St Kilda v Geelong AFL R2 odds, tips & preview | March 22, 2025

St Kilda vs Geelong best bets

AFL Round 2: St Kilda vs Geelong preview

St Kilda are searching for their first win of the 2025 AFL Premiership season as they welcome Geelong to Marvel Stadium this Saturday night.

The Saints kicked off their season last Sunday with a tough loss to the Adelaide Crows, going down by 63 points. Never in the game, St Kilda lost every quarter, as their trademark defensive style was nowhere to be seen.

It is tipped to be a long year for the Saints, with leading AFL bookmakers giving them big odds of $101 to win the premiership. At $4.10, they are clear outsiders in this matchup.

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On the other hand, Geelong kicked off their season in stellar form, beating Fremantle by 78 points at home. Leading at every break, the Cats never looked beatable, as they capped off the day with an outstanding 10-goal final term.

New recruit Bailey Smith had 32 touches and a goal, while Sam De Koning embraced his new role in the ruck with 25 disposals, 18 hitouts and a goal.

After making the preliminary finals in 2024, expectations are high once again for the Cats this season. Their list is seemingly without a clear weakness, and it is no surprise to see them as such clear AFL betting favourites at $1.25 for this clash.

St Kilda vs Geelong team news

St Kilda are set to regain forward Mitch Owens this week after he recovered from a shoulder injury. Midfielder Liam Henry is also in the mix to return from a shoulder problem, with players such as Hunter Clark and Angus Hastie the likely omissions.

Geelong are likely to remain unchanged after such a positive result. Players such as Jed Bews (finger), Tanner Bruhn (finger) and Cam Guthrie (Achilles) remain sidelined.

St Kilda vs Geelong R2 predictions

St Kilda’s game under Ross Lyon is built on defence, and if they can’t stop opposition scoring, then they will be no match for Geelong. The Cats’ new midfield looked particularly strong last week, while their forward and back lines are always a tough matchup. As such strong favourites, back Geelong to cover the line of -24.5 points at $1.91 with Bet365.

St Kilda half-back Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera was one of the few positives of their Round 1 destruction, collecting 27 disposals. The main distributor out of the backline, Wanganeen-Milera is on kick-ins, while his run often results in multiple touches in the same chain. With Geelong expected to dominate field position, expect the 22-year-old to constantly be in the action as he racks up 30 or more disposals at $3 with major sports betting sites.

While the likes of Jeremy Cameron and Tyson Stengle gain most of the attention in the Geelong forward line, Ollie Henry is another key name to watch in this clash. The former Magpie has three or more goals in three of his last four matches, with his mix of size and speed making him an awkward matchup. At $3.75 with top online bookmakers, back Henry to continue his strong form with three or more goals.

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