Surging Magpies rise in AFL futures betting

Collingwood has turned the football world on its head after comfortably beating the Melbourne Demons in its Queen’s Birthday blockbuster at the MCG in Round 12.

Coming into its bye round this weekend, the Magpies have won four on the trot and sit sixth on the ladder at 8-4.

The revitalisation of the club has sparked bookmakers and punters alike to jump on the Collingwood bandwagon.

The Magpies now sit prominently in premiership betting and have real contenders in the Rising Star and Brownlow markets.

After starting the season as long as $30 to win the premiership at some online bookmakers, Collingwood is into $10 with CrownBet.com.au to go all the way in 2018 — an incredible feat for a side that missed finals last season and were widely tipped to miss again this year.

The Pies are currently placed ahead of Adelaide, Port Adelaide and the GWS Giants — all of which were top four contenders to start the season.

With matches against Carlton (18th), Gold Coast (15th) and Essendon (12th) over the next month, Nathan Buckley’s men could foreseeably target a top four position of their own if they have a clean bill of health along the way.

Considering Richmond’s premiership in 2017 after finishing 13th the year prior and the Bulldogs’ premiership from seventh on the ladder in 2016, there is some real belief growing at the Holden Centre.

Three magpies in the Brownlow conversation

The key to Collingwood’s success so far in 2018 has been its midfield, which has a plethora of weapons that have helped propel the side this year.

Three names in that vaunted midfield have risen above the pack and sit inside the top 15 in Brownlow Medal markets at the halfway mark of the season.

Adam Treloar, Steele Sidebottom and Brodie Grundy all feature prominently in player voting tallies throughout the various AFL media awards.

Interestingly, Steele Sidebottom sits second on the AFL Coach’s Most Valuable Player award, while leading The Age’s player of the year award.

Treloar is the shortest of the group at $23.00 with Sportsbet, then comes Sidebottom and ruckman Brodie Grundy, who both sit at $34 with the same bookmaker.

Treloar is a proven vote-winner at the Brownlow, having polled 20 votes in 2016 after what many considered a quiet season, while Sidebottom and Grundy have never seriously come into betting calculations for the medal before.

Stephenson surges up the charts in Rising Star betting

The general consensus across all bookmakers is that Collingwood young gun Jaidyn Stephenson has what it takes to win the Rising Star Award in 2018.

Stephenson played an outstanding match against the Demons on the big stage, kicking four majors while creating opportunities for his teammates. The outstanding performance, in addition to a five-goal haul against Adelaide and two-goal games against St Kilda, Essendon and Brisbane have seen punters suddenly jump on the 2017 number six draft pick for the award.

The market has become a three-horse race. Stephenson remains the only first-year player of the three leaders in betting. Jaidyn is up there with Adelaide’s Tom Doedee and Lions midfielder Alex Witherden. Doedee was the first to receive a nomination of the three, which deservingly came in round two, Stephenson was next after his five goals against in Adelaide in Round four and Witherden was awarded the nomination after a great performance in round nine, when he accumulated 24 disposals.

If you go through Sportsbet, you will find all three with the same value of $4.50.

Ultimately, there is a common trend in each of these major AFL markets — the Magpies are making their move in 2018.

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