VALENTINE HOLMES
QUEENSLAND State of Origin star Valentine Holmes is taking a punt on a career in the NFL and there are plenty of markets available so you can follow his gridiron journey with a vested interest.
Ladbrokes are not confident Holmes will follow in the footsteps of Jarryd Hayne and $31 is available for the former Sharks fullback to make a 53man roster in the 2019 season. However, Holmes is $3 to take the field in the pre-season, when many of the players who will make the final 53-man rosters are sitting on the sidelines. He’s $81 to score a regular season touchdown and $151 to score one via a punt or kick return.
Holmes’ departure to try his luck in the United States has had a big effect on the NRL premiership market.
The Sharks have been wound out from $10 to $21 to claim their second NRL title and they are now into $1.85 to miss the finals for the first time since 2014.
NBL
THE run-and-gun Adelaide 36ers will be in action twice this weekend and will start both matches as clear favourites with Ladbrokes.
The 36ers ended their losing streak with a dominant win over the Illawarra Hawks last weekend, and two victories this weekend could see them climb into the top four. Adelaide will be the shortestpriced favourites of Round 7 when they take on a struggling Cairns Taipans outfit tonight and they are $1.77 to beat Illawarra in Wollongong on Sunday.
The 36ers have won their past four games against the Hawks and winning on the road has not been an issue in recent seasons. The game of the weekend is tomorrow afternoon when Melbourne United and Sydney Kings do battle once again. Melbourne are favourites to maintain their stellar record against the Kings. United have won the past eight games played between the two sides, and they have now won 17 of their past 19 games at home.
A-LEAGUE
THE rivalry between Sydney FC and the Melbourne Victory is one of the fiercest in the A-League and they will renew acquaintances this weekend, in their first meeting since their epic semi-final last season. Sydney FC are yet to taste defeat in the A-League this campaign and they will start as $1.90 favourites with Ladbrokes. Melbourne Victory go into this game on the back of two straight wins, but their recent record against Sydney FC does not inspire confidence. They have not beaten Sydney in regular time since January 2016 and Sydney FC have won five of the past seven games played between the two outfits. Adelaide United travel to New Zealand for tomorrow’s afternoon clash with the Wellington Phoenix and they are $1.95 favourites to return to winning form.
The Reds have not lost to Wellington since November 2015, but three of the past five games between the two sides have finished as draws and the $3.60 available for a stalemate appeals.
NFL
DID we witness the greatest NFL game this week?
Who knows? But the LA Rams v Kansas City Chiefs game not only lived up to expectation, it exceeded it. It was the highest-scoring Monday night game on record and the third-highest scoring NFL game of all-time.
The over total points mark – which was suggested as a very good bet in this column last week – was eclipsed with plenty of time remaining inside the third quarter. That mark was 63 and the game total finished at 105.
But was this a Super Bowl preview? The Rams, Chiefs and Saints look the class of the NFL in 2018. They have a combined record of 28-4 and two of the losses have come against one another.
Ladbrokes bookmakers posted markets on mythical Super Bowl match-ups for this season with bets refunded if the games don’t take place.
In a rematch of the Monday night epic, the bookies can’t split them. The teams are $1.90 each and one can only wonder what the total points mark would be set at if these offensive juggernauts met again in February. New Orleans look the biggest threat to preventing a rematch of Monday night. A Saints v Chiefs Super Bowl has New Orleans $1.80 favourite with the Chiefs $2. After week 11, Drew Brees and his cohorts from New Orleans are the new Super Bowl favourites at $4.50.
TIGER V PHIL
TIGER Woods claims he’s been “inside Phil’s (Mickelson) head for 20 years” and it seems Ladbrokes are buying into trash talk ahead of tomorrow morning’s “Showdown at Shadow Creek” in Las Vegas. The made-for-TV matchplay duel on Thanksgiving weekend in the US pits the golf greats against each other and Woods is a $1.44 favourite against Mickelson at $2.63.
Even the two combatants are having side bets with each other.
At a midweek press conference they wagered $US200,000 on the result of the opening hole. Not only is Ladbrokes betting on the outcome, but you can bet on every single hole as well as nearest the pins on the par threes and longest drives on the par fives.