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Centrebet Capers
RUGBY LEAGUE Punters got off to a good start when five of the seven favourites saluted in the first round of the NRL. However, the two ‘result’ games, Cronulla defeating Penrith and Manly beating New Zealand meant there wasn’t a terrible lot in the finish. Our big result of the round was when Cronulla defeated Penrith 30-24 in a game that had a bit of everything. We were banking on the halves combination of Kimmorley and Dykes doing the job for the Sharks and they were the difference. Bets of $25,000($1.65), $18,000 (-3 ½) and $15,000 at the same handicap were some of the larger bets in the Penrith column. Almost everyone thought New Zealand would chalk up a win against Manly. The Warriors firmed from $1.45 into $1.38 prior to kick off but went down 26-20. It might be a while before punters show that kind of interest again in the New Zealand side. The big betting clash was between Brisbane and North Queensland. Although the Broncos started favourite and won 29-16 we actually won on the game. It was staggering the amount of money that came from the Townsville region for the Cowboys to win. It eclipsed several large wagers we took for Brisbane including $16,500 and $15,000. North Queensland fans should have a clearer picture as to where their side is at on Friday night against the Bulldogs. We rate the Cowboys highly and think they’ll win this one. However, we didn’t expect a rush for them when betting opened. The price of $2.55 along with the 5 ½ points start has quickly disappeared as we try to lay the Dogs. As yet we haven’t seen any significant money. Those who backed New Zealand last week have been conspicuous by their absence this week. The Warriors travel to Brisbane and the first bets on the game have been $8,000 and $5,000 for the Broncos to win. There’s also a couple of $5,000 bets for them to beat a 10 ½ points spread. AUSTRALIAN RULES Carlton has snuck under the radar of most punters but now they have a Wizard Cup to put in the trophy cabinet. Those who took the big odds for the Blues to win the night premiership will be pretty pleased with themselves. In premiership betting as much as $126 was available for Carlton just before Christmas but that price has been slashed to $21. We’ve taken bets of $1,000 both at $61 and $51. While nearly $800 has been wagered this week at $21. The unfortunate injury to Essendon full-forward Matthew Lloyd has seen Brendan Fevola elevated to favoritism for the Coleman Medal at $3. This week we’ve taken bets of $2,500 and $1,500 for him at $3.50. West Coast didn’t lose too many admirers after last Saturday’s defeat and are now into $6 and third favourite for the premiership. It’ll be a bookies nightmare if the day Grand Final has the same combatants as the Wizard Cup. Both sides have been backed for a fortune all over the country. Following the injury to Matthew Lloyd the Bombers have drifted out to $31 to win the flag and $2.50 to make the final eight. At the other end of the scale Hawthorn are in turmoil again, after losing all four trial matches. It isn’t hard to work out why the Hawks have firmed to make it back to back wooden spoons. A series of smaller bets has forced their price into $3.25 after being $4 three weeks ago. The next two in the market, the Bulldogs ($5) and Richmond ($5.50) have been largely ignored. Betting on the first round will open Monday at 10am as there’s a match on Thursday night but after that, betting will open each Tuesday morning. RUGBY UNION Punters again got the better of us in week three of the Super 12 with most of the favoured teams getting home again. The Highlanders were backed in from $1.80 to $1.70 and had little trouble disposing of a very weak Bulls outfit 23-0. The ACT Brumbies with players dropping like flies all over the shop drifted out to $1.33 prior to kick off. The smart money came for the Stormers at 12 ½ start which was culled to 9 ½ before the match. The start backers filled up their kitty with the Brumbies falling over the line by 22-19. Even the upset result was predicted by our clients with the Chiefs backed into $3.40 from $3.70 to defeat the Blues. Punters were all over the Crusaders both at $1.12 in the head to head against Queensland and at the -14 ½ start. New South Wales did drift a fraction against the Sharks following the injury to Mat Rogers but some loyal Waratahs supporters still wanted to back them and were rewarded for their efforts. This week we’ve seen early money for the Reds who are away to the Chiefs. The Blues have also been supported against the red hot Crusaders. Both teams are outsiders and have been disappointing thus far in the competition. In a very tricky week we think the Sharks to cover the start against the Highlanders in Durban may just be the value bet of the weekend. CRICKET The Aussies have done it again! Just when it looked like the Black Caps had got themselves into a winning position on the second day of the first Test out struts Adam Gilchrist. Gilly and Simon Katich combined for a 200 run partnership which put Australia right back in the game. Only three times before has Australia won a match when their opponents have scored over 425 and Don Bradman scored centuries in all three. It was another of those matches where the prices fluctuated wildly. At one stage on the second day, the Aussies were the outsiders at $5. One lucky punter placed $2,000 at that quote but the bulk of the big money for Australia was taken before the game started at $1.50. There was also plenty of money for the draw. One of our Indian clients had $22,000 on at $3.50. He then returned to have $20,000 at $1.80. No we move to Wellington for the second Test where New Zealand has to try and devise a plan to stop Adam Gilchrist. The Basin Reserve is a ‘result’ pitch with five of the last seven tests played there yielding a result. We have taken close to $100,000 for Australia to win at $1.60. The draw is also popular with punters, due to questionable weather across the Tasman. The opening quote of $3.60 for the draw has been slashed to $2.65. RACING Despite drawing wide in gate 12 we still believe Snitzel is the one to beat in Saturday’s Golden Slipper at Rosehill Gardens. Snitzel’s only defeat came in the Magic Millions when he was wide all the way. He’s been favourite to win the Slipper for several weeks and is currently at $3.50. While the barrier is obviously a major concern, he does have champion jockey Glenn Boss on board to offset that problem. As far as dangers are concerned, Blue Diamond winner Undoubtedly might be the one. We originally opened him up at $10 after the draw but some smart money has seen that price cut to $8.50. Stratum ($8) went exceptionally well last week and looks to have plenty of improvement left in him. Melbourne visitor Opportunity ($17) was unlucky in the Blue Diamond but has had problems getting to Sydney and has drawn out in the car park. Domesday ($15) and Flying Pegasus ($26) were both unsuited last start and are more than capable of surprising at big odds. The Gai Waterhouse trained Fashions Afield($6) has done nothing wrong to date but may not get an easy lead so we are prepared to risk her. GOLF Padraig Harrington became the first player from the Republic of Ireland to win on the USPGA tour following his victory at the Honda Classic. Harrington managed to put a little extra cheer into his (and our) St Patrick’s Day celebrations by defeating the heavily backed pair of Vijay Singh and Joe Ogilvie in a play off. Singh had been backed to win in excess of $150,000 while Ogilvie had also come in for strong support at $10 following the third round. It meant Harrington was our only chance of a result and thankfully he closed with a 63 and dually won the play-off. This week at the Bay Hill Invitational, Tiger Woods is our $3.65 favourite. Tiger knows how to win on this course having won four straight titles from 2000 to 2003. The money has come for Vijay Singh and Ernie Els with both backed at $8 to win over $150,000. South African Retief Goosen has his admirers as well and has been well supported at $15. Ernie Els cleaned us up at the Qatar Masters when he was backed to the exclusion of all other players in the field. Despite trailing leader, Swede Henrik Stenson by five shots at one stage, Els closed with the best round of the week, a seven under 65 to make it back to back wins on the European tour. One lucky punter is smiling all the way to bank after landing a $60,000 wager at $2.75. With Els now safely back in the United States this week, the China co-sanctioned TCL Classic is a much more open affair. Colin Montgomerie is a $6.50 favourite after some recent good form in Singapore and Dubai. The punters however, have come for both Thomas Bjorn and Paul Casey who both have been backed to win in excess of $100,000 at their opening quote of $10. FORMULA 1 The way the Australian Grand Prix was run has seen a distinct lack of interest shown by the betting public in Sunday’s Malaysian GP. The new rules have made it all very confusing and the last session of qualifying on the morning of each race doesn’t really allow punters the time to digest what has gone on. We think most betting will take place before the first qualifying session and then two hours prior to the race. The form of the Melbourne race can probably be forgotten about as it’s near impossible to make any ground up around the tight Albert Park circuit. Keeping that mind we have installed Kimi Raikkonen (who stalled at the start in Melbourne) at $6. There have been no big bets at that price. However, a few of our Finnish clients have supported their man at the opening quote. Michael Schumacher is the $3 favourite for the event and we have to admit we don’t know if that is well over the odds or well under. One thing in his favour is that Rubens Barrichello in the second Ferrari was able to run second to Giancarlo Fisichella in Melbourne. BASKETBALL So much for the fearless prediction of Wollongong winning the NBL Grand Final series by a 3-1 scoreline. That won’t happen and anything other than a third consecutive Sydney Kings championship is a remote chance. The Kings have demolished the Hawks by margins of 23 and 25 points in the opening two matches and will be looking to wrap up the series on Saturday in game three. Their wins have come as no surprise to punters, who had big collects in game one and re-invested in game two. Starting a $1.60 favourite in game one they attracted numerous bets upwards of $2,000. Despite the ease of their win we thought Wollongong were entitled to be favourites at home. Punters couldn’t believe how easy it was as they took $2.25 Sydney in game two for another result that was never in doubt. We’ll let them get on again in game three but will not be quite so generous with the odds. Opening a 5 ½ point favourite the Kings have attracted immediate support at the line with the hold quickly climbing to $10,000. The race for the number one seed in the NBA looks very tight. So tight in fact that we’ve opened a market this week that has Miami, San Antonio and Phoenix all equal favourites to take the title. Until next week, good punting. For further information contact Gerard Daffy at Centrebet on 08 89555800 or centrebet@centrebet.com.
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