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Aussie
Rules
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Centrebet
Capers
Extraordinary finishes provided some enthralling final minutes to sporting events at weekend and in rugby league we were fortunate they fell our way. Friday night's City v Country clash in Wagga didn't break any betting records, but City's unexpected 26-16 upset gave us a good start to the weekend. The first two bets written on the match, $10,000 and $5000 on Country at -7½ ($1.90), where the two biggest bets, although we took another bet of $4500 for Country on the day of the match. Judging by the lack of interest from a betting perspective, it looks as though the only advantage to these games is that the people in rural NSW get an opportunity to see their heroes in the flesh. Injuries to Scott Hill and Robbie Kearns from that match meant neither could line up for Melbourne on Saturday, and not surprisingly they were thumped 34-6 by the Roosters. We had already taken some sizeable bets for Melbourne, but on Saturday, even though we reduced the odds, we took bets of $9000 and $6000 for the Roosters to win ($1.30), and also $20,000 and $10,000 for them to beat a 10½ point handicap. Saturday night was a good night for Centrebet. One of Sydney's biggest league punters, who has had trouble placing bets elsewhere, invested $24,000 on the Northern Eagles with 22½ points start, and while they played well for the first 10 minutes, they were eventually overwhelmed by the unbeaten Brisbane Broncos 50-12. Oddly, the least talked about match of the round, North Qld v Wests Tigers, ended up being our largest hold. Wests firmed from $2.30 into $1.95 on the back of $8000 at $2.30, $7300 worth of bets at $2.20, $16,000 at $2.05 and $10,000 at $2. The Cowboys aren't the type of side that you would want to be pinning undying faith in, so we were more than happy when a Sydney client assisted with a $20,000 bet for North Qld at $1.80. New Zealand beat Souths 25-18 on Sunday, but they were like a rudderless ship when they lost chief playmaker Stacey Jones early in the first half. Jones is an experienced organizer around attack, and while the Warriors did score twice after he went off to lead 18-4 at half time, Souths drew level late in the game, before succumbing 25-18. Those that took the -20½ for New Zealand were never really a winning chance, while we wonder how many finger nails were gnawed down by a Kiwi punter who placed $30,000 on the Warriors to win at $1.10. Penrith showed plenty of courage, but again came away without any points, when cut down 25-22 by the Bulldogs. Actually, we took Penrith on with the big start in this match, accepting two $10,000 bets at 16½ points start, but with the Bulldogs coupled up in lots of multiples, it would have been nice to see them beaten. We also wanted St George-Illawarra to go down to Canberra and nearly got our wish before they featured in a highly controversial 21-21 draw. Similar to the previous two games, the bulk of the money wagered was on the Dragons conceding 8½ points start, which went a long way towards paying those who took the -8½ Parramatta against the Sharks. State of Origin betting is open, and in a first, Queensland opened up as favourites travelling to New South Wales! However big punters stepped in and we've been forced to reverse the order with Blues backed into favouritism. We've written more bets against the Maroons but the big bets are on Phil Gould's boys. The Maroons have extracted plenty out of the "underdogs" tag over the years, but on paper, at least, they deserve slight favourtism. After opening $1.75 favourites, Queensland is at $2 with the Blues firming into $1.75. Fortunately we've managed to "lay" both sides, but we fully expect Queensland's forward pack, which has a 4kg-a-man edge, to prove the difference. The Origin squads can't play this weekend, hence the strange prices in some games. Newcastle ($1.50) will be severely affected by Origin call-up, but that hasn't deterred too many judging by early bets of $8000 and $5000 to say they will beat New Zealand who will miss Jones. Melbourne get their chance to win at home when they take on an undermanned Parramatta, and money suggests that the Storm will win. A few thought $1.67 for Parramatta was good value, but we took close to $12,000 in bets for Melbourne early in the week at $2.20. North Qld can put an end to talk of a wooden spoon if they beat Penrith on Saturday night. This is a hard one to select, and punters are finding it the same way with equal support for both at $1.90. The Cowboys will be missing Origin stars John Buttigieg and John Doyle. On Sunday, a weakened Bulldogs take on the Sharks who will have David Peachey back. Their record without Peachey is alarming, he seems to make a huge difference. The Bulldogs won convincingly against the Sharks a few weeks ago, but this is different, and we are prepared to take Bulldogs supporters on. It has been a struggle, but we have managed to lay bets of $6000 and $5000 for the Bulldogs at $1.45, and also $5500 conceding 6½ points start. [Australian Rules | AUSTRALIAN RULES] There was little respite for bookies last weekend when seven of the eight favourites won, and we were one of the lucky ones who missed a plunge on Richmond. We have said before that the Tigers win when they shouldn't, and once again they won when outsiders. The Swans were relatively hard to sell in this match until we took a $20,000 bet from a Sydney client minutes before the match begun. This particular client missed the money by a goal in this match, and to round off a poor weekend, he plonked $20,000 on Collingwood conceding 12 points start to the Bulldogs on Sunday. It would have been an injustice if he had have collected this bet (Collingwood won by 10 points) as the Bulldogs kicked themselves out of the match when in a winning position, but we have been "shafted" by so many last minute goals over the past few weeks that we figured the tide had to turn. Another of those close finishes went against us on Friday night when Essendon hung on to beat Carlton 87-62. Because of the list of injuries to both sides, this match was nowhere near as busy as a normal Friday night game, but we were still able to get nearly $25,000 out of Essendon conceding 24½ points start. Ouch, punters get home by half a point again! Brisbane's 57 point victory over Port Adelaide wasn't the bad result we were expecting when late money arrived for Port. Win bets of $8000 and $4000 went on Port at $3.50, and we saw several $2000 bets come for Port with 26 points start. Brisbane displayed the form that has seen their premiership price cut to $2, and one wonders if they will ever be beaten at home again. You wouldn't have a heart if you didn't feel sorry for St Kilda in their three point loss to Melbourne on Sunday. We were also feeling sorry for ourselves as there was a "truckload" of money for Melbourne ($1.14) through multiples, but we didn't ever have too many worries with those who took the -40½ for Melbourne. There are two "trap" games this week when the "home" sides play interstate. The Kangaroos have a home fixture, but will play Adelaide at Manuka in the ACT. The Kangaroos play well at the Manuka ground which explains why we have seen money for them at $2.50, but against that we have taken $14,000 in early bets for Adelaide at $1.55. The other venue change is more important as the struggling Western Bulldogs will play their "home" game in Sydney against the Swans. That is enough to rate the Swans short favourites at $1.55, and should see them get the four points. We hate the thought of cheering for Richmond when they are favourites, but there has been smart money to say that West Coast will beat the Tigers at the MCG on Saturday. As soon as betting opened at $2.25, two Victorians placed $13,500 between them on West Coast to win. There has also been an early push for Hawthorn to beat Carlton by covering a 34 point spread. Hawthorn's Shane Crawford has been all the talk since his best afield performance against Geelong, and his odds have been slashed to win his second Brownlow Medal. Crawford was $13 prior to the weekend, but has been elevated to $7 equal favourite with Nathan Buckley and Ben Cousins. The other firmer from the weekend was Essendon's Jason Johnson, back into $11. As mentioned last week, injuries and suspensions have meant that betting interest in the Brownlow has diminished, but that hasn't stopped the media talking about it. [Rugby Union | RUGBY UNION] The Crusaders broke every record in the book when they smashed the Waratahs 96-19 in Christchurch on Saturday night. Waratahs coach Bob Dwyer made seven changes to his side, which saw a barrage of support come for the Crusaders, who firmed from $1.28 into $1.18. Bets of $10,000, $6600 and $6000 also came for the Crusaders to beat a 10 point handicap early in the week, and just hours before the game started we took a $15,000 bet from New Zealand at -13½ points. At least we were out of our misery early as the Crusaders racked up 63 points in the first half without the Waratahs bothering the scorers who were already worn out, and the standing ovation they received was full deserved. Money talks all languages, and the New Zealand punters who jumped in early and took the $1.90 for the Chiefs to beat the Hurricanes came away with the cash when the Chiefs scored a convincing 44-20 win. We pointed out that many of these sides were only playing for pride last week, and when the Hurricanes named a side that was missing several players including Umaga and Lomu, we made a drastic change to the market trying to get some money for the Wellington side. We managed to get three bets of $2000, but it fell a long way short of the money that came for the Chiefs. The Highlanders v Reds match was a heavyweight betting duel which went slightly the way of punters when the Highlanders won easily 40-26. Several big bets came from New Zealand for their side at $1.55, including $25,000 and $15,000 conceding 3½ points start, but we did also take hundreds of bets for Qld to win including $10,000 at $2.30 to, and judging by that loss it might be a while before they break their maiden status in Dunedin. The Semi finals this week will both be on Saturday night, and we have been taken aback by support for the Waratahs to defeat the Brumbies. Granted that is what happened a few weeks ago, but the $2.50 for the Waratahs didn't seem over generous following such a demoralising loss last week, but punters disagree. In amongst the early action were bets of $8000 and $4500 for the Waratahs, but at the risk of repeating ourselves, the favourites are normally very easy to sell on the day of the match. The Crusaders are $1.18 to go on and host the Super 12 final, and with fitness doubts lingering over Kelleher and Brown for the Highlanders, it's possible that the Crusaders might even start shorter. The handicap of -13½ has also been taken with several $5000 bets, all from New Zealand, but our Union analyst is tipping a close encounter. The Crusaders are now $1.50 to win the title ahead of the Brumbies ($3.25), the Waratahs ($9) and the Highlanders ($14). We posted the Crusaders at $1.60 on Monday, but straight away took a bet of $18,000 which has set the trend for the week. Should the Crusaders play the Brumbies in the final, I doubt if they would be much shorter than they are now, but of course if they have to play the Waratahs, they will go around as raging favourites. [Golf | GOLF] Tiger Woods makes a rare appearance on the European circuit this week when he lines up in the Deutsche Bank Open in Germany. Tiger won the same event last year, and will go in as a heavily backed $2.50 favourite this year. English clients have been the most active with bets of £2000 and another two £1000 wagers coming from the Old Dart, as well as a bet of $6000 from a Melbourne punter. Several have been backed to beat Tiger however, with Retief Goosen attracting a $1500 each way bet at $13, last weeks tour winner Angel Cabrera drawing $2500 worth of bets at $17, and Darren Clarke ($26), Michael Campbell ($26) and Ricardo Gonzalez ($51) all backed to take out $30,000 by a Queensland client. Japan's "Smiling Assassin", Shigeki Maruyama, got the money in the Byron Nelson Classic as a $67 outsider last weekend. Only a few small bets were placed on Maruyama before the event started, and even when he was two shots in front coming into the last round, the only substantial bet we took was $1000 at $1.55. Maruyama is significantly shorter this week at $26 to win the Mastercard Colonial in Fort Worth, Texas. Punters like to stick with the last start winners, and we have taken a lot of bets for Maruyama this week, but the bigger money is on the "name" players. Perenial favourite Phil Mickelson is $9, and has been backed to take out close to $40,000 with us. Mickelson finished third behind Sergio Garcia last year, and in 2000 came from six shots behind at the start of the last round to win. The only problem with Mickelson now is that he keeps getting into a winning position, but can't finish it off. Garcia is second choice at $10 but hasn't proven popular, with preference going to David Toms ($21), David Duval ($21) and Scott Verplank ($29). All three had several bets placed on them before a Victorian client backed each to take out $20,000, and we have also seen constant support for Nick Price ($34) and Charles Howell III ($41). Aussie punters have stuck with Peter Lonard ($41) ahead of Robert Allenby, also a $34 chance, with one Sydney client placing $6000 on Lonard in a head to head match up against Allenby at $1.95. Anikka Sorenstam did the right thing by punters winning last week, and is our $2.10 favourite to win the Asahi Ryokuken International Championship this week, while Hale Irwin is $3.20 favourite to win the Instinet Classic. [Formula One | FORMULA ONE] Punters and bookies weren't surprised by the finish of the Austrian Grand Prix last Sunday, but hopefully this is the last time we see such an absurd finish to a race. It was four years ago in the Australian Grand Prix when David Coulthard "moved aside" to let McLaren's number one driver, Mika Hakkinen through to win, and at the time the authorities said this wouldn't happen again. Formula One is a team event, and quite obviously the aim of every team is to win each race, and following on from that they want their number on driver to be World Champion. Nobody is criticizing that edict, just the way it's been put into practice here, but there are some points worth noting from a bookmakers point of view. Schumacher was the short priced favourite at $1.80, and naturally we would have been happier if Barrichello, a $3.75 chance, had have been allowed to greet the chequered flag in first place. Barrichello recorded the quickest lap times to grab pole position, and was still at an inflated price compared to Schumacher solely for the reason that Schumacher, if he was trailing only Barrichello, would be given the "green light" to win the race. Those that follow the sport closely, including punters and bookmakers, were disappointed with what happened, but it's not the first time, and it's now up to the authorities to initiate a rule to make sure it doesn't happen again. Centrebet has taken the step of refunding those bets placed on Barrichello to win the race. Due to the odd circumstances surrounding the finish, we have adopted the Australian attitude that "If you can't win, you shouldn't be able to lose". Naturally, bets on Schumacher still get paid out, and I am sure those punters consider themselves very fortunate to be collecting. The only thing that I can add is that why did Michael Schumacher go past in the first place? Does anyone really believe that Ferrari would sack him if he didn't, and can we expect that when Schumacher has his grip firmly around the Drivers Championship that if the roles are reversed, Barrichello won't be given the same "treatment" later in the season? We will be watching with interest. [Motorbikes | MOTORBIKES] Valentino Rossi is $1.33 to win the French Moto Grand Prix at Le Mans on Sunday, and he is the only rider that we have seen any decent money for. An Italian regular placed €4000 at the opening quote of $1.40, and since then bets of $5000 and $4500 have gone on the brilliant youngster at $1.33. Tohru Ukawa is on the second line of betting ahead of Loris Capirossi and Daijiro Katoh, both at $9. That trio have had a few small bets placed on them to win the race, but all three have been supported to finish on the podium. A client from Malaysia has placed $5000 on Ukawa at $1.80 and the same amount on Katoh at $1.90, and we have seen a sprinkling of bets come from Italy for Capirossi at $2.10. Capirossi and Ukawa have been matched up in a head to head which has seen bets of $2500 and $2000 come for Ukawa at $1.80 to beat the Italian home. [Ice Hockey | ICE HOCKEY] Slovakia won the World Ice Hockey Championship at the weekend after making the final by eliminating host Sweden and Olympic champions Canada before disposing of Russia 4-3 in the final. The Slovaks went into the final as $1.70 favourites to win in normal time, and while there was plenty of money for them, we did also take close to $20,000 in bets for Russia at $3.40. Slovakia were $25 in our opening market to win the title, and did land one winning bet of €200 at that quote. Slovakia and Russia were the two outsiders when it came down to the semi final stage, with punters preferring the chances of both Sweden and Finland, so while we lost on the final itself, the two semi finals were massive results for Centrebet. The main focus of Ice Hockey betting is now on the Stanley Cup playoffs as Ice Hockey elsewhere is in recess. [Entertainment | ENTERTAINMENT] What a storm has been created by a phone call to the offices of Centrebet last Thursday. A person rang up enquiring as to whether or not we would take a $10,000 bet for Alex to be the next evictee from Australian Big Brother at $26. Now you don't have to be a Rhodes Scholar to work out what his plan was, and our enterprising punter would no doubt have been extremely busy for the next three days making over 100,000 phone calls to the Big Brother phone lines to make sure Alex would be evicted. Pretty good plan, but what he didn't bank on was that we have put a limit of $500 on Big Brother payouts, with the only exception being a couple of our regular sports client who "get on" to win $1000. We all love a story involving "scams" but realistically this guy was a never a hope! What that story has done is inject plenty of interest in this week's eviction where three of the girls have been nominated. Currently it's going bet for bet with Turkan ($1.70) slightly favoured ahead of Jessica at $1.90, with Sahra ($6.50) looking secure for the time being. Marty remains $3 favourite to win overall from Nathan ($3.50) and Kieran at $5. Incredibly, the first six in the betting are all of the males, with the five women being the "outsiders". [Tennis | TENNIS] The Men's French Open market is open, and as is usually the case on the clay surface at Roland Garros, it's a very even event. Andre Agassi and Juan Carlos Ferrero are our $6 equal favourites ahead of Lleyton Hewitt and Gustavo Kuerten at $8. Hewitt and Agassi have been backed to take out $20,000 with us as soon as betting opened, and we have also laid Carlos Moya ($13), Marat Safin ($15) and Alex Corretja ($26) to take out in excess of $40,000. Trying to select the winner of the French Open is almost an impossible task each year, but we will be putting our faith in Andy Roddick ($13) and Gaston Gaudio ($15), at the same time giving proven clay courter Albert Costa a good hope at $34. Centrebet will cover every match of both men's and women's events, with first round betting being available on Sunday week. [Soccer | SOCCER] English Premier League finished on a sour note for punters last weekend when only six of the ten favourites won, with the damage being done when both Chelsea and Man United failed to win. Chelsea went in at $1.55 to beat Aston Villa, and while we didn't take any large single bets for Chelsea, the hundreds of small bets added up to a healthy total. As always, punters took the easy way with Man United who were $1.22 to beat Charlton. Man United were in practically every multiple bet, as well as also attracting a bet of 125,000 NOK ($AUD 25,000) to win at $1.22. Our Asian friends were very quiet apart from a $12,000 bet for Blackburn, which duly paid off when they defeated Fulham 3-0. In Denmark, the battle between FCK and Brondby ended in a 1-1 draw, which couldn't have been a better result for Centrebet. FCK had to back up after defeat by Odense in the Dong Cup on Thursday, and prior to that match all of the money wagered had been for FCK. After that loss, money began to come for Brondby at $2.80, including two 40,000 DKK ($AUD 8000) bets, so the heavy betting for both sides meant we were "left" with the draw. Several big bets were won when Silkeborg defeated Vejle 1-0. Some of the bigger bets were 50,000 DKK ($1.70) and 37,000DKK at $1.65, with one of those clients also placing 40,000 DKK on Midtjylland ($2.20) who recorded a 1-0 win over Esbjerg. There is a round of Danish Football tonight where a couple of favourites were well supported. AGF are best backed to beat Silkeborg, including one bet of €12,000 at $1.70 Midtjylland, $1.50 to beat Viborg, also carry a €12,000 bet while late money has come for AaB ($2.50) to beat FCK. In Norway last weekend, Rosenborg again disappointed away from home, this time held to a 2-2 draw by Moss. Rosenborg are struggling at the moment, but that didn't stop punters from taking the $1.45. While that draw was a big bonus for Centrebet, the wins by Brann and Lillestrom were costly. Brann opened at $2.35 and started at $2.25 before they defeated Sognal 3-2, while a 100,000 NOK ($AUD 20,000) bet was placed on Lillestrom ($2.10) who defeated start 2-0. Visitors to our site will notice we have added a host of lower division soccer matches in Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Even that hasn't stopped the amount of enquiries to cover even more soccer, but we are getting there! Last night (Wed), Real Madrid won the
Champions League final when they defeated Bayer Leverkusen 2-1. Real
firmed from $1.75 into $1.65, and while that was a shocking result, we
also took a €50,000 bet for Real Madrid to win excluding the draw
option at $1.33. Until next week, good punting. For
further information contact Gerard Daffy at
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