptimal conditions that will likely play a big role in the game. With Matt Rowell continuing to lead the charge in the middle, they can earn a really important win and potentially even jump inside the top eight in the process.

Predicted Squads

Gold Coast Suns: B: B. Long, S.Collins, M.Andrew HB: D.Macpherson, C.Ballard, W.Powell C: D.Macpherson, C.Ballard, W.Powell HF: T.Berry, J.Jeffrey, N.Holman F: B.Humphrey, B.King, L.Casboult FOLL: J.Witts, M.Rowell, N.Anderson I/C: B.Ainsworth, A.Davies, B. Ellis, M.Rosas

Adelaide Crows: B: M.Michalanney, N.Murray, J.Butts HB: T.Doedee, B.Smith, W.Milera C: L.Murphy, J.Dawson, C.Jones HF: L.Sholl, T.Walker, L.Pedlar F: J.Rachele, D.Fogarty, I.Rankine FOLL: R.O’Brien, R.Laird, B.Keays I/C: R.Thilthorpe, J.Soligo, R.Sloane, M. Hinge

Another intriguing matchup awaits us to begin Sunday’s action, with a Giants side coming off a hugely impressive win playing host to a Tigers side coming off yet another close defeat. After three losses in a row the Giants season was rapidly unravelling and they appeared destined to be falling towards 14th place – better than the Eagles, Hawks and Kangaroos but worse than everyone else – and while that still may end up being the case, they showed what they are capable of at their best last weekend. On a day of upsets, they went to Kardinia Park and took the points from the Cats, celebrating captain Toby Greene’s 200th game in the best way possible. The Tigers, meanwhile, certainly didn’t look bad against the Power in their first game under caretaker coach Andrew McQualter, and aside from a dreadful patch in the first quarter were the better side for a large portion of the game. However, during their periods of dominance they failed to put on enough scoreboard pressure, booting a whole lot of points, and they remained a goal or two in arrears the whole game. As has been consistent for the Tigers this year, it certainly wasn’t a disaster; the Power haven’t lost for two months and they certainly went very close to handing them their first defeat in eight weeks last Sunday, but they just couldn’t quite get there. Their season appears close to having a line put through it, and if they lose this weekend that may well happen. With victory absolutely imperative if they’re to work their way back into finals contention, the Tigers can get the job done in a tight, see-sawing affair on the road.

Predicted Squads

GWS Giants: B: C.Brown, L.Keeffe, C.Idun HB: L.Whitfield, J.Buckley, L.Ash C: F.Callaghan, H.Perryman, R.Angwin HF: B.Daniels, A.Cadman, T.Greene  F: C.Ward, J.Hogan, T.Bedford FOLL: K.Briggs, T.Green, S.Coniglio I/C: D.Lloyd, J.Peatling, H. Himmelberg, X.O’Halloran

Richmond Tigers: B: N. Vlastuin , D.Grimes, N.Balta HB: D.Rioli, N.Broad, L.Baker C: K.McIntosh, T.Taranto, J.Ross HF: R.Mansell, S.Bolton, J.Graham F: M. Rioli, J.Riewoldt, D.Martin FOLL: T.Nankervis, M.Pickett, D.Prestia I/C: H.Ralphsmith, T.Cotchin, J.Short, S.Ryan

The first bye round ends with a game which the Bombers will be eyeing off as a terrific chance to win their third game in a row and solidify their position in the top eight. After a run of competitive losses to good teams they bounced back with a thrilling one-point win against the Tigers in the Dreamtime at the G matchup a fortnight ago, and as expected backed it up with a pretty easy victory against the Eagles last weekend. The fixture is finally beginning to pay them back after a really difficult run, with the Kangaroos now awaiting them this Sunday. After their consecutive victories to start the season the Roos still haven’t won since, their latest defeat coming at the hands of the Pies last weekend. In fairness to them, they’ve been pretty competitive the last fortnight, going agonisingly close to beating the Swans and then only losing by 35 points to the Magpies last weekend. The Bombers certainly aren’t at Collingwood’s level, so perhaps the Roos can keep it competitive, but Essendon also has a lot more reason to put their foot to the floor and try to win this won by as big a margin as possible – for Collingwood, who have their eyes on a much bigger prize, last week’s matchup probably didn’t hold quite as much significance. The Roos are certainly a far more competitive side than fellow cellar dweller in the Eagles, so they should be able to avoid a complete blowout, but the Bombers still should be able to win this one fairly comfortably.

Predicted Squads

Essendon Bombers: B: A.McGrath, B.Zerk-Thatcher, J.Laverde HB: M.Redman, J.Ridley, K.Langford C: S.Durham, Z.Merrett - C, D.Heppell HF: N.Martin, J.Stringer, J.Caldwell F: W.Snelling, S.Weideman, A.McDonald-Tipungwuti FOLL: S.Draper, B.Hobbs, A.Perkins I/C: D.Shiel, N.Hind, M.Guelfi, J.Menzie

North Melbourne Kangaroos: B: J.Ziebell, G.Logue, B.McKay HB: L.McDonald, H.Sheezel, M.Bergman C: D.Howe, T.Powell, B.Scott HF: T. Thomas, J.Simpkin, J.Stephenson F: C.Zurhaar, N.Larkey, C.Coleman-Jones FOLL: T.Goldstein, H.Greenwood, G.Wardlaw I/C: A.Hall, W.Phillips, D. Tucker, E.Ford

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