AFL Betting Tips 2025: Round 18 Best Bets And Betting Trends
For the first time in the 18-team era, three wins separated the top-half of the ladder from the bottom-half, and the contenders for the finals are now rapidly thinning out.
Round 18 promises to be a weekend of mixed excitement levels with four games between those top-nine sides likely to have ramifications on a logjammed ladder, whilst on the flipside, four matches between bottom-nine sides could be viewed as very early dead rubbers.
Nonetheless, there’s always a wide range of markets available across the many of the best Australian betting apps and we’ve taken the time to go through all of them to come out with what will hopefully be six winning selections to boost your weekend bankroll.
AFL Round 18 Predictions:
- Collingwood To Beat Gold Coast - 1.77 With PlayUp
- Dockers Vs Hawks: Over 156.5 Points - 1.90 With PickleBet
- Sydney To Beat St Kilda - 1.58 With Bet365
Gold Coast Vs Collingwood, Friday 7:40pm AEST
It’s almost impossible to resist such a juicy price for the ladder leaders to win, especially against a side that has lost their last three matches against top-half sides and still has a lot to prove.
The Pies were 11-point losers in last year’s fixture on the Gold Coast but were triumphant in the five prior to that and travelling interstate has not at all fazed them this year.
Their only such loss coming in the Opening Round when they failed to come out of the gates against GWS (L 104-52).
Gold Coast held a 3-1 record at Carrara this year but started as the favourites on all four occasions, defeating Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney whilst losing to Fremantle.
We’re expecting Collingwood to be too strong, particularly as they are now conceding a league-best 67 points per game.
However, the resting of Patrick Lipinski and Brody Mihocek mean we can’t take them at the line or to win by a big margin.
In the absence of Mihocek and Lipinski, Daniel McStay starts at centre half-forward instead of on the bench which makes him an appealing prospect to kick 2+ goals at near Evens on AFL betting apps, as he did in four of his last six appearances.
Best Bet: Collingwood To Beat Gold Coast - 1.77 With PlayUp
Player Prop: Daniel McStay 2+ Goals - 1.95 With Betr
Fremantle Vs Hawthorn, Saturday 8:10pm AEST
We shrewdly attacked a total points market involving Fremantle last time and think that Australian betting sites have got this line wrong again as well.
The Dockers and Swans produced 177 total points last week - almost 20 over the main handicap.
Now Fremantle come up against Hawthorn with an even greater total points average (165.8) than both them and Sydney, but with an even smaller total points line.
That might be because of the forecast for rain in Perth on Saturday, but it’s not expected to be especially heavy whilst Optus Stadium’s fast drainage should also ensure it doesn’t result in slippery and difficult conditions harmful to scoring.
These two are top-five sides in the competition when it comes to defending but also top-nine for scoring points and will more often than not be involved in games to clear a total score of 157, so this is one we’re especially confident about.
Likely to contribute to that score is Hawks forward Nick Watson, who this year has a 53% success rate of kicking 2+ goals and has done so in each of his last five games against lower ranked clubs.
Best Bet: Dockers Vs Hawks: Over 156.5 Points - 1.90 With PickleBet
Player Prop: Nick Watson 2+ Goals - 2.33 With Unibet
St Kilda Vs Sydney, Sunday 3:15pm AEST
The Sunday program sees Sydney probably on their last chance against an already condemned St Kilda side, who will be facing some serious questions after losing seven of their last eight matches, some of them to much weaker sides than Sydney including Carlton and West Coast.
Courtesy of winning three of their last four matches, the Swans appear to be the only team outside the top nine with any kind of remote chance of making a charge for the finals and thus they should be motivated favourites at Marvel Stadium.
Injuries to Joel Amartey and Tom Papley add some reluctance when it comes to backing them to cover the line or win by a big margin, but they should get the job done and thus the win price alone is appealing enough.
Part of their recent success has been the return of Callum Mills after a long layoff from injury and he is always a popular pick with punters in disposals markets.
Having cleared 25+ touches in three of his last four matches as well as in five of his last six individual wins.
Pairing him with a Sydney victory in a same game multi looks to be a solid play considering you can get better than even money for it.
Best Bet: Sydney To Beat St Kilda - 1.58 With Bet365
Player Prop: Callum Mills 25+ Disposals - 2.25 With Betr
