Sunday's AFL match betting previews, free tips & analysis

Free Australian Rules tips, best bets and analysis for Sunday's AFL games.

Best bets

North Melbourne Kangaroos
1pt 21-20 Hills
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Brisbane Lions
1pt 41-50 bet365
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West Coast Eagles -19.5
1pt 91-100 bet365
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North Melbourne v St Kilda

2.05am Saturday night

Neither North Melbourne Kangaroos nor St Kilda Saints have played any finals footy in the last three years, but St Kilda are being talked up going into the new season.

The Saints won three of their last six games last season after Brett Ratten was appointed coach, and two of those defeats were by narrow margins.

They have been the busiest club in the trade period while 6ft 6in youngster Max King is an exciting prospect, but for all their promise, nothing has been proved yet and bookmakers may be wrong in making them favourites to get off to a winning start.

North Melbourne won eight of their final 13 matches last season after Rhyce Shaw took over as coach.

They have won their last five home games including one in pre-season and that run features a 112-73 defeat of St Kilda. The Saints lost seven of their last eight road games in the league.

Ben Brown finished second in the goalscoring charts last season, and the Kangaroos hitman has been particularly effective against St Kilda, averaging four goals per game in their last three meetings.

Hawthorn v Brisbane

BT Sport ESPN, 4.40am Sunday

A fascinating clash is in prospect as Brisbane Lions head the MCG in search of their fifth straight win against Hawthorn Hawks.

The Lions were the most improved team of last season - after finishing 15th in 2018 they were second in the regular-season table last year, but failed to win a game in the finals.

Unsurprisingly, Brisbane tended to be underrated by bookies last term, covering the spread in 14 of their 24 matches. Expect them to be shown more respect this season.

Hawthorn missed the finals by a single win last year but that was a decent effort considering star player Tom Mitchell missed the whole campaign with a broken leg.

Mitchell won the Brownlow medal as the league's fairest and best player in 2018. But while the Hawks will get a huge boost from his return for this match Mitchell may see limited playing time.

Expect a defensive encounter with the Lions coming out on top.

West Coast v Melbourne

7.40am Sunday

West Coast Eagles have looked pretty rusty in their pre-season outings, but expect a much more polished performance when Melbourne Demons visit Perth for their round-one meeting.

The Eagles suffered two costly losses at the end of last season that saw them miss out on a top-four finish and get knocked out of the finals by Geelong in the second week.

A number of West Coast big-hitters sat out pre-season through injury but they are in better shape for the start of the campaign. The addition of midfielder Tim Kelly from Geelong in the off-season will have them aiming to go all the way in 2020.

Melbourne ended last season second-bottom of the ladder after losing their last seven matches and they can expect no mercy from an Eagles side who won eight of their 11 home games last term.

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