AFL Grand Final 2018 Betting Preview: Odds, Game Trends, Analysis

After 206 matches across 27 weeks, it all comes down to 120 minutes in the hunt for the ultimate prize in Australian football.

The Collingwood Magpies meet the West Coast Eagles for the first time in a Grand Final on Saturday, and it is the hometown Magpies who are set to go in as favourites, according to AustralianGambling.

Nathan Buckley's charges have been the surprise packets of the season, winning their way through to the Grand Final for the first time since 2011 after a 13th-place finish in 2017.

Despite losing the Qualifying Final against the Eagles, Buckley's side are a $1.67 AUD top pick to lift the Premiership trophy for the 16th time in club history, which would equal the record.

Speaking of records, there is one that is massively in the Magpies' favour: Victorian teams have won the last five Grand Finals when they have met non-Victorian opposition. But the Eagles haven't put a foot wrong this season, finishing in second place on the ladder after winning 16 of their 22 games.

Adam Simpson's lineup will come across the Nullarbor as the $2.25 underdogs, having not won a final at this venue since the 2006 decider against the Sydney Swans.

As mentioned, the Eagles won the Qualifying Final against the Magpies just three weeks ago, but that hasn't always been a good thing when it comes to saluting on the biggest day on the football calendar.

In 2015, the Hawthorn Hawks were able to turn the tables on the boys from the west after losing the corresponding match earlier in that finals series, and the change of venue may be what swings this one back in the favour of the Victorian club.

One thing that is certain is that this one will be a battle of contested possessions, as these sides are ranked as the top two in that statistic in this finals series.

West Coast will have an advantage in terms of marking power inside their forward 50, with Josh Kennedy and Jack Darling bringing some serious form into this one having taken seven marks each last week and booting four and three majors, respectively, in their 66-point thumping of the Melbourne Demons last Saturday.

There won't be much that will faze Collingwood this week, though, having ended the Richmond Tigers' 22-game winning streak at the MCG with a 39-point win last Friday night. American-born Mason Cox played the game of his career, pulling down 11 marks, eight of which were contested, and if he can match his three-goal effort in this one, then it will go a long way to delivering the Collingwood faithful another Premiership.

The coldest Grand Final in 60 years is forecast for Saturday, with a top temperature of just 13 degrees predicted.