2019 AFL Round 1 - Collingwood vs Geelong Betting Tips 22-03-2019

Last time they played at the MCG, Collingwood came within a goal of winning the AFL premiership. On Friday night, the Pies return to the scene of that heartbreaking loss for a round one blockbuster against Geelong.

Collingwood v Geelong AFL Preview

Collingwood should line up with as strong a side as the one that lost to West Coast in last year’s granny. Taylor Adams will miss the first couple of rounds with an injured finger, but Dayne Beams is a more than handy replacement in the engine room. Beams, Scott Pendlebury, Adam Treloar, Steele Sidebottom, Tom Phillips, and Adams form perhaps the AFL’s most formidable midfield. Key players Jordan De Goey and Jeremy Howe are expected to be ready for round one.

A bit of this on Friday night? ? pic.twitter.com/CVanUxr10R

— Collingwood FC (@CollingwoodFC) 18 March 2019

Speaking of good midfields, Geelong’s is still looking strong. The Cats came up short last year despite having the likes of Joel Selwood, Patrick Dangerfield, Gary Ablett, and Mitch Duncan in the midfield. Ablett is expected to spend a lot more time up forward this year as the Cats put midfield minutes into Brandon Parfitt, Charlie Constable, and last year’s mature-age breakout Tim Kelly.

For 160 years our banner has been flying high.

In 2019 we make our own mark on history.#StandProud #WeAreGeelong pic.twitter.com/GagYiq4aYq

— Geelong Cats (@GeelongCats) 8 March 2019

Collingwood v Geelong Betting Tips

Geelong actually won the only contest between these teams last year, although the Pies have won three of the last five. Collingwood rightfully go in as 1.62 favourites at bet365 and we can see them covering the -8.5-point spread.

Matches between these sides tend to be dour, low-scoring contests. Last time they played, Geelong won by 21 points, scoring just nine goals to the Pies five. The margin has stayed under five goals in each of their last four matches. With Collingwood the obvious favourite, we like Unibet’s promise of 2.15 on the Pies to win by 39 points or less.

Given the likelihood of a close one, punters may also want to consider PointsBet’s offer of 2.00 on Wire to Wire – any other result. This bet assumes each side will lead into at least one of the breaks.