The Collingwood Magpies and the Richmond Tigers will go head to head in a match that will tell us a bit more about both sides after intriguing results in Round 1.
Richmond looked great against Carlton in the season opener – they moved the ball with speed and purpose, something we didn’t see much from them last year.
Dustin Martin was best-on-ground by a significant margin, with 33 disposals and four goals. Many are already tipping him for the Brownlow.
Collingwood on the other hand didn’t get a win, but did look mightily impressive taking it up to the reigning premiers, the Western Bulldogs.
They were in the game until very late and if things had gone just a little better for them during some key passages, could have pinched an unlikely win.
Scott Pendlebury the skipper was their hero – he had 35 touches of the footy, ten clearances, and kicked a goal. He and Martin would both have three Brownlow votes by this point in the count.
Was the Tigers’ form real, or just a mirage? It’s pretty easy to look good when you’re playing against a side like Carlton.
That’s not so much the case against the Dogs, but they did look lethargic – can we trust Collingwood to play this well again?
It’s honestly too tight a match to call – these teams are in very similar positions at the moment and if they played ten times back to back might win five each.
That said if you’re happy picking one over the other, it may be worth backing them at the 1-39 points market, as a large margin looks unlikely.
Collingwood are $2.40 there, while Richmond are at $2.63. Both good value, if you are confident you’ve picked the winner.
Skipping ahead a little, it’s interesting that Scott Pendlebury is out to $21 for the Brownlow, while Martin has already come in to $7.
If Pendlebury plays like he did on Friday night regularly throughout the year, that might be a train worth getting on.