Fremantle’s AFL flag odds continue to drop after unbeaten run

What a week it was for AFL football.

The game was polarised on Friday night by Adam Goodes, spellbound on Saturday by the Dangerfield/Fyfe show, and sent into overdrive on Sunday with the mark-of-the-year taken by Nic Naitanui.

Essendon slumped to yet another disappointing loss, the Pies demonstrated they have the determination to play in September and the West proved they’re the AFL’s best with the Dockers and the Eagles sitting one and two respectively on the ladder.

Round nine betting review – Bulldogs bite while the Dockers delight

The Western Bulldogs got their season back on track at Etihad Stadium with a resounding 45-point win against the previously top-four GWS Giants on Saturday afternoon.

The Dogs skipped out to an early lead in the first quarter and were never headed.

At one stage Luke Beveridge’s men looked like they may record the club’s first 100-point victory in this decade, but took their foot off the gas in the final quarter.

The margin flattered the Giants, who seemed like they began to believe their own hype and had very few winners across the ground. The Dogs proved that finals may not be beyond them after suffering a minor form slump and represent brilliant value with Sportsbet at $3.50 to make the final eight.

Saturday night saw one of the greatest head-to-head midfield battles of the last decade with Adelaide’s Patrick Dangerfield and Fremantle’s Nat Fyfe putting on a show worthy of a heavyweight battle to be broadcast on PPV.

The game was played at a finals-like intensity, with the lead changing several times throughout the contest, but it was Fremantle which kept its unbeaten run intact, drawing away in the final term to register win number nine by 11 points.

The night belonged to Fyfe and Dangerfield, who had a collective 78 possessions between them, 55 of those being contested. It was as pure a midfield battle as you would see, but the spoils went to Fyfe, who ended the game with 14 clearances, one goal and surely another three Brownlow votes to his name.

Fyfe’s stellar season has seen him move into $1.90 and the only player in single figures to win the Brownlow medal in 2015. Such is the supremacy of Fyfe’s year, Crownbet has taken the unprecedented step of paying out any existing Brownlow bets on the dominant Docker.

The win moved Fremantle into outright favourite for the premiership with William Hill. The Dockers are paying $3.25 to hoist the trophy in 2015.

Sunday saw one of the great comebacks in recent memory, with Collingwood storming back from a seven-goal half time deficit to overrun a fragile North Melbourne outfit that conceded 13 goals to four in the second half, leaving the competition stunned.

The Pies were completely out of the contest, kicking only two goals for the entire opening half, but eclipsed that feat in the third term, booting nine unanswered majors to storm into the lead and scrounge out an epic victory in the final term.

Collingwood were lead brilliantly up forward by livewire Jamie Elliot, who ended the match with five goals in a game-winning display that left North Melbourne scratching their heads and the Magpie fans losing their minds.

The bag of goals puts Elliot three clear of teammate Travis Cloke as the Pies’ leading goal kicker, yet he still remains at $2.50 to end the season as Collingwood’s top goal scorer.

The loss puts North in genuine danger of missing the finals, with Sportsbet now offering $1.88 for the Kangaroos to either miss or make the finals in 2015. For a team considered to be a premiership threat, the drop off in form has been nothing short of staggering.

The round finished with West Coast and Geelong facing off in a match that could have been much uglier for the visiting Cats if the Eagles were able to kick straighter for goal.

The Eagles kicked a wasteful 24 behinds for the match but were still able to run out 56 point winners in the match.

Sharpshooter Josh Kennedy shrugged off any concerns over his troublesome elbow, slotting six goals in a dominant display that gave the West Coast Eagles true hope that their early season form may materialise into a deep September charge. The win solidifies the Eagles’ finals aspirations as legitimate leaving them in joint second position on the ladder with Sydney.

With a terrific percentage of 161 – the best in the league – and an easier run home than most, the Eagles represent great value at $1.50 with William Hill to finish the season inside the top four.

Kennedy moved six goals clear atop the goal kicking tally and moved into $2.75 favouritism with Sportsbet to be crowned the Coleman medalist in 2015.

The loss leaves the Cats languishing in 12th position on the ladder, with a pivotal clash on Saturday night with the equally as disappointing Essendon Bombers a make-or-break match up for both sides.

The Cats are currently $2.65 with Sportsbet to finish 2015 inside finals contention.

Injury update

Big news for the Bombers out of Saturday night’s loss to the Tigers with captain Jobe Watson and record breaking backman Dustin Fletcher set to miss the crucial clash with Geelongon Saturday night. Both suffered groin strains in the match and will likely miss at least two weeks each.

Geelong will be without big men Rhys Stanley and Mitch Clark for the foreseeable future after both ruckmen left Sunday’s game against West Coast earlier than anticipated. Clark suffered a calf injury that could keep him out of the side for up to a month, while Stanley suffered a quad strain that is likely to keep him out of the side for a similar amount of time.

In positive news for the Suns captain Gary Ablett could return to the field as soon as this weekend after showing signs of progress on the training track with his injured left shoulder.