Saints to win GF, Lachlan Coote to finish leading points scorer. And Regan to top the try scoring list.
£5@66/1.
Not bad odds.
Saints to win GF, Lachlan Coote to finish leading points scorer. And Regan to top the try scoring list.
£5@66/1.
Not bad odds.
I read the title and thought 'No - I hope he's ok'.
Please don't do that.
I'm not sure why us and sister botherers are the same price to win the thing.
There's no top try scorer market on Laddie's at the moment but I will do my usual both our wingers.
I think 9/4 is a short price before the season has kicked off although it's obvious why we're favourites. From memory the Fav normally starts at 3-1/4-1 or there abouts. I think W***n are worthy 2nd Fav but I don't think they're the same as us on paper.
It seems to me the bookies have decided it will be one or the other and lumped us both in together but making it a hard backers market. Personally I'd have gone us @ 3/1 and them @ 4/1 especially with Wire currently @ 11/2.
Saints and Wigan for me although I have a sneaky feeling that Leeds will go well with Long there as assistant coach. Having said that they have lost a couple of players to injuries already.
Wigan will go well. Bateman is a huge boost, Field will give them the X factor and they will have Marshall and Manfredi too plus a fully fit Gildart so they will be much stronger. Their younger lads will be a year older too like Havard for example and they have the motivation of losing the Final the way that they did.
Give over, in his whole career Gildart has only played on the wing three times and that was to cover injuries. He has actually played more times at right centre, so a more convincing argument imo would be to have Percival and Gildart as centres (however both have had injury problems) with probably Makinson and Handley as wingers. I'd find a place for Tom Davies and Harry Newman in the squad and maybe one of Jake Wardle or Toby King.
btw I expect that this will be Gildarts last season at Wigan, he has ambitions to play in Aus and two of his best mates Williams and Sutton are over there, but I'm not sure if it'll be Canberra that he goes to.
From checking the odds across the board for GF winners you can see what a mess the top 6 knock-out play-off system is when the 8th favourites (Cas) are as low as 12/1 with several bookies. I think the 8th favourites for the PL would be about 200/1 most seasons! Leeds at 11/1 with a few bookies look the best odds given they'll make the 6 and are then only 2 wins away from the GF.
I can see why Wigan start same odds as us. For a start they get Bateman back and we've lost Thompson. Thats effectively a swing of 2 world class players in Wigan's favour. We can thank flotsam like Hull KR, Wakefield etc for that one since they know their vote to anchor the SC gives them more of a chance of in striking it lucky vis-a-vis with us in recruiting over the hill NRL players as opposed to having to develop/bring in players with the quality of LT.
I'm not bought in on Field but Manfredi is a big boost that's under the radar. He's a tough, skilful winger who they have missed. Their 'let go's' is about right as well though I'm heartened they kept their nightclub doorman, Tony Clubb.