AFL: Gold Coast $1.60 Favourites For NAB Challenge Win
February 16th, 2014 by TJ DilferGold Coast skipper Gary Ablett went on record just a couple of weeks ago and set a high bar for his side to reach this season – he wants the Suns to be in contention for the flag come the closing stages of the 2014 season. And the Gold Coast side that will run out in tonight’s NAB Challenge fixture against Essendon gives us a good idea both of the management’s commitment to that goal, and to the likely shape of the squad that will be expected to achieve it. Alongside Ablett, Jaeger O’Meara, Charlie Dixon and David Swallow will all be key figures for the Suns over the course of the regular season, and they’ll all be running out against Essendon. Suns fans will be glad to see both Tom Lynch and Brandon Matera in the side, too – both are players that will really help the cause in 2014, and both are back after injury-troubled seasons last year. Also exciting in the Suns line-up is youngster Jack Martin, who had a run in the NAB last year, but who will be under close scrutiny this year before his expected AFL debut.
So the Suns have named a strong squad, and will be hoping to find form for the regular season, and find it at Essendon’s expense in their NAB Challenge clash – the Suns are the $1.60 favourites to come out winners. But the Bombers might be a little bit of an unknown quantity, and there might be a few (of their fans, most likely) backing them at $2.35. The basis of that optimism is the clutch of draftees in the Essendon squad: Zach Merrett, Orazio Fantasia, Fraser Thurlow and Kurt Aylett will all have the chance to impress in Essendon colours. The odds are against them, though, probably on the back of their leaving out some key men, Jobe Watson, Paul Chapman and Brendon Goddard included, who will leave a big hole for the draftees to fill.
In terms of betting, there are some good markets on Sportsbet right now, if you’re wanting to look past the outrights above. Look out for a Gold Coast win by 40 points or more at $4.50, or, if you think it’ll be close, either team by fewer than 16 points at $2.60. We like the look of a halftime/fulltime that has Essendon leading at the half-way point, before Gold Coast take it: that’s $7.20.
And if you’re after Round One odds, then you just need to follow the link – we’ve got Round One tips, too…
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