Richmond Tigers v Carlton Blues: AFL betting preview, free tip & analysis

Free Aussie Rules football tips, best bets and analysis for Richmond Tigers v Carlton Blues in the AFL.

Where to watch

BT Sport 2, 8.25am Thursday

Best bet

Under 171.5 points
1pt 10-11 Hills

How will coronavirus affect the season?

This is scheduled to be the AFL season-opener and is the only match scheduled for Thursday.

Due to Coronavirus, the season has been reduced from 23 rounds to a maximum of 17, with games to be played without spectators until further notice.

A decision will be made on Wednesday to confirm whether the season can begin as planned.

Richmond are the reigning champions, having claimed their 16th Premiership by thrashing Greater Western Sydney 17.12 (144) to 3.7 (25) in September. The Tigers finished third in the regular season on goals difference after tying on points with Geelong and Brisbane Lions.

Carlton ended last season 16th of the 18 AFL teams and failed to make the playoffs.

Richmond and Carlton both lost their two pre-season Marsh Community Series matches.

Who was the top goalscorer last year?

Jeremy Cameron of Greater Western Sydney won the Coleman medal for kicking 67 goals last season - three more than North Melbourne's Ben Brown.

Tom Lynch led the way for Richmond with 63 goals, while Carlton's top kicker Harry McKay, scored 26.

Are there any trends to follow?

Collingwood have suffered narrow defeats in the playoffs for the last two years, losing 7.10 (52) to 8.8 56 against Greater Western Sydney in last year's preliminary final. In 2018 they made it to the Grand Final where they were beaten 11.8 (74) to 11.13 (79) by West Coast.

One of Australia's most popular sports teams, Collingwood are sure to contend again this season.

Any famous faces?

There are similarities between Aussie rules and Gaelic football and a number of Irish players have lined up in the AFL over the years.

Tyrone's Conor McKenna played a starring role in his native county's run to the All-Ireland Minor Football Championship Final in 2012. McKenna made his AFL debut for Essendon against Richmond, and scored a goal with his first kick.

This year, he is one of three Irish players at Essendon and 17 in the league overall.

Give us a fun fact

When Aussie Rules first started in 1858, matches were not timed. The first team to score two goals were declared the winners.

Richmond Tigers v Carlton Blues match preview

Richmond Tigers begin the defence of their AFL crown behind closed doors at home to Carlton Blues.

On paper it should be a straightforward task for the home team.

Blues ended last year 36 points behind Richmond, who tied on points at the top of the regular-season standings.

However, it was very much a season of two halves for Carlton. Blues took five matches to get off the mark last year and won just two of their opening 13 fixtures.

However, five more wins arrived in their final nine games of the campaign and they ended the season as the best team in the league at scoring from forward-half intercepts.

Carlton's turnaround in form began with the appointment of David Teague as caretaker coach, and unsurprisingly the former Blues and North Melbourne defender was given a three-year contract in August.

It will be interesting to see whether Carlton can pick up where they left off, and they will face no bigger test all year than a trip to Richmond.

The Tigers begin as 10-3 favourites to retain their title, with a young, dynamic line-up who last year were able to win even when some of the bigger stars were absent.

They are asked to give up 24.5 points on the handicap, but it is hard to know what kind of form Carlton will turn up in. Despite their strong finish to last season they were soundly beaten in their final fixture as well as in both pre-season outings.

A safer bet could be to go under the points at 171.5.

Both sides have a key defender injured, but the layers may have overplayed the importance of that.

Carlton aren't particularly potent on the road, having broken 70 points in just one of their last eight away matches.

A similar display would leave the Tigers having to significantly surpass the handicap to over the points mark.

The two meetings between the teams last season made up at 161 points and 118.

Today's top sports betting stories

Follow us on Twitter @racingpostsport

Like us on Facebook RacingPostSport