The off-season must've felt like an eternity for footy fans who couldn't wait for the AFL season to get up and running again.
The good news is that the first centre bounce is just around the corner.
To get footy punters in the mood for a successful year of AFL betting, we've put together an article on the best futures bets for the 2019 season.
Will we see another surprise packet take out the title, or can the premiership favourites Richmond go all the way?
Are the Blues set for yet another wooden spoon, and who will rise to the top to claim the Brownlow Medal?
Find out our verdict below.
AFL Premiership contenders
Richmond Tigers
AFL Odds: $5
Last season the Tigers proved that their 2017 flag was no flash in the pan, having a dominant year before getting done in the prelims.
The Tigers look an even fiercer prospect this time with the top recruit of Tom Lynch from the Suns.
With the star power of Dusty Martin, Jack Reiwoldt and Alex Rance, Richmond are in for another ripping year.
However, the strength of the Tigers in the past two seasons has been their depth and the solid contributions from every player on the park.
Therefore, letting the likes of Conca, Ellis, Miles and Lloyd may come back to cost them, especially if players start getting injured.
Collingwood Magpies
AFL Odds: $6.50
The 2018 runners-up will be desperate to go one-better this time round, and take advantage of their stellar list.
The Magpies are stacked in the midfield, with 2018 Brownlow runner-up Steele Sidebottom complimented by the likes of Taylor Adams, Adam Treloar, Jordan De Goey, and not to mention captain Scott Pendlebury.
Oh, and don't forget Dayne Beams, who returns to the club after a stint in Brisbane.
If big Yank Mason Cox can reproduce his outstanding form from the back end of last year, then the Pies will be hard to stop.
What's counting against them is the recent record of Grand Final runners-up.
Previous runners-up Adelaide, Sydney and West Coast all had underwhelming following seasons.
Melbourne Demons
AFL Odds: $7.50
The time feels right for the Melbourne Demons to break their 55-year premiership drought.
Like the Magpies, they have a list jam-packed with talent that is more than capable of going all the way.
The Demons were probably just a year too young last season, with their core group of Clayton Oliver, Christian Petracca, Angus Brayshaw and the McDonald brothers sure to improve.
They will all hit somewhere near their peak this campaign, and why the AFL's oldest club look the goods.
Especially given that star 2017 off-season recruit Jake Lever will line-up after missing most of the 2018 season through injury.
He will be joined by Steven May in the backline, who joins from the Gold Coast, bolstering Melbourne's defence.
West Coast Eagles
AFL Odds: $7.50
The 2018 surprise premiers are sure to give the competition another shake this time round.
Their 2018 success was built of getting back to basics, and excelling at both kicking but especially marking the ball.
A team filled with tall timbre, the Eagles will be dominant in the air once again.
West Coast is also one of the toughest road trips in the AFL, with the Eagles quickly turning their new Optus Stadium into a fortress last campaign.
While they will certainly go close, West Coast's core group of players might just have passed their prime.
Greater Western Sydney
AFL Odds: $19
The Giants represent the best value in the AFL futures betting market.
GWS were among the favourites to take out the title last year, before dishing up an underwhelming season.
However, the Giants can blame this on a disastrous injury toll, with several of their stars missing large chunks of the campaign.
And while GWS were forced to release Dylan Shiel and Tom Scully to remain within the salary cap, there is still a star-studded roster in Western Sydney.
Josh Kelly and Stephen Coniglio are ready to have career-best years, while Toby Greene and Jeremy Cameron are sure to cause plenty of carnage up front.
With players like these, the Giants are way overs at the AFL odds of $19.
AFL Betting Tip:Melbourne Demons to win the Premiership @ $7.50
Reasoning: The Dees' momentum has been building and building in recent campaigns. With a crop of star players at the perfect age, they will be hard to beat.
AFL wooden spoon contenders
Gold Coast Suns
AFL Odds: $1.50
The Suns are red-hot favourites to claim the wooden spoon and it's not hard to see why.
They are a club embroiled in financial difficulties, with a roster that wouldn't look out of place in the VFL.
Gold Coast lost their two undoubted stars in Tom Lynch and Steven May in the trade period, and have failed to replace them with any big-name players.
While the Suns still have a smattering of young talent, it's hard to see them winning any more than two games this campaign.
Unless another club has an absolute shocker, the Suns will be already thinking about where they can put their wooden spoon.
Carlton Blues
AFL Odds: $4.50
For a while now the Blues have been languishing down the bottom of the ladder, picking up plenty of first round draft picks and accumulating a young, talent-laden squad.
While this list will mature into a premiership force a few years down the track, they still look far too young to mount any real challenge this year.
However, the Blues did bring in the experience of Mitch McGovern, Alex Fasolo and Nic Newman in the off-season.
These players will bolster the Blues' young squad, and ensure that they reach the 5-win mark in 2018.
This will be more than enough to ensure that they avoid a second-consecutive wooden spoon.
St Kilda Saints
AFL Odds: $6
The only other club that could possibly beat Gold Coast to the least coveted prize in footy is St Kilda.
The Saints picked up Dan Hannebery in the trade period, but if he replicates his 2018 effort, then this buy sounds better on paper than in reality.
The good news for their fans is that St Kilda have a solid group of players including Seb Ross and Jack Steven.
And with a vocal set of supporters behind them, you'd have to think the Saints will be too strong at home for a handful of teams.
They'll only need a few wins to better Gold Coast, and you can count on them for that.
AFL Betting Tip: Gold Coast to win the fewest games @ $1.50
Reasoning: The Suns are simply outclassed in the AFL.
Brownlow Medal contenders
AFL Odds: Dustin Martin $6, Nat Fyfe $6, Patrick Cripps $7.50
The evident trend in recent Brownlow Medal winners is that they are mostly midfielders who are the main man in the middle of the park for their club.
For this reason, you can rule out not just forwards and backs, but mids who play in teams that have star-studded midfields.
In these teams, like Collingwood, Melbourne, and GWS, there is no dominant player, with each player contributing and taking points from each other.
Therefore, recent Brownlow recipients Dustin Martin and Nat Fyfe, as well as young Carlton star Patrick Cripps, loom as the logical choices for the award.
There's no doubting Dusty's quality, and still at just 27 years of age, he is theoretically at the peak of his powers.
While he doesn't rack up as many disposals as the other two, it's his power, kicking precision, and sheer impact on the game that makes Martin such a great player.
The same can be said for Nat Fyfe, who claimed the Brownlow Medal in 2015.
In subsequent seasons, Fyfe battled through serious leg injuries, and only looked to get back towards his best in 2018.
After losing Lachie Neale in the trade window, Fremantle will turn to club captain and undoubted star man Nat Fyfe to lead the way from the midfield.
With a few more wins that last season, Fyfe will poll extremely well for the Dockers.
Considering that Carlton only won a measly two games in 2018, it was a remarkable effort from Patrick Cripps to amass 20 points that saw him finish tied for fourth in the 2018 Brownlow standings.
After recruiting well in the off-season, and with their young group that extra year older, you can expect the Blues to win a handful more games this time around.
This will present Cripps with the opportunity to record a few more 3-point performances, which would be enough to see him take out the medal.
If he can replicate his AFL-high 18 contested possessions per game this year, Cripps is a shoo-in.
AFL Betting Tip: Patrick Cripps to win the Brownlow Medal @ $7.50
Reasoning: The 23-year-old played with a maturity and toughness well beyond his years last season.
He will only get better with an improved team around him, and with the added responsibility of being co-captain in 2019.
Mar 14, 2019 07:01 PM
AAP
AFL Betting Tip: Melbourne Demons to win the Premiership @ $7.50
