The AFL NAB Challenge round 3 weekend multi

WITH the AFL home and away season edging ever closer, the NAB Challenge gets to the pointy end, with all 18 teams involved in play this week.

Here is the round up of all of this week’s games:

RICHMOND v PORT ADELAIDE Etihad Stadium, Thursday, March 10 from 7.10pm AEDT

CARLTON v SYDNEY SWANS Etihad Stadium, Friday, March 11 from 5.50pm AEDT

GOLD COAST SUNS v ADELAIDE CROWS Metricon Stadium, Friday, March 11 from 7.40pm AEST

COLLINGWOOD v WESTERN BULLDOGS Etihad Stadium, Saturday, March 12 from 1.10pm AEDT

FREMANTLE v GEELONG CATS Domain Stadium, Saturday, March 12 from 1.10pm AWST

HAWTHORN v NORTH MELBOURNE Etihad Stadium, Saturday, March 12 from 7.10pm AEDT

/BRISBANE LIONS v GWS GIANTS Metricon Stadium, Sunday, March 13 from 12.10pm AEST

MELBOURNE v ST KILDA Etihad Stadium, Sunday, March 13 from 4.10pm AEDT

WEST COAST EAGLES v ESSENDON Domain Stadium, Sunday, March 13 from 4.10pm AWST

As we’ve done for the past few weeks, we’ve taken a look at all the games and picked out a few results we think will give you a chance at jogging some dollars from a multi.

Suggested multi:

We’re just going with a sneaky three legger that features two outsiders who have a massive chance of winning.

Melbourne Demons to beat St Kilda Saints ($2.50)

Greater Western Sydney Giants to beat Brisbane Lions ($1.55)

Collingwood Magpies to beat Western Bulldogs ($2.55)

Multi bet pays $9.88 with sportsbet.com.au

Melbourne Demons vs. St Kilda Saints

Our tip: Melbourne to win ($2.50)

Why haven’t the punters jumped on the Dees? The young, up and coming side has been the most impressive performer in the NAB Challenge, sitting second on the ladder after travelling to Adelaide and giving Port Adelaide a 19-point defeat, then returning home and eking out a two goal win over the up start Western Bulldogs. We know it is early doors and this is the NAB Challenge, but both of those teams have been spoken about in the premiership conversation this season. If the Dees could register results like that against these two sides, surely they can knock over St Kilda? Maybe Sportsbet knows something we don’t. but we reckon this is the tip of the round. Against the Dogs, much maligned swingman Jack Watts came to life, booting three goals from his 16 disposals, while Jack Viney led the possession count with 25. The Saints have only played one match in the challenge after their clash with Brisbane was abandoned, losing to North Melbourne by 44 points. Josh Bruce was the only multiple goal kicker in that one with two, while Seb Ross snared 26 touches to be the only Saint to exceed 18 for the match. Don’t get us wrong, the Saints are exciting, but, on all the available evidence, you simply can’t go past the Dees at those odds.

Greater Western Sydney Giants vs. Brisbane Lions

Our tip: Greater Western Sydney to win ($1.55)

Things are on the improve in Greater Western Sydney. The Harbor City’s other team bounced back from an opening round defeat to the Western Bulldogs by hammering their big brothers, Sydney, by 34 points on the weekend, 0.14.10 (94) to 1.8.3 (60). And veteran Stevie Johnson showed that he is going to be a massive recruit for the Giants, his premiership experience and mercurial ability around goal helping him to three goals and 17 touches. Heath Shaw was in every thing and used his raking boot to set up plenty of play on his way to 29 disposals, while Callan Ward and Dylan Shiel had 22 each. The Giants appear to have finally gone from boys to men, with several of these boys who were skinny kids only a season or two ago, beginning to look more like seasoned veterans. Brisbane has played just the one NAB Challenge game, a 25 point loss to the Gold Coast Suns and, while the Lions boast an impressive midfield and serviceable back half, the issue for them is finding someone to kick goal each week. Draftee Josh Schache is the great white hope down there, but he is going to take time to develop and we just don’t think the Lions will have the fire power to match it with Greater Western Sydney here.

Collingwood Magpies to beat Western Bulldogs

Our tip: Collingwood to win ($2.55)

Those Pies are looking like a scary proposition before round one. Then again, they always do, typically opening the season in a blaze of glory, before fading away into insignificance by season’s end. Bucks will be hoping that’s not the case this season and he will be keen to eke out one more NAB Challenge win this week over the Dogs. The Pies have not been beaten yet and sit third on the ladder after knocking off Geelong in perhaps the most entertaining match of the competition so far, before accounting for North Melbourne by eight points on the weekend, 0.12.13 (85) to 1.10.8 (77). Young buck Corey Gault continued his impressive start to the season with three goals to lead the way in front of the sticks, while Taylor Adams had 26 and Levi Greenwood 25. The Pies would have been heartened by recruit James Aish’s 19 touches. The Dogs are the favourites in this one, despite falling to the Demons last time out. Lin Jong was the stand out for the Dogs, with 22 touches, but they were down across the board, with no multiple goal scorers and no other player exceeding 20 possessions. They will have their work cut out for them against a Collingwood side that is packed with class midfielders and is hoping to send a strong message to rival clubs ahead of round one. Look for star recruit Adam Treloar to potentially make his debut after stepping out for the Magpies’ VFL affiliate last weekend.