
2017 AFL Grand Final Betting Preview: Adelaide Odds-On Favorite Against Richmond
The 2017 AFL Grand Final is on Saturday, and two of Australia's capital cities, Adelaide and Melbourne, have a severe case of grand final fever.
It's always a massive occasion when your team makes it to the biggest day on the Australian sporting calendar, but when you have had to wait 19 and 35 years, respectively, the excitement is palpable.
The Big Dance sees the Minor Premier Adelaide Crows go in as favorites at $1.72 AUD to win the club's first Premiership since 1998, with the Richmond Tigers at $2.15, according to AustralianGambling, to snap a 35-year drought that has become the butt of many jokes.
Adelaide's favorite status comes on the back of a comfortable 61-point win over the Geelong Cats in last week's preliminary final at the Adelaide Oval, which was followed by Richmond's 36-point win over the Greater Western Sydney Giants 24 hours later.
The Crows are the league's highest-scoring team, averaging just over 110 points per game, and they hold a fearsome record of 14 wins from 15 games when they hit triple figures.
It won't be easy to get to that mark this Saturday, however, with the frugal Tiger back line conceding an average of just 76 points per game, allowing more than 100 points on just two occasions for the entire season.
One of those occasions did come when these sides met way back in Round 6. That day was also Richmond's biggest loss of the year, when the South Australian side piled on 21 goals against 10 to run out 76-point winners.
This time around though, the contest will be played on Richmond's home deck, the MCG, where they've won 11 of 13 games, including two finals. The Crows have played at the home of football just three times, for two wins and a draw.
Richmond midfielder Dustin Martin will be hoping to add the Norm Smith Medal as the MVP of the match to his trophy cabinet after the 26-year-old was awarded the Brownlow Medal on Monday night for the league's fairest and best player for the season.
The Crows have been the best side all year long, but given that Victorian clubs have won five of the last six grand finals against interstate sides, the Tigers look well-placed to send not only Richmond but the city of Melbourne into raptures at 5:45 p.m. Australian Eastern Standard Time on Saturday.

.jpg)







