AFL tips: See who the experts are picking for every match in round 18

St Kilda faces a Gold Coast team playing under caretaker coach Steven King on Saturday. Will it matter? See who all the experts are tipping in round 18.

St Kilda will face an extra hurdle when it travels to Gold Coast this weekend – and tipsters face an extra challenge in round 18.

The Saints will be facing a Suns team playing under caretaker coach Steven King for the first time after Stuart Dew was shown the door on Tuesday.

The reaction of St Kilda fans on social media was universally along the lines of ‘of course this would happen to us’. Teams always lift after a coach has been sacked, the thinking goes. But does the evidence back that up?

Since 2012 teams have won six times and lost seven times the week a caretaker has stepped in. But in recent years caretakers are have a much better record, with a five-two record since 2018.

The winners include Leigh Adams and Mark McVeigh, who stepped in to replace David Noble and Leon Cameron at North Melbourne and GWS Giants last season.

Rhyce Shaw (North Melbourne), David Teague (Carlton) and Brett Ratten (St Kilda) also tasted success first-up, but Robert Harvey (Collingwood) and David Hale (Fremantle) weren’t so fortunate.

Will it give the Suns any added motivation at Heritage Bank Stadium on Saturday? The home team is favourite in betting markets, but the Saints have their nose in front 51 per cent to 49 per cent among all tippers at tips.com.au.

Who do the experts think will come out on top? See the full round 18 tips below.