Sportsbet are offering a stack of different promotions for new customers to take advantage of this weekend and we’ve listed them all below. Simply join Sportsbet at this link today and you’ll not only receive a $300 Free Bet, but you’ll also get access to these promotions. A perfect chance to bet on the racing with the G3 Blethcingly Stakes held this Saturday.

Free Bets on offer at Sportsbet – August 1st

• Spin the Bottle: Back a horse in a specified race and if your horse finishes second, get up to a $50 Free Bet
• Pin the Tail on Donkey: If your horse finishes fourth and misses a place, get up to a $50 Free Bet refund.
• Blow out the Candles: Take a Quaddie and if it is a winner, Sportsbet will match your stake with a $50 Free Bet.
• Musical Chairs: If your horse is the first one seated at the line and finishes first, you’ll get up to a $50 Free Bet.
• Cut the Cake: If you place a bet on all the above offers and fail to receive a Refund or Bonus, you’ll get a $50 Free Bet.

Claim your Free Bets and Bonuses by Joining Sportsbet

Hurry though, you must Join Sportsbet before August 1st and the offer only runs this Saturday. So join today or visit Sportsbet at any of our links for full details on this promo.

St Kilda take on Hawthorn in the game of the round at the MCG on Friday night, the Hawks are coming home hard while the Saints have just dropped off the pace in recent weeks.

St Kilda coach Ross Lyon labelled his teams 48 point loss to the hands of Collingwood as a “nice little wakeup call”, the Saints had won their last seven games this season but looked sluggish with the Saints having just 15 inside fifties in the first half. In recent times St Kilda hold a slim advantage having won three of their last five encounters. Nick Reiwoldt was quiet against the Pies kicking just one goal but he has a dominant record against the Hawks averaging four goals per game, if he can find form the Saints will be hard to beat.

Hawthorn are on a charge having won seven of the last eight games, last week they belted the Lions to the tune of 75 points without forward Lance Franklin. Brad Sewell bounced back after being dropped with 39 touches while Sam Mitchell, Wade Skipper and Jordan Lewis headlined an emphatic Hawks performance. The Hawks will expect Franklin to return for this clash who is likely to be closely followed by former Hawk Zac Dawson.

Conclusion

The Saints have won seven of their last nine against the Hawks but with Captain Nick Reiwoldt not at his best and the Saints seemingly struggling to accommodate their skipper back into their game plan. The Hawks are without doubt the form side of the competition and at full strength will be to good for the Saints.

There are a number of rivalry games in Round 17 with Port Adelaide and Adelaide meeting in The Showdown. Adelaide is cruising at the moment after knocking off Geelong last week and are right on the edge of the top eight. Saturday sees North Melbourne and Essendon continue their rivalry, but it will be the Kangaroos who will win this one – Centrebet agrees starting the Roos at $1.40.

Of the remaining games, top of the table Collingwood are raging favourites against Richmond, same with Geelong who are unbackable against the Lions at Skilled Stadium. West Coast hosts Carlton Saturday night in a match where the bookies can barely separate the two teams, but the Eagles look a big chance to win. The Bulldogs are another short priced team as they take on Fremantle in Melbourne, while Melbourne will start as outsiders against Sydney on Sunday.

AFL Round 17 Fixtures						Venue	Date
$1.68	St Kilda			Hawthorn	$2.20	ETI	Fri, 7:40pm
$1.10	Collingwood			Richmond	$7.10	MCG	Sat, 2:10pm
$1.05	Geelong			Brisbane	$10.25	SS	Sat, 2:10pm
$1.40	North Melbourne			Essendon	$2.98	ETI	Sat, 7:10pm
$1.94	West Coast			Carlton	$1.87	SUB	Sat, 7:40pm
$1.30	Western Bulldogs			Fremantle	$3.55	ETI	Sun, 1:10pm
$2.42	Melbourne			Sydney	$1.57	MCG	Sun, 2:10pm
$3.90	Port Adelaide			Adelaide	$1.26	AAMI	Sun, 4:40pm

Best Bet of the Round

Tough round to find value in with so many shorties, but I think the Hawks are way over the odds against St Kilda. It should be a close encounter, so the Hawks under 39.5 points at $2.75 is a good chance. North Melbourne appears over the odds against the struggling Bombers and I fancy them to win that clash.

I recommend taking a double of Hawthorn under 39.5 into North Melbourne at $3.85 this week. Why not register with Centrebet and make this bet today? You’ll get yourself a $100 Free Bet if you register via our links, so a good chance to turn that $100 into $385!

Get a $100 Free Bet on this at Centrebet

Free Bets for the Match

Sportsbet $300 Free Bet Get a $300 Free Bet for the match by registering with Sportsbet today. The good news is this deal is exclusive to customers registering via BettingBlog, so get full details by clicking the banner below.

Centrebet $100 Free Bet Grab a $100 Free Bet by registering with Australia’s biggest bookmaker today. It’s simple too, all you have to do is register using promo code FBI2010, place a $100 Bet and receive a bonus $100 Free Bet!

Where to Discuss this Weekends Action?

Be sure to check out our new Betting Forum at PunterZone.com.au today. We’re only new, but we’ve already got some fabulous tipsters (especially for the AFL) who are tipping some winners at some very nice prices on sports and racing.

We’re also going to be running some good promos soon so be sure to register and get involved, who knows, you might even have some good fun. We’re a fast growing community and we’d love to hear some of your views or opinions, or you can let your hair down in our general chat section.

Visit our official Betting Forum today at this link!

There are plenty of quality tipsters, particularly for the daily racing threads, which now have massive followings. So if you fancy betting on quaddies, trifectas and other exotic bet types, PunterZone is an absolute must.

Also, for a limited time only, we have a promotion running whereby the first 20 registrations who make a total of 20 posts or more, will get a $20 Free Bet courtesy of our major sponsors Sportbset, So get involved today, we’d love to hear some of your opinions.

Richmond is faced with the mammoth task of taking on Collingwood at the MCG on Saturday afternoon, while the Tigers have been in reasonable form themselves they will struggle to mount a charge against the top of the table Pies.

Collingwood have soared onto the top of the AFL ladder crushing last year’s grand finalist by 48 points at the MCG. Dane Swan continued his stellar season with 36 touches while Leigh Brown filled the void left by Travis Cloke kicking three goals. In recent times the Pies hold the upper hand winning three of their last five games including their last two encounters by a combined 137 points. To further bolster their defence skipper Nick Maxwell looks set to return from a calf injury and could hold the key against Tigers forward Jack Reiwoldt.

Richmond stumbled to their first loss in over a month against North Melbourne at the MCG, despite winning their previous four games the Tigers looked flat and struggled to adapt to the winter conditions. Jack Reiwoldt was well held despite kicking three goals. Unfortunately the Tigers looks set to be without Trent Cotchin through suspension. If Richmond can show the same passion Melbourne have against Collingwood this season they will give themselves some hope.

Conclusion

Despite Kevin Sheedy’s publicly stating Collingwood lack class they should have plenty in reserve to deal with the Tigers. Richmond have been gallant this year but they were exposed last week by a harder North Melbourne and may be beginning to tire with the season quickly drawing to an end.

Geelong take on Brisbane at Skilled Stadium on Saturday afternoon, the Cats look somewhat vulnerable in recent weeks but a clash against the out of sorts Lions maybe just what they need to spark up their season.

Geelong suffered their fourth loss of the season on the road against Adelaide at AAMI Stadium and has slipped to second on the ladder. The Cats failed to fire against an impressive Adelaide but we are used to the Cats having a quiet spell mid season before hitting peak form come finals. They will be bolstered by the return of Steve Johnson and Tom Hawkins from injury. In recent times the Cats have dominated winning seven of their last eight encounters and will be desperate to bounce back after last week’s below par performance.

Brisbane was hammered in Launceston last week by the Hawks to the tune of 75 points. The only positive for the Lions was the return of Jonathon Brown who kicked three goals from limited opportunities which included a dismal 25 inside fifty entries for the entire game. The Lions have been disappointing against the Cats having not won at Skilled Stadium since 2003 with coach Michael Voss declaring he could drop up to nine players who put in subpar performances.

Conclusion

Could not tip against the Cats at Skilled Stadium, they have not lost there in over three years and could belt the Lions if they put in a performance like last week against the Hawks. For the first time this season the Cats could almost be at full strength, a daunting site for even the best of sides.

North Melbourne take on Essendon on Sunday afternoon with renewed hope of extending their season beyond round 22 while the Bombers need to show some soul and release the pressure on under sieged coach Matthew Knights.

North Melbourne ended the Tigers four game winning streak with an impressive 50 point win in cold and wet conditions at the MCG. The win did come at a coast with Lindsay Thomas and Robbie Tarrant both set to miss through injury. In recent times the Roos have dominated the Bombers winning seven of their last eight games with Brent Harvey averaging 30 disposals and a goal against the Bombers.

Essendon are in real danger of winning the wooden spoon after another disappointing loss to West Coast at Etihad Stadium, the loss is the Bombers sixth in a row and places significant pressure on Coach Matthew Knights. Club Legend Matthew Lloyd has also sunk the boot in declaring his former club needs a massive review at season’s end. The Bombers really need a lift from skipper Jobe Watson who has been disappointing in recent weeks but has been good against the Kangaroos in the past averaging 28 disposals in their last five encounters.

Conclusion

With North Melbourne pressing for finals and the Bombers seemingly lost we have to back North Melbourne to win this game. They have a dominant record over the Bombers and have flown under the radar winning three of their last five games.

The Rejuvenated Tigers take on North Melbourne at the MCG in a tough game for tippers, the Tigers have won four on the trot while North have won three of their last five and have one last crack at making finals.

Richmond claimed arguably its biggest scalp on the weekend downing the top four Dockers by 19 points at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night; again it was Jack Reiwoldt who dominated kicking five goals while a rejuvenated Daniel Connors was also impressive with 35 touches and a goal. In recent times the honours between the two clubs have been shared with both recording two wins in their last five encounters which also included a draw last season. With Chris Newman leading a solid defence the Tigers should be able to hold off the undermanned North forward line.

North Melbourne sit 9th on the ladder and need to win this game to give themselves any chance at a finals campaign, last week they were unable to fire against Sydney with forward Drew Petire unable to run out the game with a reoccurring foot problem. The Kangaroos are lacking forward options with too much reliance being placed on small forward Lindsay Thomas. In their last five games Corey Jones has been the Kangaroos most effective player kicking 11 goals, with good form in the VFL you would expect him to return.

Conclusion

The Tigers have won four games on the trot and although they cannot make the finals they are going to help shape it. The Kangaroos have a solid defence and promising midfield but they reliance on small forwards to kick goals is just not working consistently.

“North Melbourne is two games clear of Richmond but if the Tigers’ last six weeks is the measure then anything can happen.” said Sportsbet’s Haydn Lane.

“They’ve been beating up on interstate sides but will have to do the same now against their Victorian counterparts.”

The Tigers have finished just one place outside the final eight six times since 1994. Very short odds of $1.02 are on offer for the Tigers to finish below ninth this year, while punters can get $26 about the Tigers making the final eight.

Sportsbet.com.au was claimed by smart punters who predicted an upset win against Fremantle last round, including bets of $70,000 at $2.62 and $30,000 at $2.50 on a Richmond victory.

This week the Tigers are $1.82 favourites against the Kangaroos who are $2 outsiders.

Earlier this season, sportsbet.com.au paid out more than $150,000 in bets on Richmond for the Wooden Spoon after just four rounds. Following the Tigers’ stunning turnaround in form, the bookie is eating humble pie as West Coast are now two games clear on the bottom of the ladder and are paying $1.24 for the Spoon, while Richmond are out to $21 after being as short as $1.08 earlier this season.

Current Richmond Odds at Sportsbet

Free $20 at Punter Zone Forum

We’ve got a treat for all BettingBlog visitors. For those that are not aware, we also have a sports betting forum at PunterZone.com.au.

Be sure to check out our forum today because thanks to our major sponsor Sportsbet, the first 20 registrations on the forum who make 20 posts or more will receive a $20 Free Bet for their new Sportsbet account!

Hurry though; this promo will expire at midnight on August 31 and is just for the first people to register and post 20 new posts.

How to qualify for this promotion

• Register account at our betting forum Punter Zone
• Make a total of 20 posts or more on the forum
• Sportsbet will then send you a Free $20 Credit to bet with
• You must open a new Sportsbet account to receive the credit

Visit PunterZone for your $20 Free Bet!



A Bit About PunterZone

Be sure to check out our new Betting Forum at PunterZone.com.au today. We’re only new, but we’ve already got some fabulous tipsters who are tipping some winners at some very nice prices on sports and racing. Recent winners include $18 and $19 winners in the FIFA World Cup, as well as plenty of great racing tips.

We’re already a great little community with some excellent discussions going, so come join in on the fun. We’d love to hear some of your views and opinions, or you can let your hair down in our general chat section.

Visit our official Betting Forum today at this link!