Round 8 AFL Preview

Again we have a round taking place over 5 days, with the rumour that after round 8 we may have a game every day of the week as the AFL 'condense' the fixture and play 33 games in just 19 days.

Thursday

Gold Coast vs W. Bulldogs @ Metricon Stadium - 19:40
Our first match of Round 8 sees two teams coming off good wins last round, as the Suns take on the Bulldogs at Metricon Stadium on Thursday night. Against the Swans, the Suns had 27 scoring shots to their opponents 15, showing that they pretty much dominated the match, and could have won by an even bigger margin if they had kicked straight. For the Bullies, once they got rolling, they demolished the Bombers to run out 42-point winners. While Essendon won the hit-outs, the Bulldogs won just about every other area of the ground for a big win.
Western Bulldogs by 23 points

Friday
GWS Giants vs Richmond @ Giants Stadium - 19:50
In our Friday night fixture, we have an inconsistent GWS Giants team coming up against a Tigers outfit who may be getting some of the attitude back that saw them take out the premiership last season. In their last match the Giants were never blown out of the water by the Lions, they also never looked like winning, getting behind in the first quarter and staying there for the match. The Tigers enter this match after giving North Melbourne a fair hiding last round, keeping the Kangaroos to a paltry two goals for the entire match, while kicking eleven goals themselves. Going off current form this Grand Final replay is an easier pick to make.
Tigers by 17 points

Saturday
North Melbourne vs Carlton @ The Gabba - 13:05
The struggling Kangaroos will come up against a Carlton team that is currently on a very different path in Season 2020! After finishing down the bottom of the 2019 AFL ladder, the Blues have started to give their fans plenty to cheer about in 2020, including a last gasp loss to the Power in their last match. The Kangaroos managed just 2 goals and 11 points against the Tigers last week, and rarely had any quality passages of play. With their greatly improved play, and coming up against an out of form, injury-depleted North Melbourne, I can't go past the Blues for the win.
Carlton by 35 points

Sydney vs Hawthorn @ The SCG - 15:35
When the Sydney Swans come up against Hawthorn on Saturday afternoon we will be watching two teams who have are on the negative side of their respective win/loss ratios; Sydney has only won one of their past five matches, with the Hawks winning two of five, and three for the season. As both teams have depleted forward lines, and are lacking height across the ground, they should cancel each other out, making for a more even match. Both the Swans' and Hawks' main strength is their midfield at the moment, I am going to go with Hawthorn's to be a bit stronger than the Swans'.
Hawthorn by 8 points

Port Adelaide vs St. Kilda @ Adelaide Oval - 19:40
Our last game of Saturday pits the ladder-leading Port Adelaide against a St. Kilda team that is improving through Season 2020. Power fans will probably still need to be on heart medication after their last-gasp after the siren win, thanks to a straight kick from Robbie Gray. In their last match, the Saints took care of the Crows by 23 points, moving them up to 6th spot on the ladder. While St. Kilda will like their chances of causing an upset in this match, it is too hard to go past the ladder leaders, at home, for the win.
Port Adelaide by 12 points

Sunday
Adelaide vs Essendon @ Adelaide Oval - 13:05
Sunday afternoon sees the Adelaide Crows at home to the newly relocated Essendon Bombers, who are joining the SA Hub having spent the past few weeks in the QLD Hub. The Crows again lost last round, this time to the Saints, and the Bombers suffered a big loss, going down by 42 points to the Bulldogs at Metricon Stadium. The Bombers have some good runners but are definitely lacking firepower currently due to injuries to the likes of Daniher and Stringer. On paper, the Crows have a great midfield (think Sloan, Smith and the Crouch brothers) but just can't seem to work together as a team, and this has had a massively negative impact on their season.
Bombers by 9 points

West Coast vs Collingwood @ Optus Stadium - 15:35
In a contest that is shaping up as the match of the round, West Coast will play host to Collingwood at Optus Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Both of these teams have been playing some quality football of late, after taking a while to get into the grove after the re-start, with the Magpies winning their last two matches and the Eagles getting wins in their last three. Both of these teams have quality midfields, but Collingwood has the premier defence in the AFL at the moment, and against the likes of Darling, Kennedy and Liam Ryan they will need to work hard to restrict the Eagle's forwards impact to a minimum.
Collingwood by 11 points

Melbourne vs Brisbane @ Metricon Stadium - 18:10
An improving Melbourne finds itself coming up against one of the form teams of the competition this season, in the Brisbane Lions. While the Demons certainly underperformed during the first few weeks of the season's re-start, they have slowly been finding their rhythm, led by the likes of Oliver, Petracca and Gawn. Brisbane, on the other hand, has been a lot more consistent to win four of their past five matches, and with the likes of Neale, Zorko and Rich leading the way, they have a solid mix of experience and youth.
Brisbane by 21 points

Monday
Fremantle vs Geelong @ Optus Stadium - 20:10
On Monday we have the Fremantle Dockers taking on the Geelong Cats within the confines of the WA Hub at Optus Stadium. Both of these teams are coming off losses from last round and will be looking to work towards stopping any loss-streak! The Dockers are sitting in 15th place, with three of their last five matches resulting in a loss, whereas the Cats were looking good in the Top 4 after their quality win over the Lions two weeks ago, only to then cop a 22-point loss to the Magpies last round. At Geelong, this would be an easy pick, but in Perth...
Geelong by 20 points