AFL / Nick Tedeschi / 08 September 2011 / 1 Comments Bet Now

Nick Tedeschi licks his wounds from last week and takes no prisoners with his AFL tips for the first week of the AFL 2011 Finals season.

GEELONG (v Hawthorn)
2 units at match odds of $1.70 or better

When the Cats lost the 2008 Grand Final, they vowed never to lose to the Hawks again.

While they have gone close on nearly every occasion, the Hawks have yet to roll the Cats in six clashes since.

They also hit the finals in different form.

The Hawks rested most of their stars against Gold Coast while Geelong went out and hammered the league leaders.

Hawthorn's strength is their forward line but the Cats have the personnel to nullify everyone from Buddy to Breust.

Expect the Cats to grind out another close win in the most exciting match of the opening week of the finals.

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COLLINGWOOD (v West Coast)
3 units at match odds of $1.20 or better

Collingwood look set to bounce back from their 96-point thumping at the hands of Geelong, with a likely thumping of their own against a reborn but still over-matched West Coast.

There has been plenty of chatter about the chances of the Woodsmen this week with so many players set to return, but those on the comeback trail are class acts and it is hard to see West Coast pushing them.

The Pies have won five straight against West Coast, with the Eagles never getting within three goals at the final siren.

Forget last week.

The methodical Pies will return on Saturday and they will slice the Eagles to shreds.

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ESSENDON (v Carlton)
1 unit at match odds of $2.65 or better

The Bombers are a red-hot go of rolling the faltering Blues this week, with Carlton currently suffering a slew of injuries to key position players, while the Bombers are back rested after the bye.

Carlton have a number of players who will either miss the match or enter under an injury cloud, including Jarrad Waite, Matthew Kreuzer and Michael Jamison. The Blues must also deal with the pressure on coach Brett Ratten, who was told at the beginning of the season he must win a final to keep his job.

The Blues haven't lost in the last three against Essendon, but prior to that lost six straight and this year have benefitted from Essendon injuries in both matches.

This one will be close and the Bombers are certainly capable of the upset.

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