Adrian and Matt, both down the bottom of the ladder, recorded good wins last weekend. Adrian in particular cashed in big time, and got himself out of last place for the first time in many weeks. While there’s still a big gap between second and third, it’s slowly closing… Can anyone win in this 50th edition of The Punt?

Ladder

(Total)(Change from last week)

1. James ($322) (-$10)

2. Tomo ($282.10) (-$10)

3. David ($112.70) (-$10)

4. Adrian ($78.40) (+$148.80)

5. Matt ($37.40) (+$21.80)

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Matt

AFL – Richmond v Fremantle – Richmond @ $1.20 – I’m predicting Richmond will make it two Tigers victories in Melbourne this weekend.

&

Euro 2012 – Holland v Denmark – Holland @ $1.58 – It will be close, but the Oranje should win out.

&

State of Origin – NSW @ $1.85 – They should level the series in front of a packed ANZ Stadium.

= $3.50

 

Adrian

World Cup Qualifiers – Japan v Jordan – Japan @ $1.15 – They’ve got this.

&

World Cup Qualifiers – Morocco v Ivory Coast – Ivory Coast @ $2.05 – I can’t see this being too much of a challenge for them.

&

Euro 2012 – Poland v Russia – Russia @ $2.10 – The Russians were strong in their first outing, and I think they might be too good for the home side.

= $4.95

 

James

French Open- Nadal to win @ $1.34- He’s won 6 titles in 7 years at Roland Garros, and 3 times has gone through without dropping a set. Rafa is head and shoulders above anyone else on clay, and the title is his for the taking.

&

French Open- Maria Sharapova to win @ $1.23- This is her first French Open Final, and her chance to claim the career grand slam. Her opponent in Sara Errani effectively played her final last night against our Sam Stosur, and I can’t see her being able to repeat that performance.

&

Rugby Union- All Blacks to beat Ireland by 14+ @ $1.52- Don’t get me wrong, the Irish aren’t a bad side, just the All Blacks are phenomenal, and they’ll get their international season off to a flying start with a big win.

&

Euro 2012- Netherlands def Denmark @ $1.60- It was no fluke that the Dutch were runners up at the last World Cup, with players such as van der Vaart, van Persie and van Bommell at their disposal. And its no fluke that the Danes… er… didn’t…

&

Euro 2012- Germany def Portugal @ $1.95- Sure, Portugal may have the best player in the world, but it’s a team game. I expect the Portugese individual flair to be steamrolled by the best of German organisation and structure.

&

Euro 2012- Spain def Italy @ $1.75- There may be some bickering between the Real and Barca players inside the Spanish camp, but that’s nothing on the match-fixing scandal which has rocked Italian football to its foundations. I expect the world champions to get their Euro title defence off to a flying start.

= $13.68

 

Tomo

International Rugby – New Zealand v Ireland – Winning Team & Margin – NZ by 11-20 @ $3.00 – New blood into this All Black squad and the first test in the Steve Hansen era. I expect them to continue their winning ways against the fighting Irish but don’t expect them to be so fluid with new combinations playing together for the first time. Also, is it weird that they’re playing this during the middle of the Super Rugby season?

&

French Open Mens – Djokovic v. Federer – Federer @ $2.50 – Djokovic is aiming to add the French Open to his collection and become only the third man in history to carry all four grand slams at one point, something that Federer has never done. In saying that, Federer bet Djkovic last year at the French Open and is definitely capable of doing it again.

= $7.50

 

David

International Rugby – South Africa v England – South Africa @ $1.30 – For both teams this will be the first Test under new coaches and a lot of eyes will be on this match. This will also be the first time South African born Brad Barritt and Mouritz Botha will be playing against the Springboks and it will be interesting to see how they fair against the Boks. This match will be the Springboks first game after their World Cup exit and with a lot of “old guards” retired or not available for selection it will be good to see how the team will fair without the Matfield’s and Botha’s in the team. The matchup between the centers of Jean de Villiers & Frans Steyn vs Manu Tuilagi & Brad Barritt will be an awesome one to watch. I think that the Springboks should just edge this one.

&

International Rugby – All Blacks v Ireland – All Blacks 1-12 @ $3.50 – Both coaches named strong teams for Saturday clash. New All Blacks coach Hansen only had one week to assemble his team to take on the Irish due to the Super Rugby tournament while Kidney had a bit more time to prepare his team. The All Blacks have a proud record of never losing a match against the Irish and would do everything to keep the record intact. It will be interesting to see who comes out on top with the one-on-one battle between Sonny Bill Willams and Brian O’Driscoll. The All Blacks should take this one out by around 8 points.

= $4.55