St. Kilda Saints vs. Brisbane Lions Best Bets
When: Saturday August 3rd, 11:40 PM (PAC) Sunday, August 4th 2:40 AM (EST)
Perhaps you’re a night owl and looking to get down on some betting action this weekend. Or, you’re looking to make your night shift a little more interesting. You may also just be a fan of the Australian Football League. Either way, “So, You Like Sports” has you covered this weekend with the best bets for this weekend’s matchup between St. Kilda Saints and the Brisbane Lions.
What Is Australian Football?
If you haven’t seen an Australian rules football match, commonly known as footy, let me give you a quick rundown. Footy is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field. Points are scored by kicking the ball between goal posts, which is worth six points. You can also score one point by kicking it between a central and outer post, known as a behind.
It is often confused with rugby, however, Aussie rules football is more of a kicking sport. In order for a player to carry the ball, they must bounce it off the ground. There are also no touchdowns. The Australian Football League (AFL) reminds me of a combination of football and soccer. The ball most resembles a football.
AFL St. Kilda vs. Brisbane Lions Best Bets
Now that you’ve had a very, very brief explanation on what the AFL is, let’s look at this weekend’s game between St. Kilda and Brisbane. If you’re wondering where you can bet this, most of the books have it currently, including DraftKings and FanDuel. Now, let’s get to those AFL Best Bets!
Brisbane Lions Win
Moneyline (-175 on DraftKings)
Spread -9.5 (-115 on DraftKings)
St. Kilda has been playing much better the past five weeks. They are coming off two wins in a row vs. West Coast and Essendon and have won three of the last four. However, the Brisbane Lions are on an eight-game win streak. This includes a 126-106 win over St. Kilda.
The moneyline is juiced up to -175, however, I think the Brisbane Lions are just too good for St. Kilda. They start strong, and I look for them to win again. I’m also confident enough to lay the -9.5 spread on them. They beat this team by 20 points last time, and it doesn’t look like they’ll be slowing down anytime soon. Taking them on the moneyline is this AFL match’s best bet.
1st Scoring Play
Brisbane Behind (+250 on FanDuel)
If you don’t remember from earlier, a behind is a much easier score. It involves kicking the ball between a center and outer goal post. It’s basically the points you get when you miss a goal. It’s worth one point and as these two teams feel each other out, I feel like a behind is the first score.
In their last matchup, St. Kilda had the first score of the match and it was a behind. You could take this as well at +290 and still make money as long as the first score was a behind by one of the teams. However, for this AFL best bets pick, I’m taking Brisbane to start quick, but miss the goal. They’ll score first with a behind at +250 , making the game 1-0 and set the tone.
Half Time Line
Brisbane -4.5 (-116 on DraftKings)
I’ve already talked Brisbane up. I think the Lions are in prime position to win their 9th game and the Saints will end their two-game win streak. The Saints have shown better play the past couple of weeks, but I just don’t think they have enough to stop the star power of Brisbane.
Therefore, even at the end of the first half it should be clear on who’s going to win. Brisbane will have gained a decent lead, much like they did the last time they played. That game was 65-42 at half, Brisbane maintaining a 23-point lead. Look for them to do something similar. The -4.5 is too small and an easy bet.
Highest Scoring Half
1st Half (-105 on Draft Kings)
For this best bet there isn’t much to say except that Brisbane’s best players have all trended in starting fast and then slowing down a little. Because of that, I’m going to give the highest scoring half to the first half.
Perhaps the Lions are way ahead and the Saints make a last-minute push to make the second half more exciting, however, my gut is saying to take the first half as the highest scoring.
Speaking of those players, if you can find player props closer to the start of the game, if you can find Darcy Wilmot to get 20+ disposals, it’s been a pretty sure bet the past three weeks. Another one to maybe dabble in is Dayne Zorko to get 30+ disposals. He had 30 the last time these two met and is one of Brisbane’s best players.
