AFL OFFICIAL PLAY

1ST Q - CATS (x1)
Adding:
2ND H - CATS +5.5 (x1) (cats down by 8 @ half)

This is a very interesting match. Two powerhouses of the past 3 - 4 seasons but most expect both to take a small slide in 2011. I'm not one of them. Geelong have had a mountain of changes since last year. No Gary Ablett, No Bomber Thompson, Max Rooke has retired but they have quickly turned that into a positive i believe as bringing in a fresh new coach in Chris Scott and some youth into the side is exactly what this side needed. The likes of Scarlett, Mooney, Ling, Enright, Corey etc would have experienced something different this off season for the first time in their careers. Stkilda are much the same, they have recruited a few spare parts in Gamble and Polo which may help here and their but they are backing their existing list to do the job once again. They will be egar to take to the field and put their disastrous off season in the past.

Tonight the Saints will be without big men Gardiner and Kosi as well as goal sneak Schnieder. McEvoy gets the number one gig and I think he will do well. He could use a bit of help as he will have seasoned campaigners Ottens and Blake to compete with. The Cats go in a little under done with Ling, Pods and Chapman all missing and Varcoe, Mooney and Scarlett doing limited pre seasons. This one will be close and honestly could go either way. Geelong are value at 2.25. Geelong are typically great starters to games and Stkilida not. The Saints and Nick Riewoldt in particular tend to tire their opponents and come home strong. I think Geelong with a new coach at the helm and J.Selwood as Captain will be out to impress first up and I expect them to take the early point and lead after the 1st.

Adding Geelong 2ND H a plus 5.5 point start. Effectively meaning total game line is 13.5. Geelong couldn't have played any worse scoring just one goal for the half. Selwood is out for the game but cats still in touch. I expect a better showing in the 2nd H

(0.95u @ 2.05 @ Sportsbet)
(1.1u @ 1.90 @ Sportingbet)