AFL 2025 Top 8 Betting Preview - Odds & Expert Predictions

It was always going to be a tightly contested 2025 AFL season, with a large number of teams seemingly capable of contending for the flag and an even larger number capable of at least contending for the finals. In the early stages that has certainly appeared to be the case, with numerous well-fancied teams suffering from a slow start and seeing their finals hopes balloon out as a result. Of course, it is a very long season and there is plenty of time for teams like Carlton to recover, though with little likely to separate so many teams these early season wins could prove pivotal. In such a close competition, the market for teams to make the top eight is a particularly interesting one, and below, we take a look at some of the best value teams to play finals this year.

Coming in at just under even money, the Swans are not quite an outsider to make the finals, but they do still look to present some pretty decent value. Remember, this is a team that a few weeks out from last year’s finals was streets ahead of every other in the league, and though they didn’t go all the way they were just one good performance away from a Premiership.

This team is far from perfect, but when fit and firing they still have one of the best 1-2-3 combos in the game in Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner and Errol Gulden, and plenty of other good players running around. Two losses to start the season did not help their cause, but it did help their odds and when you consider that they were both close defeats to the two current Premiership favourites, it’s not nearly as bad a start as the results themselves suggest. At their best this is a terrific team, and they should probably be shorter odds to make the finals than what they are.

• What brings them here? The Swans were the best team for the bulk of last year, but a less dominant second half of that season and slow-ish start to this season has seen expectations dwindle.
  
• What has changed? Club legend Luke Parker was traded to the Kangaroos in the off-season, but not much else changed aside from delistings and draft picks.
  
• Injury report. Errol Gulden’s timeframe on an ankle injury which has delayed his start to the season remains unclear, while a bunch of other best 22 players who have had issues – including Callum Mills, Taylor Adams, Robbie Fox, Harry Cunningham, Logan McDonald and Lewis Melican, are due back in early-mid April.

Bet on the Swans to make the top eight @ $1.75 with PlayUp

The Bulldogs have been the subject of plenty of criticism over the past few years for their inability to consistently play at a level of which they are seemingly capable, but while that problem persisted early last year, they were excellent for the last few months of the season. While they remain a team that the football public doesn’t seem to have all that much faith in, they are capable of doing some serious damage this year.

Even with a plethora of injuries to key players their start to the season has been impressive. The key position conundrum which seemed to befuddle Luke Beveridge for so long has been well and truly sorted, and with Rory Lobb playing great footy down back and Sam Darcy one of the best prospects in the game up forward, their big men have gone from problematic to a strength of this side. With those players complementing a high-quality midfield, this is now a highly talented and well-balanced side, and with plenty of players set to return through April and May they could easily do more than just make the finals.

• What brings them here? The Bulldogs have had a lot of top-end talent for a while, and despite trading a few key players in the off-season, with their key stocks now sorted they look as good as they have for some time.
  
• What has changed? Caleb Daniel, Jack Macrae and Bailey Smith were traded out, while Matt Kennedy came in.
  
• Injury report. Marcus Bontempelli and Adam Treloar both seem set to remain out until the end of April if not May, while Cody Weightman is out indefinitely and Jason Johannisen is due back around mid-April.

Bet on the Bulldogs to make the top eight @ $1.90 with PlayUp

The Dockers have to an extent been a victim of the closeness of the league over the past couple of years, missing the finals twice in a row after winning 15 games in 2022. They can blame themselves for that, with a few close losses last season in games they should probably have won costing them, but a percentage of 112% last year suggests that not all much needs to change for them to go from outside the top eight to potentially inside the top four.

Their start to this season couldn’t have been worse as they were pumped by the Cats, before they subsequently again coughed up a winnable game against Sydney. Such losses could come back to haunt them in a tight year, but they clearly have the talent to play finals, and were it not for the existence of a plethora of competitive teams they would be close to a shoe-in. Two losses to start the season didn’t help, but they should still be expecting to play finals. 

• What brings them here? The Dockers have been close to being a good team for some time now, and should have lofty ambitions this season.
  
• What has changed? Shai Bolton was a big pick-up in the off-season, while the only players to leave were delisted.
  
• Injury report. Michael Walters, Sean Darcy, Hayden Young and Sam Switkowski are key players who have had delayed starts to the year, but all should be back in April.

Bet on the Dockers to make the finals @ $1.95 with PlayUp

After back to back finals appearances, the Blues entered this season once again with high hopes, but they have been the big slider in this market in the early stages. 41 points up against the Tigers in Round 1 they appeared set for the start that everyone expected, but they somehow went on to lose to the red-hot Wooden Spoon favourite in a result as astonishing as it was disappointing for Carlton.

Losses to the Hawks and then Bulldogs followed to send them to 0-3, and though neither of those defeats in isolation was a bad performance given the quality of those teams, they have put this team’s back right up against the wall early in the season. Already the number of losses they can afford to have if they want to make finals dwindled down to maybe seven with a lot of season left, and with plenty of good teams that makes it a hard task. This team undoubtedly has the talent to get there and a couple of wins could see them shorten in this market very quickly, but they have given themselves a tough job right off the bat.

• What brings them here? The Blues were odds-on quite comfortably to make the finals prior to the season, but a dreadful start has put them up against it.
  What has changed? Matt Kennedy and Matt Owies were traded and Jack Martin delisted, while Nick Haynes was traded in from GWS.
  Injury report. Nic Newman is likely out for the year with a knee injury as is new recruit Jagga Smith, while Alex Cincotta and Orazio Fantasia are due back around the end of April/early May.

Bet on the Blues to make the top eight @ $3.00 with PlayUp

The general consensus is that the Saints are stuck in football purgatory, not good enough to go close to challenging with this list but a step above the real bottom-feeders. Things looked pretty grim after their opening round shellacking against the Crows, but they bounced back really strongly after that with an impressive win over the Cats and then a thumping of the Tigers.

From a pure talent perspective, there are more than eight teams comfortably better than the Saints this year. But the lack of x-factor and outside run which has long plagued them is an issue which appears to be resolving itself courtesy of players like Nasaiah Wanganeen-Milera, Brad Hill and a couple of others, and at their best they do actually look like a decent team. But they have a lot of good teams to stave off if they’re to play finals, and while their odds are juicy enough, they are probably pretty much on the money.

• What brings them here? The Saints have hovered around the middle parts of the ladder for some time now.
  
• What has changed? Josh Battle left for Hawthorn as a free agent, while Brad Crouch retired. Jack Macrae was traded in from the Bulldogs.
  
• Injury report. Not helping the Saints is a long injury list, though it should shorten in the coming weeks. Dougal Howard and Mattaes Phillipou remain out til likely early May, whilie Max King, Dan Butler, Hunter Clark, Liam O’Connell, Liam Stocker and Jimmy Webster should be back in early-mid April.

Bet on the Saints to make the top eight @ $4.00 with PlayUp 

While the Blues have been one of the biggest drifters early in the season, the Power are not all that far behind. They got off to a horrible start to Ken Hinkley’s final year at the helm, being pummelled by the Magpies by 15 goals, and while they bounced back with a strong win at home over the Tigers, they endured another unsuccessful trip to Melbourne with a loss to the Bombers the next week.

The Power are always a better team at home than away, but they’ll have to be a hell of a lot better on the road than they were in those first two efforts if they’re to compete for finals. They’ve certainly been missing their best player in Zak Butters, but while he will return soon there are bigger issues than that. But the Power’s best is good and they shouldn’t be ruled out of finals action just yet, and at $4.50 with some betting sites they aren’t the worst bet on the board.

• What brings them here? The Power have finished top four in three of the past four years, but appear to be slipping a little.
  
• What has changed? Dan Houston left in a big trade to the Pies, while Charlie Dixon retired. Rory Atkins, Jack Lukosius and Joe Richards were traded in.
  
• Injury report. Zak Butters is nearing a return in early April, as are Ryan Burton, Todd Marshall, Ollie Lord, Lachie Jones, Lukosius and Jed McEntee. Brandon Zerk-Thatcher will be absent until around early May.

Bet on the Power to make the top eight @ $4.50 with PlayUp 

Speaking of big drifters, the Demons currently sit streets ahead of the rest as the most disappointing team over the first few weeks of the season. Perhaps some who had low expectations for them would disagree, but the Dees entered 2025 hoping to put last year in the rear-view mirror and return to the upper echelons of the ladder. The early signs are they are not at all capable of that.

The Dees could very easily have beaten the Giants in Round 1 in a game which looked like it was played between two good teams, but they subsequently lost by ten goals to the Kangaroos and then the Suns in Melbourne in a fortnight which saw their stocks take a massive hit. So can they turn it around? They do still have plenty of good, experienced players running around, and maybe this $10 on offer with AFL betting sites for them to make the eight will look like a ridiculous number in a few weeks. Right now, however, it’s hard to see this team getting near the finals.

• What brings them here? The Dees were a top four team for years before tumbling dramatically last year, and the early signs this year are that their fall will continue in 2025.
  
• What has changed? Lachie Hunter retired while Alex Neal-Bullen was traded.
  
• Injury report. Shane McAdam is out for the season, while each of Jake Lever, Charlie Spargo and Koltyn Tholstrup should be available in early April. Young gun Xavier Lindsay was cleared of major damage after a knee injury but will miss a couple of weeks.

Bet on the Demons to make the top eight @ $10.00 with PlayUp

While the Demons are tumbling down the ladder, the Kangaroos’ performance against them in Round 2 suggests they are doing the exact opposite. The capacity for them to improve this year was always there, with their young stocks finally starting to look quite good and a few experienced veterans brought in to help out. And the early signs have been very positive.

The Roos started the year with a really solid performance against the Bulldogs before pumping the Demons in Round 2, though they were no match for the Crows the next week. Most likely they are still a year or two away from challenging for the finals, but they have a pretty damn good coach and plenty of young talent running around. Expect them to win more games than they have this decade by some margin (though their most in that time is only four, so that isn’t saying much), but they probably won’t be pushing for the top eight just yet.

• What brings them here? After years of misery for North fans there finally appears to be light at the end of the tunnel.
  
• What has changed? Hugh Greenwood and Jaidyn Stephenson retired, while as mentioned, experience comes in with Caleb Daniel, Luke Parker and Jack Darling all being traded in.
  
• Injury report. Callum Coleman-Jones is out until mid-season, while Josh Goater should be back a few weeks before that. Zac Fisher, George Wardlaw and Eddie Ford are nearing returns, while Jackson Archer is suspended until Round 5.

Bet on the Kangaroos to make the top eight @ $12.00 with PlayUp

This is a fascinating market, with most teams in the AFL justifiably viewing themselves as capable of playing finals if all goes their way. A couple of long odds outsiders are not without a chance – the Demons were a top four team just two years ago and are paying $10 to make the eight now, as an example – but the standout for me is the Dogs. Though they are slightly under $2 on the betting apps to make it, they have looked excellent to start the season, playing a couple of really high-quality games. Despite a couple of off-season losses, they look deep and well-balanced and will only get better with guys like Bontempelli and Treloar to return, and really should be expecting to compete for a spot in the top four.