Baggy Green’s Being Handed Out As Part Of Rudd’s Stimulus Package

Posted by Crooksy on February 26th , 2009 under Cricket | Be the First to Comment

The first cricket test against South Africa is under way in Johannesburg, and the rocky start to the Australian innings indicates that this is more than likely going to be match where we see a result.

Early Wickets Lost

Three Australian wickets were lost early on after Ponting won the toss and decided to bat, including that of test debutant Phillip Hughes who faced just four balls before being dismissed. He was soon followed by Katich and Mike Hussey. Ponting and Clarke are putting on a solid show and have steadied to see the Aussies get to 3-147.

There was plenty of swing early on for the South African quicks, but a worrying sign was the turn generated by spinner Paul Harris on a first session pitch. Australia have gone into this test without a spinner, and with part-timer Michael Clarke recovering from a back injury, options in this regard are limited to Marcus North’s little tweakers. Andrew Macdonald is also playing and he will probably be needed to do a good amount of bowling.

The Aussies are fiedling three debutant in this test, with Ben Hilfenhaus also being presented with his baggy green. The last time three players debuted in the same test for Australia was in 1985 when Merv Hughes, Geoff Marsh and Bruce Reid began their careers. Read more of this article »

NRL 2009 Preview – The Sharks

Posted by Crooksy on February 24th , 2009 under Rugby League | Be the First to Comment

Trent Barrett Returns

I’ve spent the last few years living and working overseas during the Australian winter, and this often makes it tough to keep up to date with everything that happens on the domestic football scene – NRL, Super Rugby, AFL etc. Somehow in my time away the Cronulla Sharks have emerged as a top four team and it kind of took me back to the days of ET, Gavin Miller and Sparkles McGaw.

The thing about the Sharks over this period was that they had some great teams, but never managed to get their act together during the post-season. The perfect example of this was 1988 season where they finished as minor premiers but were bundled out with successive losses to Canterbury and Balmain.

And I was looking at the current Sharks team wondering if they’re going to experience the same problems. Personally, I think this may be the year they finally see some success. Now I’m not confident that they will win the tournament, but I think they have moved ahead of Melbourne, and should be installed as second favourites for the competition in behind Manly. Read more of this article »

Sportsbet Review

Posted by Rooster on February 22nd , 2009 under Bookmaker Reviews | 2 Comments to Read

Australia’s largest online bookmaker Sportsbet has been around since the early nineties and is credited for being Australia’s first online sports bookmaker.

Sportsbet is known for the ease of use and a fantastic support team including a live chat feature where questions can be answered there and then with a real person. This is a first for online bookmakers in Australia and a very useful tool for newcomers.

Sportsbet put the fun back in betting with numerous features and promotions.
1.    Soccer Super Coach is where you take the role of a soccer Manager and choose the ultimate soccer team from Europe’s best players with a budget of $115 million! The top scorer get a nice $10,000

2.    2009 Million Dollar Tipping Competition where the winners of both AFL and NRL seasons get a cool $250,000. It’s free to enter and the top 500 place getters also receive cash prizes and there are plenty of weekly prizes to even keep the losing tippers interested. I entered this last year and didn’t come anywhere near winning but won $50 during the season for being around 80,000th place! Read more of this article »

NRL 2009 Preview – The Dragons

Posted by Crooksy on under Rugby League | Be the First to Comment

How Far Can Bennett Take The Dragons?

The obvious talking point with the St. George Illawarra Dragons this year is how much of an effect Wayne Bennet can have in his first season as coach. The general consensus over the last couple of years has been that nathan Brown just didn’t seem to command the respect that is required to get that extra 5-15% effort from the players at training and on the pitch which means the difference between a top four team and an also-ran.

This is understandable and is in no way a reflection on the character or coaching ability of Brown – his coaching began in 2003 with him taking charge of many of his ex-teamates. It was only natural that there were going to be difficulties in making the transition from player to coach at the same club at such a young age (he was just 29 when he took the reins).

And I’m sure everyone involved will tell you that it wasn’t really a factor. But they’d be kidding themselves, of course it was a factor. There are attitudes that just gradually seep into a team’s mentality over time without anyone realizing it is happening. He wasn’t able to properly assert his authority early on, and his tenure as coach had that as its foundation. Read more of this article »

Aussie Underdogs In Africa

Posted by Crooksy on February 20th , 2009 under Cricket | Be the First to Comment

With the Australian cricket summer barely over, a new test series in South Africa is almost upon us. While much was made of the series loss earlier this year, what hasn’t been mentioned is that Australia are also protecting an impressive record against the Proteas in their own country. The Aussies have not lost a test series there since South Africa emerged from the sporting wilderness and rejoined test cricket over 15 years ago.

So while the South Africans were obviously overjoyed at their tour victories in Australia, you can be sure that they will be fighting even harder to change the record books in their home country in front of a sport loving nation who have bought tickets for this series in record numbers. Expectations have been raised high and the team will be striving hard to ensure their fans are not disappointed. Add to this the fact that only two of the current Australian squad (Ponting and Hussey) have played test cricket in South Africa and on paper you have the makings of a very lopsided contest.

So where does this leave Australia? Well…in a very tough battle to be honest. I’m not going to talk about generational change, it’s all been said many times before. For me the interest in this series lies in the performance of the current players, not the statistics of the ones who have retired. The focus of most of the attention will be on our bowling attack, who between them have taken less than 100 test wickets. With the exception of Johnson you have players untried in test cricket, let alone tough series’ away in South Africa and England. Some sportspeople raise their performances when the level of competition lifts. Others are unaable to adapt their game to differing conditions and opponents. Read more of this article »

Centrebet Review

Posted by Rooster on February 19th , 2009 under Bookmaker Reviews | Be the First to Comment

Centrebet has been around since 1992 and was Australia’s first online bookmaker. They are licenced and based in the Northern Territory like many other Australian bookmakers and are listed on the Australian Stock Exchange

Centrebet provides the most easy to use website out of all the online bookies. They have a colourful layout that is very inviting and simple to navigate.  Centrebet’s help section is clear and precise, answering all the simple and technical questions. Although they lack a live chat facility they make up for it with quick email support replies.

They have recently launched a new service called Centrebet Mobile. It’s a new and easy way to make bets on the go. All newer model mobile phones can install the Centrebet Mobile software. From there you can login to your account via 3G or Wi-Fi internet and make bets anywhere at any time. I’ve used this service a few times and found it very fast and well worth having for when you’re at the cricket or footy and want to get a quick bet on rather than using the TAB and getting much lower odds.

The main reason I use Centrebet is that they always have a full range of entertainment and quirky markets ranging from TV makerkets like American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance, to the quirky markets like the sex of a pregnant Celebrity baby! They also have very competitive odds on the main sports including AFL, NRL and horse racing markets.
Unlike other bookies Centrebet also cover a large range of football leagues from around the world for the football mad punter including Denmark’s SAS Ligaen league and Norway’s Tippeligaen league as well as the major leagues of the English Premier League and Germany’s Bundesliga. Read more of this article »

The Race To Dubai

Posted by Crooksy on under Golf | Be the First to Comment

The European golf tour has arrived in Australia with the Johnnie Walker Classic kicking off in Perth today. There has been much talk over the past few months about the inaugural ‘Race To Dubai’, and how the prize money on offer may shift the balance of power in golf away from the U.S

Over the next 10 months golfers on the European Tour will earn big dollars at events held in 26 countries across the globe. In November the 60 golfers who have made the most money will meet in Dubai to play in a tournemnt with a prize pool of $10M U.S…plus an extra $10M to be shared amongst the top 15 placegetters at that tournament.

The massive amounts of money being thrown around by the Middle Eastern Sheiks has seen some of international golf’s biggest names pledge their desire to play more European events this year. Young players such as Camillio Villegas, Michael Kim and Ian Poulter have signalled their intentions early in the season, deciding to make the trip Down Under to play the Johnnie Walker rather than the U.S tour event starting today in California.

Phil Mickelson has been in talks to play more European events this season, and when you add regular tour event players such as Vijay, Els and Garcia you have the foundations for an extremely strong tour. Read more of this article »

NRL 2009 Season Preview

Posted by Crooksy on February 18th , 2009 under Rugby League | Be the First to Comment

The NRL season kicks off in a little less than a month, and the bookies have pretty much gone with last years top eight to finish in around the same positions this year with the two noticeable exceptions being the Raiders and the Cowboys. After finishing the ’08 regular season in sixth position, the bookies have given the Raiders little chance of a top eight finish this year and are rated as being just good enough to avoid the wooden spoon

The Cowboys on the other hand have been installed as top six material, even after their 2008 season finished with them barely avoiding the wooden spoon as a result of a superior points difference. Much of this has to do with the return of Matt Bowen to the team, and that extra strike power at fullback will be enhanced by the addition of Willie Tonga to the centres. Thurston will have more options than he did last year, and this should see the team finish higher up the ladder.

Over the next couple of weeks I’ll take a look at the teams with the greatest chance this year and see how this year may be better or worse for them than ’08. Injuries and player movements are always a factor as new players settle in at teams, and new combinations are tested. Read more of this article »

Andrew Symonds unlikely to play for Australia again

Posted by Rooster on February 17th , 2009 under Cricket | Be the First to Comment

If you are thinking about placing a few bets on the upcoming tour of Pakistan don’t include Andrew Symonds in the reasoning of your choice as there is doubt that he will be playing any Australian cricket again let alone wearing the baggy green.

There are limited reasons for Andrew Symonds to want to continue playing Australian cricket altogether. After the treatment the media, the Australian Cricket Board and the selectors have given him of late I don’t blame him for setting his sights to the Indian Premier League for his future career.

The way I see it the disregard of Australian cricket Symonds has shown since being snubbed by the ACB and selectors is a giveaway that he has already made up his mind and is set to play in the IPL. He will be earning a cool 1.5 Million over 6 weeks that will make up for the 1 Million dollar share market battering in finance company Storm he took last month.

Playing in the Indian league would see him unable to take part (even if he were selected) in the scheduled ODI series against Pakistan as it conflicts with the IPL games. If he was to play it would be a huge pay cut to play the series with minimal pay compared to the IPL. Read more of this article »

Betfair outlets to be seen in Victoria

Posted by Rooster on February 15th , 2009 under Sports Betting News | 2 Comments to Read

The tender for the 2012 Victorian Government betting licence is heating up with confidential tenders submitted to the government.

The new outlines for Victorian betting licence have been released and will no doubt shake the gambling industry considerably with betting exchanges and massive tax cuts to entice hype and competition for the betting license.

Betting exchange will be allowed to operate in Victoria formerly only allowed in Tasmania and Betfair (the world’s biggest and leading betting exchange) has already announced that it has not submit a tender for the betting licence. But they say they are very keen to operate a betting exchange in Victoria for the new licence holder. Instead of the usual TAB style outlets Betfair may essentially have the ability to open betting exchange outlets around Victoria. This alone could change the face dramatically on how we currently place bets in Victoria.

There will also be tax cuts to betting of 60% which is a staggering 1 billion dollars over the 12 year life of the licence which will be held by the new company. This will most likely see much better odds to the end user and the ability to match or beat the corporate bookmakers at their own game. Read more of this article »