Gold Coast in for QCup pain, says top bookie

GOLD Coast teams’ Queensland Cup pain is set to continue into 2018, according to a leading bookmaker.

Veteran bookie Gerard Daffy has installed Gold Coast sides Burleigh and Tweed among wooden spoon favourites for the 2018 statewide competition following their poor performances last year.

While regional heavyweights Townsville Blackhawks have been named as $5.50 Cup favourites, UBET has the Burleigh Bears as $34 outsiders to repeat their 2016 title win.

Tweed Heads Seagulls have fared even worse with the bookies, ranked as $51 chances and wooden spoon favourites.

“To be honest, it was a little tricky to frame a premiership market this year because no one is really sure how the end of the Under-20s competition will impact the Cup,” said Daffy.

“2018 is a bit of an unknown quantity in that regard with so many young hot shots, who’d have previously played in the national competition, bobbing up here.

“Still, there has to be a favourite and we thought Townsville should go on top based on their strong off season signings and their continuing association with the North Queensland Cowboys.”

Tweed are likely to be among those to benefit from the influx of under-20 players, with former Titans NYC coach Ben Woolf to take over coaching reins at Seagulls.

Queensland Cup market: Townsville Blackhawks $5.50, Sunshine Coast Falcons $6, Easts Tigers $6, Redcliffe Dolphins $7, PNG Hunters $7, Souths Logan Magpies $9, Norths Devils $9, Wynnum Manly Seagulls $13, Ipswich Jets $17, Northern Pride $21, Mackay Cutters $34, Burleigh Bears $34, Central Queensland Capras $41, Tweed Heads $51