AFL Finals Week 3, Tips and Previews
Demons vs. Cats
September 10th
Melbourne and Geelong do battle in the first preliminary final with a grand final spot up for grabs.
The Demons booked their tickets to Perth with a resounding victory over Brisbane a fortnight ago, while the Cats made fairly light work of a brave Greater Western Sydney outfit in their semi-final at Optus Stadium last week.
Memories of the that fateful Round 23 clash where Max Gawn’s post-siren match winner sealed the minor premiership for Melbourne over Geelong will still be fresh in the mind of both teams.
The Cats are missing their star All-Australian defender Tom Stewart as well as midfield jet Brandon Parfitt, while reliable Demons defender Joel Smith will be replaced by Michael Hibberd.
Geelong looked all over the winner in Round 23 when leading by seven goals in the third quarter only be stopped in its tracks.
The Cats won’t have the advantage of playing on its home surface now and will have to deal with a Melbourne side which is fresh in the legs after a nice break.
Melbourne to book its spot into a grand final for the first time since 2000.
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Melbourne head to head at $1.46
Port vs. Bulldogs
September 11th
The wounded Western Bulldogs head to Adelaide Oval for a preliminary showdown against Port Adelaide.
The Dogs will be without gun defender Alex Keath, nifty small forward Cody Weightman (concussion) and is are likely to be fielding a sore Marcus Bontempelli after he hurt his leg in the famous one-point win over Brisbane last week.
Port have an injury concern of its own with Mitch Georgiades to miss after a recurrence of his hamstring niggle.
Regardless of the injuries, this game is set to be an absolute cracker of a contest with two of the best midfields in the land crashing their bodies against each other.
The home and away head to head between the Dogs and Port was intriguing.
The Dogs got the win against Port at this very venue, while Port Adelaide gave the Dogs a taste of their own medicine by scoring victory at Marvel Stadium.
One would suspect, and rightfully so, that the injuries and omissions from a Dogs perspective will have a far more adverse impact than that of the Power.
Ken Hinkley should be able to find his into a grand final for the first time after the heartbreak of 2020.
