Giants v Bulldogs AFL tips, odds & SGM picks – Round 8, 2023

Saturday night’s primetime AFL matchup will see two fierce rivals go head-to-head as the Greater Western Sydney Giants face the Western Bulldogs at Manuka Oval. The Giants make their way to Canberra having pinched victory from the jaws of defeat against Sydney, while the Dogs did what they needed to against the Hawks.

These two teams have built up an intense rivalry over the years, stemming largely from the Bulldogs’ narrow victory in their 2016 preliminary final. Fortunately for the rest of us footy fans, they also tend to put on quite the spectacle whenever they meet. It’s expected that both teams will come out firing at Manuka Oval this Saturday — it will just be a matter of which side will have the fortitude to go the distance in a sure-fire slugfest.

The GWS Giants have been a fascinating beast this season. They tend to challenge teams that are supposed to be far superior to them, but let teams in the game when they are supposed to be better. It’s heart-attack inducing for Giants supporters, but great theatre for the rest of us.

Going off the current trend, the Giants will make a game out of this but still surrender a loss. However, GWS will push to go against the grain through their midfield, which boasts three players in the top 15 for disposals, and arguably one of the best players in the game with Toby Greene.

These players will have their hands full as they try to quell the influence of an in-form Dogs midfield led by Marcus Bontempelli, who in recent weeks has decided that he wants to be considered the best player in the league again. To make matters worse for the Giants, they will still be without their best defender, Sam Taylor — a man who would have been in charge of silencing an improving Bulldogs forward line. This game reads like it’s the Bulldogs’ to lose, justifying their favourite price of $1.57 with BetOnline.

It has been the dominance of their key forwards that has propelled the Western Bulldogs back into top-four contention. The biggest and most frightening of those prospects is Aaron Naighton. He has been on a tear lately, having kicked 11 goals from his last four outings and hasn’t even looked like missing his set shots, which has been a weakness in recent years.

Outside of it being relatively cold on Saturday, the weather should permit Naughton to utilise his best weapon, his contested marking. With no Taylor to slow him down, Naughton is likely to kick at least two goals this weekend ($1.27).

In past years, you never really knew what you were going to get from Tom Liberatore, but now he has found consistency and maturity in his game. The Dogs will turn to him this Saturday to contest and scrap for every ball at a stoppage to release players like Bontempelli and Jack McCrae. The Giants have a good midfield, but there might not be a player to match Liberatore’s ferocity in the contest. Look for him to find the ball at least 25 times on Saturday night ($1.69).

Key matchup: Kelly v Bontempelli

Josh Kelly vs Marcus Bontempelli

Not likely to run with each other at every contest, it’s the impact that these two midfielders can have on the game that could decide the contest in Canberra.

Josh Kelly plays a similar game to Marcus Bontempelli; he has tremendous skill, can lift his side when the game is on, and has a talent for kicking goals despite not always being near the forward line. At this stage in the year he is averaging nearly 29 disposals a game and propelling his team forward for at least 450m. No-one can dispute Kelly’s impact on his team — not only staying in the contest, but also collecting wins.

Bontempelli may be averaging fewer disposals than Kelly, but it’s his impact per possession which sets him apart from other midfielders. The man doesn’t miss by foot, a talent that his teammates in the forward half appreciate. Giants coach Adam Kingsley has already alluded to the notion that he will be instructing his players to put work into Bontempelli. Whether it’s Kelly or someone else, Bontempelli looms as a dangerous prospect for the Giants.

GWS Giants v Western Bulldogs match prediction

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