AFL Premiership Odds 2022: An Early Look

Melbourne have been installed as the early favourites to defend their AFL premiership crown this season. The Demons were in blistering form last season as they finished top of the ladder and swept aside Western Bulldogs in the Grand Final.

They have kept the team together for the 2022 season, so they will benefit from a great deal of stability ahead of the new campaign. However, some key rivals have improved and they will be desperate to dethrone Melbourne this year, so it promises to be a ferociously competitive season. We have listed the key teams battling for glory in order of their AFL premiership odds:

Melbourne Demons

We make Melbourne the 4.50 favourites in the early AFL premiership odds. We are still a little way off Round 1, so the situation could change, but the team looks strong and settled right now.

he only notable new arrival was Luke Dunstan, who was delisted by St Kilda. He is unlikely to make the starting line-up, so the Demons’ premiership-winning team could become the first 22 ever to play together again.

It is easy to see why the club was happy to maintain the faith in them, as this young team blazed a trail of destruction across the AFL last season, ending a 57-year premiership drought in the process

A ferocious defence led by Jake Lever and Steven May will make Melbourne a formidable force once again this season. Skipper Max Gawn will lead a supremely talented midfield that blends the steel of Jack Viney and Angus Brayshaw with the flair of Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver, while forwards Bayley Fritsch and Ben Brown should remain dangerous, while there are lots of talented youngsters pushing to start, so Melbourne fans are feeling optimistic.

Melbourne are priced at 3.80 to win the minor premiership again, and just 1.60 to make the top four in the AFL premiership odds. They are also 2.60 to reach the Grand Final once again.

Western Bulldogs

The Bulldogs spent much of last year engaged in an engaging battle with Melbourne for the minor premiership. However, they faded in their final four games and ended up slumping down to fifth in the ladder

Yet they roared back to form in the finals, beating Essendon by 49 points in the elimination final, Brisbane Lions by the finest of margins in the semi-finals and then thumping Port Adelaide by 71 points in the preliminary final.

They could not match Melbourne’s intensity in the Grand Final, but they can take a lot of positives from the season. Their team will also be largely unchanged, although Jamarra Ugle-Hagan is set to replace Josh Schache in the 22 and Josh Bruce and Toby McLean remain out with long-term ACL injuries.

They are blessed with a great deal of depth once again after Luke Beveridge used a league-high 41 players last year, and they should be able to deal with the rigours of the long season. The Bulldogs are the 6.50 second favourites in the AFL premiership odds, while star player Marcus Bontempelli is also the second favourite for the Brownlow Medal.

Brisbane Lions

Brisbane Lions are third in the early AFL premiership odds at 9.00, but they are actually the second favourites to win the minor premiership at 6.00. They are also level with the Bulldogs at 3.60 to make the Grand Final.

They will go into the new season with a similar side to the one that suffered that heart-breaking one-point defeat to the Western Bulldog’s in last year’s semi-final. One major boost will be the return of Cam Rayner from an ACL injury, but on the flipside, Noah Answerth will be a long-term absentee.

Cam Ellis-Yolmen and Liam Jones are out after rejecting the compulsory vaccination, but that will not have any great bearing on the Lions’ season. They outscored all of their rivals in the ladder last year, with Charlie Cameron leading the charge, and they should be there or thereabouts in 2022.

Port Adelaide Power

Port Adelaide finished second in last season’s ladder after finishing with an impressive six-game winning streak. They made short work of Geelong in the qualifying final, but they were dismantled against Western Bulldogs in the preliminary final.

Several senior players left after that game, but the Power still boast one of the deepest lists in the AFL. The only major addition was Jeremy Finlayson, who should provide Scott Lycett with valuable ruck support.

Brownlow Medal winner Ollie Wines should be ably supported in midfield by the likes of Xavier Duursma, Dan Houston, Zak Butters, Coonor Rozee and Travis Boak too. Wines is the favourite to win a second consecutive Brownlow medal, while Port Adelaide are fourth in the early AFL premiership odds at 11.00.

Richmond Tigers

Richmond’s bid for a third consecutive AFL premiership ended in ignominy last season as they finished 12th in the ladder and failed to reach the finals. Yet they could be resurgent this year and they are priced at 12.00 in the AFL premiership odds.

The Tigers are expected to return to the top eight, with odds of 1.45 to do so, while you can grab 2.75 on them breaking back into the top four and 5.00 on them making the Grand Final.

Defensive stalwarts David Astbury and Bachar Houli – both triple premiership winners – have now retired, but the arrival of Robbie Tarrant should bolster their prowess at the back. Callum Coleman-Jones and Mabior Chol have both left, while Ivan Soldo is recovering from a knee injury, but there is still enough depth in Tigerland for them to challenge for a fourth premiership in six years.

Geelong Cats

Geelong ended up third in the ladder last year, but they also fell victim to the Melbourne juggernaut in their preliminary finals defeat at Optus Stadium. The Cats lost some depth in the offseason, but this team is still brimming with quality.

Jonathon Ceglar should slot straight into an elite line-up following his arrival from Hawthorn, and Geelong are major contenders for glory. Yet time is running out for the Cats. Joel Selwood, Tom Hawkins, Isaac Smith, Shaun Huggins and Zach Tuohy are all well into their 30s, and they will be feeling the pressure to finally deliver a premiership.

We make them 13.00 outsiders in the AFL premiership odds, but they are just 1.35 to make the top eight. If they get some luck on the injury front in the finals, Geelong could be very dangerous.

Sydney Swans

The Swans defied expectations last season, but it all came to an abrupt end with a one-point defeat to Greater Western Sydney in the elimination final. It was a brutal loss, but they will need to dust themselves off and regroup ahead of the new season.

Jordan Dawson will be a big miss, but the likes of Ollie Florent, Errol Gulden and Justin McInerney look promising. Peter Ladhams could prove to be an astute signing as he partners Tom Hickey in the ruck.

It is now a decade since John Longmire secured flag success with the Swans, and he has now completed a comprehensive rebuilding process. Could it be time for Sydney to challenge for glory once again? They are on an upward curve, with a talented young squad, and we have them at 13.00 in the AFL premiership odds.

GWS Giants
The Giants scraped past the Swans in last year’s elimination final, only to suffer a comprehensive defeat to Geelong in the semi-finals. They did not make any significant additions in the offseason, but they could kick on this year if they have more luck on the injury front.

Just four players featured in every game in 2021, but they did well to bounce back from an 0-3 start and make the finals. Leon Cameron is now gearing up for his ninth season as a senior coach, and his contract is up at the end of the year, so he will be feeling the pressure.

His team are priced at 15.00 in the AFL premiership odds, and you can currently find 2.10 on them making the top eight.

Further Down The Betting
We have three teams at 21.00 in the AFL premiership odds: Carlton, Essendon and St Kilda. Essendon shocked everyone by making the finals last year, and the defence has improved in the offseason with the arrival of Jake Kelly, but they have the second hardest fixture list after Melbourne.

Carlton have the easiest fixture list, based on the 2021 percentage of the teams they play twice in 2022, but they remain 3.00 outsiders to make the top eight, behind West Coast (2.30), Essendon (2.40) and St Kilda (2.50).

Fremantle and West Coast are both 26.00 underdogs in the AFL premiership odds, and then there is a large gap to Collingwood (61.00), Adelaide Crows (71.00) and Hawthorn (81.00). Gold Coast and North Melbourne are the rank outsiders at 101.00.

Jason Horne-Francis and Nick Daicos are the joint favourites to be named Rising Star, both at 4.20, while Finn Callagan and Jamarra Ugle-Hagan are next at 7.00 in the betting for that award.

*Odds accurate at time of writing but are subject to change

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