For those not involved with the great round ball game, football means either rugby, rugby league, American football, Gaelic football or Australian Rules football. This weekend there is a real air of finals fever as three competitions wind up their seasons with finals. Online bookmakers are taking bets on all three so the question is, can we find any value bets?
At home we have the Super League Grand Final with Wigan taking on St Helens. When it comes to rugby league it seems a final is not a final unless one of these two are playing – they really have dominated the competition in recent years. Wigan will go into Saturday’s final as short 4/5 favourites. Online bookmakers are keeping St Helens safe, however, at 11/8 with the only real value being the normal time draw at 22/1.
Staying with rugby league, the world’s premier competition has its final on Sunday with the Dragons taking on the Roosters. I am of course talking about the NRL Grand Final (the Australian Rugby League national competition). The St George Dragons are 4/5 favourites to win with the Sydney Roosters not far off at 5/4 – the draw is popular at 15/1.
Further south, the Australian Football League (AFL) competition has another attempt to complete their season. Last weekend’s Grand Final ended in a draw, only the third in history (hope you backed it – we suggested to have a fiver at 40/1 on the draw) so the two teams are back in action on Saturday. St Kilda finished strongly last weekend and the momentum is with them. We suggested Collingwood may get the ‘colliwobbles’ and they did. However, this weekend may be different having had the opportunity to blow the nerves out of their system last weekend. Inaccuracy cost them game – they can’t afford to miss so many easy scoring opportunities.
Online bookmakers have Collingwood as short priced favourites for the second weekend in a row – they are at 8/13 with St Kilda at 11/8 and the draw (in normal time) a little firmer this weekend at 33/1. If this game ends in a draw then the match will proceed with extra time until a winner is found.
Our tips for the oval ball football finals weekend: Wigan are all the rage but St Helens do love these finals – St Helens in a good game. In Sydney, the Roosters are looking for a rags to riches story having finished at the bottom of the competition last year – I think they can finish the fairy tale at good odds. In the AFL replay, the Magpies have had their poor game, if they shoot straight it will be a case of by how many – we’re tipping the Magpies this time around. We’re not the following the online bookmakers with these tips, but then, they say you don’t make much backing favourites, and we agree.