Sydney vs Geelong AFL Friday betting tips – Round 2, 2022

With just a single performance to assess, it’s far too early in the 2022 AFL season for large bets to be confidently placed. Round 1 gave us some insight, but only a fool would read too much into a single game between unknown quantities. And yet – brace yourselves – we are prepared to launch a decent-sized wager at this early juncture. Readers who followed our first round Carlton +12.5 tip should now roll their winnings into a bold Round 2 play.

The Sydney Swans scraped out a far from impressive victory against cross-town rivals GWS in their opening game of the season. Both teams were lacking in polish, the lead changed several times, and we were not overly impressed by anything on display. The result should be recorded as a draw from a future betting standpoint. Sydney got the W, but both teams delivered 5.5/10 performances.

The Geelong Cats got their season off to a flyer against Essendon. It was a one-sided romp that could have blown out to 100 points if the Cats were so inclined. Geelong started hot and cruised to an effortless 66-point victory. The win was like Anamoe in the Rosehill Guineas, who was eased down to win by six or seven lengths. There is just no need to ever win by 10 lengths, especially in the first of 23 rounds.

So, we must assume that either the Cats are very good, or the Bombers are just woeful, and we are leaning toward the former. In an earlier article we described how the genuine flag contenders might start the season slowly as they looked to peak on AFL Grand Final Day. The other long-range planning option is to crush the early part of the season, get enough wins on the board, and then start resting and rotating players later in the year to avoid injury, fatigue, and burnout. Without direct inside info, this appears to be the Geelong strategy. They will again look to dominate the home and away season, but with the aim to fine-tune their finals approach to ensure a deeper 2022 run.

Key matchup: Sydney defence vs Hawkins

The key match-up is whoever is assigned to contain Tom Hawkins, who booted four goals against the Bombers and looks set for a big year. The Hawkins threat is amplified when small, crumbing forwards and midfielders are waiting to pounce on anything that goes to ground. If that plan comes to fruition for the Cats, the Sydney backline could get torn to shreds.

Sydney vs Geelong betting predictions

Let’s throw caution to the wind and load up on the Cats. Online bookmakers are offering us a generous price at around $2.15 in the head-to-head market. We managed to secure $2.25 while Sydney were labouring against GWS, but $2.15 is enough. If you want a bit more value, the wire-to-wire market at Sportsbet is currently showing $3.60 for the Cats. Pair that with Tom Hawkins to kick two or more goals

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