AFL Preview Round 3: Suns v Dockers

Gold Coast v Fremantle
Sat 4:35pm AEST at Optus Stadium

Thanks to the Commonwealth Games, the poor old Suns have been forced to sell their home to the Dockers, and travel across to Perth after the first two rounds saw trips to both Melbourne and Cairns. Stuart Dew has his young Suns playing with renewed vigour though, and they have shown no signs (yet) of tiredness- although admittedly their opponents so far haven’t exactly been world beaters. Freo, on the other hand, have been almost impossible to read- they were limp against Port in Adelaide but played with great spirit against a lazy Essendon side at home. Freo will start comfortable favourites, but the undefeated Suns will not be lying down.

FormGold Coast (2-0): The Suns have been a shadow of their 2017 selves, with a new-found level of pressure and two-way running taking them to 2-0 to start the year. Tom Lynch was outstanding last round, with 8 goals, while the underrated midfield trio of Jarryd Lyons, David Swallow and Aaron Hall has been more than serviceable.

Fremantle (1-1): After an insipid performance in Round 1 against Port, the Dockers responded last round with a surprise victory at their new home over the Bombers. Nat Fyfe and Lachie Neale looked to be back to somewhere near their best- and the performance of former small forward, Michael Walters, through the midfield was superlative.

Stats That Matter– Gold Coast have won just 1 from 10 games in Perth
– Fremantle got 100 points last round for the first time since Round 7, 2017
– Both Lachie Neale and Nat Fyfe average over 30 disposals and 115 Fantasy Points per game against Gold Coast
– The Dockers hold a 6-2 advantage over the Suns
– Tom Lynch has kicked 13 goals in his past 4 games against Freo
– The Gold Coast are 2-0 ATS this year and 0-2 Over/Under

Betting Data2018 Line:  Gold Coast– 2-0; Fremantle– 1-1
2018 Over-Under: Gold Coast– 0-2; Fremantle– 1-1

What To ExpectThe Wolf is expecting a tight game for much of the match before it opens into into a shoot-out- both of these defences show a penchant for leaking easy goals. The Suns appear to be slightly over the odds, with the sides very evenly matched across the park. If Tom Lynch gets off the leash, like he did against Carlton thanks to the Suns midfield dominance, Gold Coast will be very hard to stop.

How It’s Shaping UpGold Coast by 12

Recommended Bets

Best: Both Teams To Score 70 Points ($1.52)
Value: Gold Coast WIN ($2.80)
Player Prop: Nat Fyfe 110+ Fantasy Points ($2.75)
First Goalscorer: Tom Lynch