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Weekend preview

The first nine weeks of AFL and WAFL football have provided few surprises.

Last weekend was one of tab sportsbets’ worst losses ever with all eight favourites getting home and over the season so far over 80 per cent of favourites winning for the entire season.

Indeed if you had merely tipped the favourites every week you would probably be leading the footy tipping.

Pre season predictions are rarely spot on but some major predictions have come true thus far in both competitions.

Whilst many wrongly predicted Adelaide, the Bulldogs and Sydney to be big sliders and West Coast, Fremantle and St Kilda to be top four sides Geelong and Hawthorn have set the pace and Melbourne and Essendon have struggled as expected.

In the WAFL Subiaco have totally dominated as declared pre season with South Fremantle and Swan Districts their closest rivals.

The surprises have been provided by the resurgence of Perth, the improvement of Peel, Claremont’s patchy form and East Fremantle’s barren start to the season.

However will we see the remainder of the season full of twists and turns?

Well in the main I don’t think so.

Many see South Fremantle as Subiaco’s greatest challengers but I think we’ll find by weekend’s end Subiaco remain undefeated with a comfortable win over the Bulldogs.

Similarly Geelong and Hawthorn should continue to outclass their opponents until they meet in round 17.

One team who has played all top four teams for an 0-4 record for only a combined deficit of only 36 points is Fremantle.

This weekend they take on a far from convincing Carlton side who haven’t beaten the Dockers in their last nine outings.

Fremantle will sorely miss rebounding defender Roger Hayden and do not like playing on Telstra Dome but strong money from punters has predicted Fremantle’s second win of the season.

Back at Subiaco oval the Eagles will await the Crows with some trepidation.

Like Fremantle the Eagles have a great recent record against the Crows but they have the dark shadow of their last clash where they were embarrassed to the tune of 76 points.

Adelaide have taken all before them this year and continue to be at tight, well drilled, committed unit who take some beating each and every week.

The Eagles have brought in two more youngsters this week and are doing absolutely the right thing for the future of their football club but they will struggle to match a settled and confident crow’s side.

In the WAFL apart from Subiaco the games could be considered fifty fifty affairs.

So we could be in for a more exciting and positive weekend than we have experienced of late.

VERDICT:
Fremantle to break the drought and West Coast to be competitive but miss out on the four points.