Gold Coast Suns vs Geelong Cats Preview & Tips - Cats to bounce back with AFL win in Darwin

Jeremy Darke

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Last updated: 14 May 2024

Jeremy Darke 14 May 2024

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Gold Coast vs Geelong expert predictions for Thursday’s AFL game
Geelong poised to bounce back following two losses
Cats have a strong historical advantage with a 12-3 record over the Suns

Expired

Chris Scott will demand more from the Cats (Getty Images)

Gold Coast Suns vs Geelong Cats Tips

Geelong are backed to bounce back to winning ways following two consecutive losses for the Cats, which followed a 7-0 start to the year.

Gold Coast Suns vs Geelong Cats Tips
Head to Head
Gold Coast Suns Form
Geelong Cats Form

Gold Coast are on a five-game winning streak at TIO Stadium with a strong record in Darwin, but the Suns might struggle to cover a small handicap.

The Gold Coast have not beaten Geelong outside of Carrara since joining the AFL with the Cats holding a 12-3 record over the Suns.
The Suns have lost by 28 points or more to top-eight teams this season.
The Suns have won 5 straight games at Marrara Oval, however, none of their wins have been against a team that has finished in the top eight.
The Suns have averaged 64.5 points in their four losses this season.

Head to Head

The Suns got the win against the Cats 73-54 last season at People's Choice Stadium, which was their first win against Geelong in seven matches, with the Gold Coast’s previous win over Geelong dating back to 2017.

Gold Coast Suns Form

The Suns got their fifth win of the season and in emphatic fashion at their home away from home at TIO Stadium in Darwin against the bottom of the ladder North Melbourne Kangaroos.

The Gold Coast were dominant in attack, tallying their biggest score of the year of 120 points and also the largest winning margin of 68, beating the Kangas 120-52.

After nine rounds, the Suns have over half of the wins that they achieved last season as once again the Hardwick Effect comes into play.

Beating teams below them on the ladder has not been a problem for the Coast, however, they are 5-2 against bottom-ten sides and have been clearly outclassed by the Giants and the Swans by an average losing margin of 40.5 points, their only top-eight opposition so far in 2024.

Geelong Cats Form

Geelong suffered their second loss in as many weeks after starting the season 7-0. The Cats got off to a horrendous start against Port Adelaide in Round 9, behind by 49 points, 11 minutes into the second quarter of the match.

The scoring slowed for the Power after that and the Cats clawed their way back to within a goal in the dying stages, eventually going down though 101-95.

It was clearly a game of two halves for Chris Scott’s men, but they will be licking their wounds after the loss wondering what could have been if they had woken up a little earlier.

Still, Geelong sit second on the ladder behind Sydney and are overachieving on their only season expectation. The Cats have been clean at the stoppages getting 26.1 clearances (4th) and also getting 13.6 Marks Inside 50 (3rd) which is a testament to the hard work and experience of their midfield.

Verdict

Gold Coast v Geelong

Geelong can contain the forward line of the Suns and cover a -3.5 point handicap. I'm also backed the Suns to score less than 78.5 points in the match.

Geelong -3.5

Handicap/Line

@9/10 - 3 Units

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Gold Coast Under 78.5

Team Total

@8/9 - 2 Units

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