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Aussie
Rules
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Weekly Review
Sports Acumen Weekly Review Punters launch fightback What looked like being a bloodbath across the football codes turned out to be a solid weekend for punters after a series of predictable results. The AFL and NRL Friday night matches left Sports Acumen analysts with plenty of hope after both favourites went under. Despite the turmoil which was about to engulf Collingwood, clients were keen to support the Grand Finalists from the past two years against the Cats despite their current form and they started warm favourites. But the youthful enthusiasm and skill of the Geelong side proved too much for Mick Malthouse’s men and left ‘Pie’ backers feeling similarly nauseous to the player who overdid the mid-season celebrations at Mooloolaba recently. Cashed up New South Wales backers were prepared to say that St George-Illawarra, with the help of their Origin stars, could continue a miserable week for Darren Lockyer and co against the Broncos at Win Stadium. The line shifted dramatically in this game as sustained wagers forced the Dragons into a very cramped quote of $1.55 by start time. Unfortunately for punters, the Broncos were red hot on Friday night and once again posed the question of whether the Dragons are merely pretenders in their quest to become the first joint venture NRL Premiers. AFL St Kilda run into their own Demons Despite the poor record of Melbourne against St Kilda in recent times, the Demons were heavily backed to beat the former high flying Saints at the MCG on Sunday. The suspension of three St Kilda players was enough to convince punters their mid season slump would continue and so it proved as Melbourne joined Brisbane and Port Adelaide in a four way tie at the top of the ladder with the Saints. Big wins by the Lions, Port Adelaide and Essendon kept favourite backers happy for the remainder of the weekend after missing out on the Collingwood-Geelong match on Friday night. Flag betting has changed dramatically in recent times, with Brisbane now at a very cramped $2.10 to take a fourth straight Premiership, from perennial under achievers Port Adelaide ($4.25) who may have slipped under the radar of a few people this season. Now may be the time for St Kilda fans to get back on the bandwagon. They have slipped out to $7 for the flag after losing four of the their past five matches, but still remain atop the ladder (on percentage) and assuming they regain form (starting with a likely win over Richmond this week) that may be the best odds you will see all season. NRL The Rabbitohs ask the Premiers “What’s up Doc?” as Penrith slump continues The NRL produced the two biggest shocks of the season over the weekend as last year’s two Grand Finalists both went under to lowly ranked opponents. The Parramatta Eels’ defeat of competition hotpots the Sydney Roosters was not forecast by anyone, with the majority of punters backing the Roosters to cover the line. Instead it was a rejuvenated Parra, headed by a rampaging Nathan Hindmarsh that won by a convincing 14 points. You could have secured as much as $9 with Sports Acumen about a 13+ win for the Eels. In the other upset, the gloss had gone off the Penrith Panthers a week earlier when they were humiliated 66-14 by the Melbourne Storm. And Sports Acumen clients were awake to the slump. Led by a fearless punter who wagered $2000 on the ‘Bunnies’ for a $10,000+ collect, Souths were in fact the worst result for us with many prepared to support them at the line. The 30-6 loss was yet another setback for Penrith, who not surprisingly are easing dramatically in Premiership betting. They are almost out to double figure odds now ($9), with the two big movers this week being the Broncos (into $6.50 from $9) and the Bulldogs ($4.40) who have joined the Roosters at the head of the table. Ricky Stuart’s team though are still firm favourites, despite easing slightly after the Parramatta loss, and are $2.75 to win their second NRL title in three years. Pacific Islanders gain support The experiment of pitting the Pacific Islands together seems to have worked, with another gutsy display against the All Blacks over the weekend. The All Blacks had to give away 27 ½ points start in this match and the punters who showed interest in this game felt it was too much and they were proven right. The New Zealanders eventually scraped out a hard fought victory but at no stage did they look like covering the line. The International Rugby season now goes into full throttle with the start of the Tri-Series and Bledisloe Cup this weekend when the All Blacks try to exact revenge on the Aussies for their heart-breaking defeat in last year’s World Cup semi-final. Wallaby supporters will be heartened to know the All Blacks are once again favoured to win the first match and also take the Tri-Series title. Harness/Greyhounds proving popular We have been overwhelmed with the amount of interest since we launched our night harness and greyhound racing service recently. Punters have been keen to take full advantage of our smart odds service, which guarantees a better price than the local tote. Sports Acumen is betting on all night meetings covered by the Sky Channel home service. Motorsport Michael Schumacher took out his 10th race in 11 starts this season when winning the British Grand Prix over the weekend. He started at $1.80 with Sports Acumen and the question now is whether he can continue to re-write the record books for the remainder of the season. In V8 news, after the hiccup that dogged Marcus Ambrose in Queensland last round behind him, Sports Acumen have him at $1.75 to take the V8 Supercar title from Jason Bright and Steven Richards (both at $5). Sports Acumen is now betting on each round of the series, in addition to the overall winner markets. The Winners Rugby League - State of Origin 3: $5,000 on NSW @ $2.65 to beat QLD +12.5 points = Payout $13,250 $5,000 on NSW @ $1.90 to to beat QLD -6.5 at the line = Payout $9,500 $10,000 on NSW @ $1.43 to beat QLD = Payout $14,300 Cricket - 2nd Test - Aust v SL: $50 on Justin Langer to score more than 69 runs (buy). Langer scored 162 = Payout 93 times stake $4,650 Cricket - 2nd Test - Aust v SL: $30 on Sri Lanka to score more than 365 runs in 1st Innings (buy). Sri Lanka scored 455 = Payout 90 times stake $2,700 AFL: $7,000 on Geelong @ $2.00 to beat Collingwood = Payout $14,000 $10,000 on Essendon @ $1.46 to beat Richmond = Payout $14,600 NRL: $2,000 on South Sydney @ 5.10 to beat Penrith = Payout $10,200 $10,000 on Sharks @ 1.38 to beat NZ Warriors = Payout $13,800 Baseball: $10,000 on Boston Red Sox @ $1.40 to beat Oakland Athletics = Payout $14,000 Horse Racing: Cranbourne - $1,250 Master of Disguise @ $13.10 = Payout $16,375 Eagle Farm - $1,000 on Mission Statement @ $11.10 = Payout $11,100 ...and the Losers Rugby League - State of Origin 3: $5,000 on QLD @ $2.45 to beat NSW AFL: $12,000 on Fremantle @ $1.46 to beat Kangaroos $12,000 on Collingwood @ $1.82 to beat Geelong NRL: $4,500 on George-Illawarra @ 1.50 to beat Brisbane Baseball: $10,000 on San Diego Padres @ $1.50 to beat Colorado Rockies
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