Two sides with vastly differing fortunes in Round 1 will meet at the MCG on Sunday when the Hawthorn Hawks go up against the Adelaide Crows.
Hawthorn suffered an upset loss against the revitalised Essendon Bombers on Saturday night last week, in what was meant to be a happier occasion.
The Hawks’ first game under new skipper and returnee Jarryd Roughead should’ve been a memorable night but in the end it was quite disappointing.
Jaeger O’Meara and Tom Mitchell both debuted for the club, as did Tyrone Vickery, but only Mitchell had a real impact for the Hawks.
The Crows on the other hand weren’t widely expect to win when they hosted the GWS Giants, but win they did.
They didn’t just win though, they absolutely flattened a team who many think will win the premiership this year.
Even with Brad Crouch, Scott Thompson and Tex Walker missing from the side, they were 56 points too good for their rivals.
Walker will return for the Crows this week, while the Hawks will regain Luke Hodge coming back from a club-imposed suspension.
The Hawks have made four changes in total, so it’s pretty clear that Alastair Clarkson is not happy with the team’s effort last week.
Predictions for this game would be largely based around how closely you think the teams will stick to their respective Round 1 form.
Adelaide at $1.77 to win is very good value when you consider how good they looked in Round 1, and it wouldn’t surprise to see them come out and smash the Hawks. The Crows to win by 40+ is at $5.00 and we feel that there is some value in this option.
For the Hawks to bounce back, it will need to be driven by their experienced players – Shaun Burgoyne to get 25+ disposals ($2.50) or Jarryd Roughead to kick 3+ goals ($2.20) look like decent hedges against a Crows blowout.