As we enter the halfway mark of the season, both the Premiership, and Brownlow Medal favourites are beginning to become clear.
Greater Western Sydney sit atop the AFL Home and Away ladder, and are rightfully priced as favourites to take it home come the end of the season. They currently sit at $3.75 with William Hill, proving the best AFL betting odds. Following the Giants is Adelaide at $4, and then a big price jump to the Western Bulldogs ($7), and Geelong ($7).
It seems despite their strong start to the season, there is little faith in Richmond. The Tigers sit inside the top four, however are priced at $26 to win the flag. Their finals record in recent time isn’t something to be admired, however their run home suggests a place inside the first four is highly likely.
The Brownlow Medal is shaping up to be a tight battle, with a number of players having amazing starts to the year.
Patrick Dangerfield has somehow added another facet to his game, having already kicked 22 goals this year. He only managed 24 for the whole of last year. His terrific play, and ability to provide for the Cats in the clutch has him as favourite to win another Brownlow, William Hill offer odds of $3.25.
He is followed very closely by Dustin Martin ($3.75) who is having a career season. Not only is his play at another level, Richmond are winning games, which bodes well for his vote count.
If punters are looking for some extra value, Josh Kelly ($12) could be a good choice. The Giants are sitting on top of the ladder, and on multiple occasions Kelly has been their best player on the ground. With plenty of publicity surrounding the youngster, no doubt the umpires are paying attention.
Earlier in the year Tom Mitchell managed a 50 disposal game, and as an in-and-under player he is always in the thick of it. If Hawthorn can string together some wins in the second half of the season, Mitchell could make a push for the Brownlow. There doesn’t appear to be anybody in the Hawthorn midfield who will take a large number of votes off him. Now is the time to get on the Hawk, who sits at $34 to win the biggest award in the game.
This week we’ll see the awarding of the Neale Daniher Trophy. It will be awarded to the best on ground from the Queen’s Birthday match-up. Daniher has been incredible in his fight against Motor Neurone Disease, raising an incredible amount of money for research.
Adam Treloar ($9) and Scott Pendlebury ($9) are the favourites for the trophy, with Taylor Adams ($10), and Nathan Jones ($11) not too far behind. The winner will likely come from whoever claims the four points, so somebody like Christian Petracca ($17) might be worth a look for some added value.
