AFL Semifinals 2018 Betting Preview: Odds, Game Trends, Analysis

There are no second chances when the AFL semifinals swing into action this Friday night at the MCG.

The Melbourne Demons are fast becoming the story of September with wall-to-wall media coverage and a surge of support coming their way after they won their first final since 2006 last Friday night, by 29 points over the Geelong Cats.

Their next opponent is the Hawthorn Hawks, which came up 31 points short of the reigning Premiers, the Richmond Tigers, in last Thursday night's qualifying final.

This groundswell of support has affected the betting markets, with just $1.46 AUD on offer for the Demons to salute in back-to-back finals for the first time since 2000, when they made the Grand Final, according to AustralianGambling.

Hawthorn are out at $2.75 to avoid their second straight exit at this stage in three years after a top-four finish.

These sides last met in Round 4, and it was one of the biggest turnarounds seen in a game this year. The red and blue led by 21 points halfway through the first quarter before the Hawks stormed home, kicking 16 of the last 17 goals to win by a huge margin of 67 points.

With a spot in the preliminary final against the West Coast Eagles up for grabs, this one will no doubt be won in the midfield, an area where Melbourne has been solid all year but were exposed back in the fourth week of the season, losing the clearance count 56-38.

The second semifinal takes place 24 hours later at the same venue, when the Collingwood Magpies host the Greater Western Sydney Giants for the right to meet Richmond in the Grand Final qualifier a week later.

After losing the pick of the Week 1 finals to the Eagles by 16 points, it is the Magpies who'll go in as favourites here at $1.60.

The Giants were impressive last week, keeping their cross-town rivals to just four goals for the day and running out 49 points, and may represent some value at $2.35.

The Magpie army will be out in force to cheer on their team as they aim to avoid their first straight-sets exit since 1992 while a Giants win will see them qualify for their third straight preliminary final.

Toby Greene was back to his best last week, kicking three goals from his 27 touches, but you can expect Nathan Buckley and his coaching staff to have several plans in place to stop the GWS forward this week.

These clubs met just once this year, way back in Round 2 at the MCG when Stephen Coniglio kicked three goals and was named best on ground in a 16-point Giants win.