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Centrebet Capers FOOTBALL Australia is currently enveloped by soccer mania as the kick off of the first match of the World Cup qualifying tie against Uruguay comes closer. Super coach Guus Hiddink will take a strong squad Montevideo, with 'the boys' bolstered by the news that Liverpool midfielder Harry Kewell is likely to be match ready. Australia appears to have the home side on the back foot with Uruguay sweating on the fitness of key players and less-than-ideal travel arrangements. The truth of the pre-game 'news' coming out of Uruguay is questionable as the home side is masters of the 'smoke and mirrors' build up. Normally we wouldn't expect much interest an overseas international, but this game is different. We posted the Aussies at 5.50, but in the first 24 hours of betting, they were backed to win nearly $30,000. Uruguay is at a top-priced 1.60, which is attracting many European clients. A bet of €10,000 from a Polish client is the most significant wager so far. At 3.65, the draw is 'friendless'. We are looking for stalemate and so, perhaps, are the Aussies! Also attracting interest is the 'Australia to qualify for Germany 06' market. Three Australian clients have invested $30,000 between them, at 2.50, on Australia qualifying for World Cup number two. Once again, the money for Uruguay is coming from Europe with the largest bet some £5000 pounds and another of €6000 at 1.55. Betting on the second leg qualifier will open at the conclusion of Sunday's first leg. Elsewhere, Chelsea took a Premiership record, 40-match unbeaten run to Old Trafford last Saturday and came ‘a cropper’. Chelsea was the 'away' team and in the middle of a mini form slump, but our punters would not be deterred backing the reigning champs from 2.35 into 2.15 before kick-off. Man. United attracted two hefty wagers of £4000 pounds at 3.50, but we were more than happy to pay as this was one of the season's biggest betting games. Chelsea still maintains a stranglehold on title betting, but has eased from 1.03 out to 1.07. AUSTRALIAN RULES The start of next year's AFL season may still several months away, but we will still see periodic moves in premiership betting. To date, nearly $25,000 has been wagered on next year's title. This represents a very healthy amount given the length of time until the first bounce of 2006. As we reported after the Grand Final, the two sides attracting early attention were Geelong and Adelaide. Support for these teams has since dried up as some of the outsiders have been targeted by punters. Despite disappointing again in 2005, Melbourne (26.00) has been backed to win nearly $40,000 and Collingwood (41.00) have been backed to win a similar amount. Most surprising is the distinct lack of support for the Swans. Currently, less than $200 has been placed on the reigning premiers at 7.00. Indeed, the reigning premiers are the worst backed side with even Carlton (101) attracting more money! There has been more money for the Swans to fail completely next year. The Red and Whites have been backed to win $30,000, at 81.00, to run last in 2006. Richmond is another side who have received heavy 'support' to 'win' the wooden spoon. We now hold three $500 wagers at 21.00 and 17.00. Carlton remains favourite for the spoon at 2.60, but we have taken five times the amount of money for the Blues to win the premiership! CRICKET Once again Australia has belittled a lesser-rated opponent on home soil. The West Indies impressive lead up lulled many - including us - into false expectations about their chances in the first Test. Without interference from the weather the match would have been over in three days. We are now expecting another one-sided series. Before the match, the Aussies were considered short, so we tried to get as much as we could at these odds. Punters were very accommodating, with a bet of £20,000 at 1.31 and several bets of $10,000 at a similar price. These punters were all smiles by early on the second day. The second Test begins Thursday, 17th November in Hobart. This time we consider Australia overpriced at 1.27 although the possibility of bad weather loom large with heavy rain belts sweeping the country all week. If there is any rain about when play starts you can bet it will make its way to Tasmania! We have had a couple of fans who have taken the short quote - with the biggest bet being $7500 - but we don't expect any serious action until the weather is known. The Sydney client who placed $4000 on Matt Hayden to top the series run aggregates would be more than happy with the first Test with Haydo amassing 155 runs. The big Queenslander is now a 3.20 chance, but will need his captain to fail at some point. Ponting (253) currently leads the run aggregate by nearly 100 runs heading to his home turf. Elsewhere, Pakistan host England with the first Test hitting off in Multan on Saturday, 12th. England's chances have been hit by a knee injury to captain Vaughan and in response the tourists have eased from 3.10 to 3.25. The big money ($USD 20,000 and $16,000) has come for the draw at 2.10 with our Indian clients keen to get on. With the weather predicted to remain good and a pitch that takes spin, the 2.10 appears under the odds, so we are happy to 'take on' the draw. MOTOR BIKES It took until the last race of the season, but we finally had a real betting contest before Marco Melandri won the Spanish Grand Prix in Valencia. Melandri's second successive win handed him second position in the rider’s championship behind Rossi. Melandri, third pick before the race at 3.25, was a popular choice based on his recent form and Rossi's starting position among the back markers. He even drew one substantial winning bet of $3000 at 4.50 before qualifying started. Sete Gibernau started 'public elect' at 2.50 and we took win bets of $18,000 when Gibernau was a 7.00 chance pre-qualifying, as well as a 'podium placing' bet of €4000 at 2.00. Gibernau capped off a disappointing year with an early exit on lap four. Rossi attracted his normal heavy support, including three separate bets of $1000 at 3.00, which didn't seem that big of a spoil considering he had to start from fifteenth on the grid. The Italian champion was motivated by the chance to equal Michael Doohan's record of twelve wins in a season, but had to settle for third. DANCING WITH THE STARS Ada Nicodemou was our opening and closing favourite to win Dancing with the Stars, so from that perspective we 'got it right' when she won DWTS. At different stages of the competition, the 'pocket rocket' was well down the betting lists. As recently as three weeks ago, Ada was a 3.75 chance in a field of three. Chris Bath was the then odds-on favourite. Chris had been favourite for five of the past six weeks, but Ada started 'public elect' when the field was culled to the final two. Close to $4000 was wagered on Ada at 1.80 and very nearly the same amount was bet on Chris when her price touched 2.00, making the final a good contest both on and off the dance floor. Next week sees be a 'dance off' to decide the champion from the past two series. Bec Cartwright, the winner of series one, will be a notable absentee. Motherhood calls! Second series winner Tom Williams has been installed as hot fav. (1.50) to defeat Ada Nicodemou (2.50). Williams is hugely popular with television audiences around the country and is the one to beat as this competition will be decided by viewer vote. AUSTRALIAN IDOL In probably the biggest shock since Ricky Lee Coulter was evicted from the last Idol series, Dan England was shown the door this week. It makes you wonder what is going on in the minds of the Australian public. Dan was clearly the pick of the performers on Sunday night, and was consistently given accolades by the judges each week. Last week Dan was backed from 3.50 in to 3.00 to take out the major price, although one punter confidently predicted his demise, placing $400 on Dan's 'eviction' at 6.50. Conspiracy theorists have suggested Dan was disadvantaged by the lack of daylight savings in his home state. Whether the extra hours voting would have made a difference is now irrelevant as there are now only three. Recent close voting leaves us unsure where to look when trying to find the winner. Of those left, Emily looks to be the most impressive and is a deserved favourite at 1.72. That said, many punters are gun shy after what happened to Dan. In fact, most bets this week have been for Lee Harding at 2.75 and Kate DeAraugo at 5.50. Kate has been the outsider for weeks, but huge media attention in her home town of Bendigo will continue to help her cause. Until next week, good punting For further information contact Gerard Daffy at Centrebet on 02 9206 8715 or centrebet@centrebet.com
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