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Centrebet Capers AUSTRALIAN RULES Six of the eight favourites saluted in the AFL last weekend but with some of the games attracting betting both ways, and Geelong upsetting St Kilda, Centrebet managed to finish slightly ahead in the battle with punters. The latter half of the season has been most unkind to bookies, and most would agree that the finish to this season can't come quick enough. Friday night's clash between Collingwood and Essendon saw the biggest amount of betting activity on a Friday night match for the season. Collingwood opened favourites ($1.75) and went in public elects at $1.85, but their 16 point victory over the Bombers was a more than handy result. Among the bets for Collinwood were two doubles, one of $25,000, the other of $16,000, coupled into the Canterbury Bulldogs, who were $1.25 to beat Canberra in the NRL. The Bulldogs were defeated, so that put an end to those, and several other, big doubles. Essendon drew bets of $20,000 and $13,000 at $2, and also were taken with the Bulldogs in doubles, so for a change we had a handy lead after round one on Friday night. St Kilda left all their good form at Telstra Dome when shock losers to Geelong on Saturday. The $1.60 was snapped up early on Saturday morning with two $10,000 bets coming from Sydney punters, and plenty arriving for 1½ point handicap. A late bet of $8000 was placed on Geelong with the start, but it was still a big result. At the same time, Sydney disposed of Melbourne by 34 points, which saw punters hit back. Three separate bets of $5000 were placed on the Swans conceding 18 points, and although Melbourne led at half time, they only scored 26 points in the second half to cop another flogging. The derby in Perth saw a spirited betting game where the Eagles started the slightest of favourites at $1.80 ahead of Fremantle at $2.The betting hardly moved all week, but what was noticeable was the lack of big bets on the game. Many were of the opinion that this was just too hard to pick, and the way the game was played, that was a fair enough call. The Dockers got home by 14 points in the end, but it could have gone either way. Sunday saw all three favourites win, normally a disaster, but it wasn't too bad in the end as Hawthorn failed to cover a 20 point handicap against Richmond, and there was plenty of money to say that Adelaide could beat Port in the 'Showdown'. The game in Adelaide had been very quiet early in the week, but Sunday saw heavy betting for both sides. Port eventually started fav's at an easing $1.80 after a barrage of large bets came late for the Crows. Some of those included two of $10,000 at $2.10, and $12,000 with 8 points start. Two $8000 bets were placed on Port conceding the start, and when they trailed by nine points at half time, a Victorian punter chimed in with a bet of $6000 at $1.90. At this stage of proceedings, we found plenty of support for the Crows at $1.80, so much so that Port were eventually a winner in our book. Similar to last week, Richmond were a big firmer in their match against Hawthorn, which saw the Tigers go down narrowly by four points, a disappointing end to a dismal season. Even though a bet of $20,000 had been placed on Hawthorn at $1.35, and two bets totaling $16,000 on the Hawks at -20½ points start, the late 'go' for Richmond resulted in Hawthorn touching $1.42 just before the game started. The Tigers had been available at $3.60 with some outlets early Sunday, yet we took late bets of $3000 at $3 and $9000 at $2.90, as well as $7000 with 18 points start. Where the Tigers go from here is anybody's guess, but I would be surprised if they are supported to make the eight and win the premiership next year like they have in previous years. A few injuries to Brisbane, and all of a sudden Collingwood are all the rage to win the premiership! On Monday we posted the Magpies at $3.25 second picks to win the title behind Port Adelaide ($2.80), and immediately took a bet of $15,000 from a Victorian. There has been a constant stream of bets that has forced that price into $3, so they are going to be really short if they beat Brisbane this week. In that match, we opened the Lions at $2.12, looking for early money, but it didn't come! Less than $300 was placed on them in the first 36 hours of betting, so the Magpies will definitely start shorter than the current $1.70. While we concede that Brisbane have injury worries, that has been reflected in the odds, and it was only a couple of weeks ago that they gave the Magpies a football lesson in Melbourne. The odds that Brisbane look like getting out to is very good value. The $3.50 for them to win the premiership is also 'unlayable' this week, and it looks certain that whoever does win this match will be very short to win the title. A lot has been made this week of Essendon's shocking 'away' record, and with punters apprehensive to take our $2.20 for the Bombers to beat Fremantle on Friday night, it would seem that all are of the opinion that Fremantle will win. Essendon thumped the Dockers by 10 goals in Melbourne two weeks ago, which only goes to point out the importance of the 'home ground' advantage which sees the Dockers at $1.65 this week. Bets of $2000 and $1200 is all that we have seen in early trading for Essendon, so the trend of favourites 'shortening' during the finals series looks certain to happen again this year. A double of $20,000 has been placed on Adelaide and Port Adelaide to win their matches at $1.51, and it would be correct to say that we can expect more of the same as the week goes by. Adelaide are into $1.25 to beat the West Coast, and with the Eagles having won only one of their past ten performances in Adelaide, and carrying more injuries this week, we don't really expect to be rushed at the $3.75. The handicap of 25½ allocated to Adelaide has also been taken by two early bets of $2000, so the West Coast look destined to go straight out of the series. Injuries have also taken a toll on betting on the Port v Swans game. A season ending hamstring tear to Michael O'Loughlin, and news that Darren Cresswell might also be out this week, has seen the Swans blow from $4.25 out to $5.50, and that looks like continuing. Even the most ardent of Swans fans, and there are plenty, have 'deserted the ship' this week. We found a few hundred dollars for them when the handicap of 34 points was posted, but that has been the extent of it. All in all, injuries and the home ground advantage point towards all four favourites winning this week, we just have to hope one or two slip up. RUGBY LEAGUE The second last round of NRL for this year saw some of the wildest fluctuations for the season, but even though four pretty big plunges were landed, it was a round that went to the bookies. There was a certain amount of irony in Newcastle's 42-8 point win over the Dragons. On three occasions this year when Andrew Johns hasn't played, massive plunges have been pulled off by sides victorious over the Knights. This time it went the other way, with Newcastle coming in from $2.60 to start at $1.95. That was on the back of Mark Gasnier and Lance Thompson pulling out of the Dragons side, and a rumour that Shaun Timmins would also be out. Timmins eventually played, but obviously wasn't right. The Knights were layable all the way down, with the biggest bets, $12,000 and $10,000, coming at $2.30, as well as bets of $10,000 with six points start and $8000 with four points start. The decimated Dragons side was virtually unwanted for the last two days of betting, although we did salvage something when two bets totaling $17,000 were placed on the total score being over 50½ points. Just when we thought that the Bulldogs may have a stranglehold on this year's NRL title, Canberra come along and surprise all with a 21-16 win over the Bulldogs in Sydney. All the money was for a home win, and as we said earlier, the Bulldogs were also coupled up with some hefty doubles on the AFL match. The Bulldogs still remain favourites at $2.35 to win the title, with Canberra still 'unwanted' at $9. There was no keeping punters off two fav's on Saturday, namely Brisbane and Penrith. T he strong rally for the Bronco's was as a result of Gorden Tallis being back in the side, but he hadn't played for a month, and the form of Brisbane has been disappointing. Although they only went down by two points, the score was certainly no indication of how far Parramatta should have won by. The largest bet for Brisbane was $26,000 at $1.50, and there were also four separate $10,000 bets placed on them conceding 5½ points start. Betting on the game totals are becoming increasingly popular, and this match saw a bet of $15,000 ($1.90) placed on under 46½ points, which got home easily. At half time in the Manly v Penrith match, we were entitled to think that the Eagles were not only a strong chance to win the game, but at the very least 'good things' to stave off Penrith from covering the 12 point handicap. How wrong we were, as the Eagles, after leading 26-12 at half time, failed to score in the second half, while Penrith piled on 40 points, to easily cover the spread. One punter from NSW had four cracks at us on Penrith, investing a total of $36,000 on Penrith beating the handicap, and rounded off a good night by also having $15,000 on Cronulla conceding 8 points to Souths. After a minor hiccup in the second half, the Sharks cruised to a 20 point win. The Cowboys finished the season off with a 20 point win over the Tigers, which was also a result that went the way of punters. After opening at $2.30, North Qld eventually started slight favourites at $1.85, with the biggest bet recorded being $12,000 from a Victorian punter with two points start. The Cowboys have what looks to be a solid grounding for next year, and they are our early tip to make the finals series for the first time. Brad Fittler was a late inclusion into the Roosters side, which sparked off some activity for the Roosters to beat the Warriors. That plunge came unstuck when a late converted try to New Zealand saw them come away with the two points with a 26-24 point victory on the back of their tough win a week earlier over Brisbane. One punter from NSW ignored the money trail and placed $15,000 on the Warriors with 9½ points start, stating that in his opinion, Fittler 'wasn't right', and he was probably correct. The final round of NRL is a minefield, and there has been a lack of interest shown early in the week by most punters. The odds say that Brisbane will cement their place in the finals against St George Illawarra on Friday night. We all know how badly the Broncos have been going, but the Dragons are going to be flat out fielding a side! They were belted by Newcastle last week, and we don't really expect too many takers at the $6 we are currently offering. The -14½ for Brisbane has been taken with bets of $3000 and $2000, so that will probably continue. The Warriors are similar odds ($1.12) to beat the Tigers on Saturday, and at home, they should cover the 18½ point handicap. There was a little bit of interest in the Tigers with the start as soon as betting opened, but that has now dried up. Cronulla have nothing to play for, but with the Bulldogs having an eye on the finals series, we rate the Sharks a chance of causing an upset on Saturday night. Two bets worth $12,800 were placed on the Bulldogs when betting opened at -9½ points, but that has also gone quiet since. The way Manly 'fell in a heap' against Penrith last week you couldn't blame anyone being eager to take the -19½ for Melbourne against the Eagles this week, and at home, that has been the trend so far. By the time Sunday comes, it is long odds on that Parramatta will be out of the finals race, and we have seen punters keen to take the $1.45 for Penrith to beat them. The only danger with that is that Penrith's defence has been very flimsy of late, particularly early in matches, and while Parramatta may be out of the finals race, they will still be eager to prove some of their critics wrong. The game of the round between Canberra and the Roosters will more than likely decide second spot, which will probably mean a match! against Newcastle the next week. The Raiders will be without Jason Croker, and for that reason have been installed outsiders at $2. At that price we have seen bets of $4000 and $2500, but favourite backers have taken the Roosters in multiples. BOXING Anthony 'The Man' Mundine came out with another of his sweeping statements prior to last night's (Wed) super middleweight title fight against Antwun Echols. Mundine said that if he won, it would be one of the greatest moments in Australian sporting history! Well he did win, but I doubt it will be etched in history! Betting on this fight again highlighted the love/hate relationship that the Australian public have for Mundine. Every time he goes around, betting is divided, plenty of money for him to win from those who think he can box, and just as much again from those who detest him and hope he gets knocked out. It was exactly the same last night, with three separate $5000 bets coming, all from Australians, for Echols to win by KO, as well as two large bets of $10,000 for Echols to win at $1.50. Most of the Mundine money came for him to win at $2.55, including a wager of $4500, although bets of $5000 and $3000 came for him to win by KO at $3.75. Echols got into $1.40 at fight time, and Mundine’s win gave us one of our best ever boxing results due to the strong support for both boxers to win by KO. GOLF Australian youngster Adam Scott broke through for his maiden US PGA Tour win in last weeks Deutsche Bank Open in Boston, and now that he has done that we can expect to see more of Scott holding winning trophies aloft. There was a strong compliment of Aussies in the field, but our Australian golfing followers preferred the chances of Robert Allenby and Geoff Ogilvy to the Queenslander. Scott went into the event as a $51 chance, attracting a few small each way bets. He held the lead for the last two days, but it was only when he entered the last round three shots ahead that we took a sizeable wager for him, that being $6000 at $1.65 from a Brisbane punter. Our worst result was Vijay Singh, who was backed to win $100,000 at $10 by a Sydney punter, and although Singh got into second place at the end of the second round, he dropped off the pace after that. Now that he has won in the US, punters think Scott can make it two on end in this weeks Bell Canadian Open. At $15, Scott is on the third line of betting, and has been backed to win close to $30,000 before the tournament starts. Vijay Singh is favourite at $8, having again attracted a big bet of $6000 at $9. Canadian Mike Weir is second choice at $9, while Charles Howell ($21) and Geoff Ogilvy ($34) have each been backed to win 10,000 pounds by an English punter. Ogilvy was right on the heels of the placegetters last week, and did finish tied for sixth in this event last year. John Rollins won last year’s event in a playoff from Neal Lancaster and Justin Leonard, and has been backed to win again with a $300 each way bet at $51. A Sydney punter is $12,500 better off after Lee Westwood returned to winning form in last weeks BMW International in Munich. The $200 each way bet was taken before the first day at $51, but he was still $11 entering the last round behind favourite Robert Karlsson, who was a solid $2.65 favourite. It was an intriguing last round, but Westwood proved to be the steadier in a big pack of players to make a welcome return to the winners list. Karlsson is a $23 shot to put last week’s disappointment behind him as he attempts to defend his European Masters title in Switzerland this week. Surprisingly, off all the players at the top of the betting, Karlsson has attracted the least amount of interest. Ernie Els is top choice, now at $4.50 after an early bet of $4000 each way at $5, while Paul Casey ($12), Soren Hansen ($41), Raphael Jaquelin ($51), and Carlos Rodiles ($121) have each been backed to win $20,000 each way in single bets. Previous winners of events normally are the first players supported each week, but we have found practically no interest in either Colin Montgomerie ($13) who won back in 1996, or Eduardo Romero ($51), a two time winner in 1994 and again in 2000. RALLY The rally action moves to Australia this week where Swede Marcus Grönholm is $1.90 to improve on his already imposing record around the Western Australian circuit. There are five rounds of the World Championship to go, and with Grönholm 11 points in arrears of leader Richard Burns, so those who took the $1.50 two months ago for Grönholm to win the title will be desperate for a win. He is currently at $2.10 to win the Championship, and one of those punters who placed 40,000 SEK ($AUD 8000) on Grönholm to win at the shorter odds has come back this week and placed a bet of the same size on him to win in Perth at the $1.95. Grönholm has won the last three Australian rally's, and is obviously suited to the faster circuit. Second favourite is Marrko Märtin at $3.25, but there has been hardly any interest in him, but there has been in Championship leader Burns at $7.50. Burns is yet to win this season, but has been rewarded with consistency, and he also has a great record in Perth. He won in 1999, was second in 2000 and 2001, and was running second last year before having to withdraw. A few have taken the $7.50 for Burns to win, but most of our English clients prefer his chances of finishing in the top three. Some of the bets there have been £1000 at $1.75 and £400 at $1.70. Harri Rovenperä is another who has been backed to finish on the podium including two bets totaling €3000 from Finland at $3.50. CRICKET The fourth and final test between England and South Africa gets under way at The Oval today (Thurs), and England will be desperate for a win to try and salvage a drawn series. South Africa currently lead the series 2-1, but The Oval has a reputation as a 'batsman's paradise'. The prospect of some rain has also caused a little re-think on our behalf, as we were very keen to take 'the draw' on. The reasoning behind that was that with England down in the series, a pitch might be prepared to give them some hope of a result. Our Indian punters have opposed that theory, plonking heavily on a draw, which is exactly what they have done for the previous three tests. The first bet was $15,000 at $2.10, and that was followed by another $12,000 at $2.05, but other cricket punters have gone with a 'result'. An Australian has weighed in with a bet of $6000 on South Africa at $2.90, while England have been easy to lay at $4, albeit for small money. The betting on this test will be updated at the end of each days play. MOTOR BIKES Not too many surprises are in store for punters when they have a look at the betting on this weekend's MotoGP at Estoril in Portugal. This is the 'slowest' course on the Grand Prix calendar, but with Rossi having won there the last three years, he deserves to be the $1.55 favourite. That has been taken in early trading by an Italian with a bet of $4000, but there has also been support for Sete Gibernau at $5. Apart from that duo, there is little interest being shown in the race. The Superbikes will also be in action in Assen. Championship leader Neil Hodgson is the favourite at $2.75, but we have noticed that he hasn't been as aggressive in recent races as he seems more interested in staying on board his bike to gain points. He only needs 10 points from the remaining three races to wrap up the title, and while he is riding defensively, he is a risky proposition as far as betting to win races. ATHLETICS It is not often that a bookmaker reports a profitable athletics meet so excuse us while we crow about our World Championships balance sheet. Generally speaking, punters performed best on the male field events, with Giuseppe Gibilisco (pole vault), Leevan Sands (triple jump) and Ändrus Varnik (javelin) supported and successful in group betting contests. On the whole, however, we stayed ahead of the game thanks to several sensational track results. For example, 100 metres gold medalist Kim Collins was the fifth best backed athlete in the blue riband event. In descending order, there was more money for Dwain Chambers, Tim Montgomery, Darrel Browne and former world record holder Maurice Greene. The latter did not make the final. FOOTBALL Card sharks dealt us four savage blows as English Premier League punters with eyes for emerging trends capitalised on the continuing zero tolerance policy of the competition's referees in last weekends matches at Goodison Park, Stamford Bridge, St James' Park and City of Manchester Stadium. Mike Riley cautioned six players in the Merseyside derby between Everton and Liverpool, a game in which we ceased trading our disciplinary market featuring a two or more yellow cards option because of weight of money for the outcome and framed a new offering featuring a three or more yellow cards pick. Punters cleaned up with bets on two or more yellow cards at $1.80 and, following our change of heart, three or more yellow cards at $1.70. It was the same story in the match between Chelsea and Blackburn, with Mike Dean admonishing four Rovers players in the second half as the 1995 champions became the first team not to taste defeat versus the Londoners. Three yellow cards in the Matt Messias-controlled game between Newcastle and Birmingham and Graham Poll's seven cautions in the top-of-the-table clash between Manchester City and Arsenal made it a weekend to remember for fans of these exotic markets. Only Southampton and Manchester United let down punter s, as Mark Halsey kept his cards in his pocket for most of the St Mary's Stadium match after dismissing Gunners defender Sol Campbell and Toffees midfielder Li Tie on his first Premier League appearance. One hundred and sixty yellow cards and ten red cards in 38 games. Is a pattern developing? That is the $64,000 question for bookmakers and punters to answer before the next round of English Premier League matches kick off. You can assume that something is amiss when one of the United Kingdom's best known punters, Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp, receives his marching orders after making uncharacteristically derogatory remarks towards an official. Redknapp, who wrote a sports betting column during his time as manager of West Ham, saw red during Pompey's goalless draw against Wolverhampton. Andy D'Urso banished Redknapp and brandished eight yellow cards. Thankfully, we offer disciplinary markets on selected games only. Elsewhere in Europe's top football divisions, Rosenborgs failure to defeat Sogndal made our Norwegian soccer compiling team very happy. It is important for us to lay Rosenborg whenever Åge Hareide's side lose - from a bookmaking perspective there is nothing worse than losing money when the Norwegian champions slip up - and punters obliged with not far short of one million kroner bet on the Tippeligaen table toppers winning their 15th league game of the season. We love you, Kim Tangedal. Your last-gasp equaliser more than made up for the heavily backed weekend victories that Barcelona, Brøndby and Stabæk celebrated in Spain, Denmark and Norway respectively. A couple of shock results in the DFB-Pokal first round also helped. Until next week, good punting. For further information contact Gerard Daffy at Centrebet on 08 89555800 or on centrebet@centrebet.com.
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