AFL Odds: North Melbourne Face The Swans
September 17th, 2014 by TJ DilferWe’ve drawn your attention in these pages before to the fact that since the most recent finals format was introduced in the AFL and in the NRL, no team from outside the top four spots in the regular season has reached a Grand Final. And we make no apology for mentioning it again. Check out the AFL odds we’ve got for you, and you’ll see that, with odds of $4.25 next to their name, North Melbourne are the big outsiders to do just that. But this has been a gripping AFL season to watch in part because of some great upsets, and the Roos won’t feel like they’re the underdogs on Friday night. The NRL season has featured some very close games, too: could this be the season that sees the first side from outside the top four in either code reach a final – or even in both?
North Melbourne face a stiff challenge on Friday night, though. Against the Swans, they are rightly the underdogs. Sydney have star quality in spades, and there could be a Buddy Franklin fairytale season in the making after criticism (if you can remember it) of him and his integration into the Swans side at the start of the season. It’s amazing how that sort of chatter fades away when you put yourself in contention for a Browlow Medal, and Franklin could easily be the man to take Sydney to the final. And, looking back, there’s a good dose of irony here, too – if you can think back to Round Four, with criticism buzzing around the ears of the Swans players and management, they suffered a defeat that was the turning point of their season. After that loss, they built a huge run of wins, and they come into Friday’s final with 17 wins from their last 19 starts. And who was it who beat them? North Melbourne.
But can the Roos do it again to make history? They have certainly proved, with a win over each of the teams that finished in the top four, that they can beat anyone on their day. They were the only side from outside the top four to do that in the regular season. And they’ve got real momentum coming into Friday’s game, with a couple of finals wins already behind them. The unexpected return of Brent Harvey will give the Roos a real psychological boost ahead of the biggest game of their season. And there’s one other factor that could play in their favour: have you seen a weather report for Friday night? If it rains, and it looks like it will between now and then, then that will work for the Roos more than the Swans. Are we going to see an ambush in the wet in the first of the Preliminary Finals? Check out the AFL odds we’ve got for you and place your bets now!
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