Saturday’s AFL 2018 Round 1 match is between Gold Coast Suns and North Melbourne Kangaroos. The opening kick is set to commence at 19:25 local time with the game to be played at Cazaly’s Stadium. The away team North Melbourne Kangaroos are the favourites for the match. View our preview and teams for the game between Gold Coast Suns and North Melbourne Kangaroos.
When: 19:25 | Saturday 24/03/2018
Where: Cazaly’s Stadium
Preview:
It’s the dawn of a new horizon for the Suns who unveil a new coach in Stuart Dew and a team with no Gary Ablett Jr who has returned to Geelong.
The Suns do have a crop of young talent and a full forward in Tom Lynch who is one of the premier forwards in the AFL.
The Kangaroos are also in transition but still have some top tier talent in ruckman Todd Goldstein, forward Ben Brown and midfielder Jack Ziebell.
North Melbourne lead the series 3-3 since 2010 and have won 2 of the last 3.
As favourites, the Suns are 3-3 over the last two seasons while the Kangaroos are 4-13-0.
The Roos have a 6-9 (40.0 percent) line record as an away underdog since 2016.
The Verdict
Fortunately for the Suns, this one is on the Gold Coast and they’ll be looking to get the hop on the Kangaroos in this one.
Odds:
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Tip: North Melbourne Kangaroos at $2.05
Value Bet: First Goal Scorer: Mason Wood at $14.00
More Info:
Teams:
SUNS
B: Harbrow, Thompson, Joyce
HB: Rischitelli, May, Kolodjashnij
C: Weller, Lyons, Bowes
HF: Martin, Lynch, Young
F: Ainsworth, Day, Sexton
FOLL: Witts, Miller, Swallow
I/C: Holman, Fiorini, Macpherson, Rosa
EMG: Barlow, Leslie, Nicholls, Brodie
KANGAROOS
B: Williams, Thompson, McDonald
HB: Macmillan, Tarrant, Vickers-Willis
C: Davies-Uniacke, Jacobs, Hartung
HF: Atley, Waite, Ziebell
F: Turner, Brown, Hrovat
FOLL: Goldstein, Higgins, Cunnington
I/C: Clarke, Dumont, Anderson, Simpkin
EMG: Daw, Hibberd, Wood, Murphy
AFL News:
Prized North Melbourne recruit Luke Davies-Uniacke is making a strong bid for a round-one debut after impressing during his first AFL pre-season.
The Kangaroos will unveil the No.4 draft pick in Friday night’s AFLX round-robin tournament at Etihad Stadium.
“It’s going to be really exciting to see Luke step out on Friday night,” North VFL coach David Loader said.
“He’s obviously a very talented young player and we’re really excited about what he brings to the table.
“He’s the highest draft pick this club has had for a long time.”
Loader will join senior coach Brad Scott in the coaches box for the AFLX tournament before overseeing the Kangaroos’ new stand-alone VFL team this season.
Davies-Uniacke, a classy midfielder recruited from the Dandenong Stingrays, has already sparked considerable excitement among Roos fans.
He is the club’s highest draft pick since recently-retired tall Lachie Hansen was taken third overall in 2006.
Scott shares that enthusiasm but also moved to temper expectations of him early in his career.
“He’s performed admirably through the pre-season,” Scott said.
“We certainly like what we’ve seen so far but we’re also aware that we can put far too much expectation on these 18-year-olds at times.
“He’ll get his opportunity in 2018 but we’re just expecting him to develop and play to our system as best he can.”
Davies-Uniacke will wear the No.9 guernsey vacated by former skipper Andrew Swallow, who retired at the end of last season.
