Western Bulldogs v St Kilda AFL R2 betting tips – March 25, 2023

This weekend’s prime-time Saturday night AFL clash pits the Western Bulldogs against the St Kilda Saints at Marvel Stadium. The Bulldogs enter the game having been bullied by the Demons, while the Saints granted Ross Lyon his first win as returning coach.

A team that has been fancied to be top eight this year, even top four by some AFL pundits, the Western Bulldogs looked anything but that last Saturday night. Against Melbourne, the Dogs looked slow, poorly skilled, and uncommitted. Don’t let the result fool you – the Dogs are a good team that were caught napping, but they are well and truly awake now.

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One of the big questions to come out of the match was: did the Dogs go in too tall? The answer is yes, but they can’t be blamed as they have four powerful key forwards that can cause headaches to the opposition. One match isn’t enough to determine whether the experiment will fail, so look for the Dogs to go in with the same forward structure. Under the leadership of Marcus Bontempelli, the Dogs will respond this week and clutch the victory at $1.47 with BetOnline.

The big weakness for the Dogs’ tall lineup was that Melbourne completely exposed them with rebounding half-backs. The Saints will look to do the same on Saturday. If they can stop the aerial supremacy of the Dogs and bring the ball to ground, then fully expect Jack Sinclair to be the Saints’ quarterback from defence. Last year, Sinclair excelled at rebounding the ball from defensive 50, so much so that he had career highs in disposals and also earned himself the best-and-fairest award. This game will play into his style of play, which can see him get at least 25 disposals ($1.74).

It’s a new dawn for the St Kilda Saints, as one of their greatest coaches returns to the helm for season 2023. Lyon is already 1-0, and it is clear that his fingerprints are all over the Saints’ new style of play. Lyon believes the best offence is a good defence, and he will have the Saints willing to sacrifice their own game in the name of suffocating the Dogs’ attack. Both teams will get their chances, but look for this to be a low-scoring affair that doesn’t exceed 162.5 total points ($1.88).

Key matchup: Marcus Bontempelli v Jack Steele

The Dogs were belted in the middle last week, and one man who will look to rectify that issue is captain Marcus Bontempelli. A genuine match-winner, Bontempelli looms as the biggest threat to St Kilda’s chances of victory. The opposing captain, Jack Steele, will meet him in the middle. A hard and uncompromising ball-winner, Steele will need to go toe-to-toe with Bontempelli and inspire his side if the Saints are to win.

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