On May 31st we have the 12th Round of the Australian Football League and things have started to show on which side it is going. However, there are plenty of battles yet to come. One such confrontation will take place at Sydney’s Cricket Ground at 09:35 GMT. The locals play their last card to save the season and look for something better for the future. The visitors hope to cover some of the distance to the top.
Backs to the wall
And literally it stands true for both. The Swans do not look pretty at all. 4 wins and 6 losses, a mere 98.65 PCT and -11 differential are the reasons that they stand 12th and can only hope for a spot at the lower top eight for the rest of the season. The fact that they share the spot with 4 other teams shows how dire the situation is. A loss could get them as far down as 4th to last.
The crows are now 7th with a record of 6 and 4, 124.65 PCT and +195 differential. A win can get them within the top 4 or at least sharing a position there with Hawthorn, Geelong or Gold Coast. However, this would also mean that they will be in striking distance from league leaders Collingwood and second Brisbane.
Strong motives for both
A win for the hosts will get them to 20 points max. That’s sharing 8th with the Giants, Fremantle and Essendon. Or any combination of those three with Carlton. They will probably win over Melbourne on May 25th but so will Adelaide as their match is against the last West Coast. No matter what the rest of the teams do, their confrontation will either mean cutting down the difference between them to 4 points or Sydney should start planning for the next season.
Probably, for the bookies, the motive for the home side is slightly stronger, hence, the price of @1.90 for their win. In contrast, the visiting Crows receive a payout of @2.01. Those odds say that it will be a closely contested match where everything can happen.
Update
Things changed dramatically after the last round of matches. The Adelaide Crows defeated West Coast, as expected, by 128-62 and jumped to 4th place on the table. On the other hand, unexpectedly, the Sydney Swans lost to Melbourne 13-78 and dropped to 13th. Now, it’s a «do or die» situation for them. If they want to make something out of this season, the simply must win.
Adelaide with the lion’s share
@1.69 is the payout for a bet saying that the Crows will win. @2.31 is the price for those that wish to wager that the Swans will walk out with the win. That difference says that while Adelaide are the favorites, it will not be an easy match to win. There is still one serious question to answer. Now, Sydney are under a lot of pressure. And it is almost past the time to respond to this pressure. How will they react?
We will propose to those that open an account at the best betting platform that they take under consideration that a bear is most dangerous when it is backed into a corner. And this is the situation for Sydney. Therefore, taking a risk and betting on their win might be a risky call. But it is well worth it.