AFL Round 18: Crows vs Tigers – Tips, Odds & Predictions

September 19th at 5.10pm – Adelaide Oval, Adelaide

As strange as it is to be lauding the Crows, they deserve some credit for their past three weeks of football. A winless season seemed likely at 0-13, but a drought-breaking victory against the Hawks spurred them on to greater things and they have since won two more in a row. Realistically it means little and unless they beat the Tigers they will still almost certainly finish last, but perhaps this streak will provide the momentum they need to get back on track heading into 2021.

For the Tigers, this game is simply a box they need to tick. A fantastic victory against the Cats last weekend propelled them into Premiership favouritism and assured them a top four spot assuming they can get over the Crows. They are looking as dangerous as ever heading into the finals series and with key players still to return are looming as a very tough team to beat, and they should be able to conclude their regular season with a comfortable win this weekend

The Tigers are deserved heavy favourites, but the Crows recent form has perhaps nudged the home side’s betting odds a little too short.

Richmond -21.5 at $1.91

Even with the possibility of a shower the Tiges shouldn’t have too much trouble winning this by more than 22 points.

Richmond 40+ at $3.75

They’ve beaten arguably the two other best sides in the league by over four goals in the last three weeks, so a 40+ point win over the Crows is very possible.

Richmond to lead at every break at $1.80

The Tigers are a professional unit and don’t tend to muck around so they should lead throughout this game.

Head to Head Record

• Played 25
• Adelaide has won 14
• Richmond has won 11

Last time they met

• Round 13, 2019 – Adelaide 15.11 (101) defeated Richmond 9.14 (68)

General Statistics

• Dustin Martin’s last five games against the Crows have seen him average a huge 28.2 touches and 2.4 goals, including a Norm Smith Medal winning performance in the 2017 AFL Grand Final.
• Despite their good recent form, the Crows have still scored less and conceded more points than every other team in the league.
• In a testament to their even spread of contributors, no Richmond player accumulated 20 disposals in their dominant display over Geelong last weekend.

The Crows have managed to salvage something out of a season which appeared unsalvageable three weeks ago, but they face a tough task here. The Richmond machine is beginning to click through the gears and with finals just a game away, now is the time of year where they typically begin to peak. The Tigers will still likely miss the top four if they don’t manage to win this game, but with their swathes of experience and talent they’ll make sure they get the job done when they need to and will win this one comfortably.

Bet on the Tigers now