{"id":543558,"date":"2026-03-16T07:08:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T07:08:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/543558\/"},"modified":"2026-03-16T07:08:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T07:08:12","slug":"expert-tips-best-tips-for-round-2-of-the-afl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/543558\/","title":{"rendered":"Expert tips, best tips for Round 2 of the AFL"},"content":{"rendered":"

Who should you be tipping in Round 2 of the AFL<\/a> season? Our footy experts have put their heads together to help you out. So open your ESPNfootytips app, take notes, and get ahead of the game!<\/p>\n

Editor’s Picks<\/p>\n

2 Related<\/p>\n

The round kicks off with a huge clash between flag hopefuls Hawthorn and Sydney, but it’s not great news for the Swans, who will be without gun midfielder Errol Gulden (shoulder) and potentially Isaac Heeney (hamstring) as well.<\/p>\n

Attention then turns towards an intriguing battle between Adelaide and the Western Bulldogs, two in-form sides. Izak Rankine returns for the Crows, who have won their past two battles with the Dogs although Luke Beveridge’s team does look to have vastly improved this season.<\/p>\n

There’s plenty more to look forward to: Will the Giants make amends for last week’s smashing, handing the hyped-up Saints a 0-3 start to the season? Will the Dockers win easily at home against the new-look Dees? And will North Melbourne finally be able to handle expectations?<\/p>\n

Our experts share all of their wisdom with you to help guide your tipping.<\/p>\n

EXPERT TIPS:Jake Michaels<\/p>\n

Last week: 6
Season total: 8<\/p>\n

Certainty and why: Port Adelaide looked putrid in its season opener, but lucky for them they get an Essendon side that looks destined for the bottom four.<\/p>\n

Upset and why: An 0-3 start would be diabolical for a Saints side many tipped as the year’s biggest riser. I’m still not convinced by them, but wouldn’t be surprised if they surprised the up and down, undermanned Giants on the road.<\/p>\n

Tips for the week:<\/p>\n

Hawthorn vs. Sydney
Adelaide vs. Western Bulldogs
Richmond vs. Gold Coast
GWS vs. St Kilda
Fremantle vs. Melbourne
Port Adelaide vs. Essendon
West Coast vs. North Melbourne <\/p>\n

Matt Walsh<\/p>\n

Last week: 6
Season total: 9<\/p>\n

Certainty and why: It was a nice win for the Dees last week, but the Dockers should win this at home if they’re serious.<\/p>\n

Upset and why: Crows for me. Two high flying teams, I’ll back the home side, despite how good the Dogs have looked.<\/p>\n

Tips for the week:<\/p>\n

Hawthorn vs. Sydney
Adelaide vs. Western Bulldogs
Richmond vs. Gold Coast
GWS vs. St Kilda
Fremantle vs. Melbourne
Port Adelaide vs. Essendon
West Coast vs. North Melbourne <\/p>\n

Jarryd Barca<\/p>\n

Last week: 7
Season total: 11<\/p>\n

Certainty and why: Fully expecting the Suns and Dockers to win with relative comfort.<\/p>\n

Upset and why: Looking at the odds I’ve tipped all the favourites this week, but you should be able to make good arguments for the Swans, Crows and Saints.<\/p>\n

Tips for the week:<\/p>\n

Hawthorn vs. Sydney
Adelaide vs. Western Bulldogs
Richmond vs. Gold Coast
GWS vs. St Kilda
Fremantle vs. Melbourne
Port Adelaide vs. Essendon
West Coast vs. North Melbourne <\/p>\n

Christian Joly (Champion Data)<\/p>\n

Last week: 7
Season total: 9<\/p>\n

Certainty and why: Fremantle. They let one slip against the Cats last week, good sides turn it around, and Freo is a good side.<\/p>\n

Upset and why: I’m a not a betting man, but current odds for Sydney seem too good to pass up.<\/p>\n

Tips for the week:<\/p>\n

Hawthorn vs. Sydney
Adelaide vs. Western Bulldogs
Richmond vs. Gold Coast
GWS vs. St Kilda
Fremantle vs. Melbourne
Port Adelaide vs. Essendon
West Coast vs. North Melbourne <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Who should you be tipping in Round 2 of the AFL season? Our footy experts have put their…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":543559,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-543558","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543558","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=543558"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543558\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/543559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=543558"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=543558"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=543558"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}