Australia vs New Zealand - Tri Nations

[Chuck]

My Tips

H2H - Australia @ $2.50
Handicap - Australia +3.5 @ $2.10
Margin - Australia 1-12 @ $3.85
1st Try Scorer - Lote Tuqiri @ $11, David Lyons @ $34.00 & Mils Muliaina @ $14.00
Last Try Scorer - Rico Gear @ $12.00
H/T Margin - Australia 1-7 @ $4.25
Total Match Points - 51-60 @ $4.00
Half/Full Double - Australia/Australia @ $4.00
Exact Margin - Australia by 11 @ $41.00
1st Scoring Play - New Zealand Pen Goal @ $2.85

$10 Wager (hypothetical) on all, just to see how i go

[Sportz]

Pretty poorly, I'd suggest. Was that your unbiased opinion? :D

Seriously, I didn't really give Australia much chance tonight and bet accordingly. NZ are just simply a better team. I can't stand the boring, repetitive, bash and barge way we play. It's useless.

Can I ask the kiwis on here, why wasn't Rokocoko in the team for earlier tests this year? I assume he must have been injured? If not, it's just weird.

[mad]

Good stuff Sportz m8,

I wish you let me have some of what you got cos i rated them to win. I have yet to watch the match cos channel 7 are showing some really interesting british cop drama which followed Roald Dahl's The Witches rather than the Rugger's - Ya, Wonderful stuff. What happened? Sleepy time was it?

As for Rokocoko, he was on the bench last test vs Springboks, played well when came on and got picked this week.

[Squirter]

Sportz,

Rococoko was way out of form early in the season and was playing for the NZ A team to reproduce the goods and was late starter into the AB's for the SA leg....appears he's hitting his straps now....christ knows who will start on the wing in the next test....they're queing up in their droves although I would suspect he'd hold his place now as will Gear.

Cheers mate

I don't like Aussies form for Perth next week....injuries I think will knock you out bugger it

[Chuck]

Pretty poorly, I'd suggest. Was that your unbiased opinion?

Wishful Thinking i'd call it!

[Squirter]

Hey Chuck,

We'll see what the unbiased opinion is for next week....and some B....Y kiwi won 22 grand on a 50 buck multi yesterday and it was not me

Cheers mate.

[Sportz]

Squirter,

I don't care what sort of form you kiwis think Rokocoko was in. I was amazed that he wasn't in the team before now. He should be just about the first bloke chosen every time as far as I'm concerned.

[Chuck]

totally disagree sportz.... he was playing rugby not good enough to make a sydney 1st grade side - dropped from Aukland at one stage....absolutely awful......Sivivatu will come straight into the side when he recovers from injury

[Sportz]

That's Auckland, not NZ. The whole Blues team struggled at times this year. I'd still have him in the NZ team every time.

[Chuck]

But you don't have foxtel (of my understanding) so you couldn't really see how badly he was playing in most games, because i'm assuming you don't head over to the bar to watch all of Auckland's games!! :D

[Mr J]

Lucky I didn't watch the game yesterday. Looks like the kiwis are finally playing to their potential, and that aus has finally cracked.

Roko was in pretty poor form. Just because he's amazing at his best doesn't mean he should be an auto pick for the side. He should have to be in good form like everyone else.

[Squirter]

Hey Sportz,

I agree with you but only to a point and Chuck's right, Auckland was playing pure crap both NPC and S12....and at the end of the day thats where the selectors choose their AB's (normally) from. Dougie Howlett was another one who's form dropped away markedly due to Aucklands inability to perform as a team....getting back to the Aussies, there is going to have be some new blood injected into the tight 5 bloody quick, your scrum was demolished. George Greegan's gotta go, he's well past his best and your coach should be looking very closely at himself for not bringing on new young blood over the last year or so....to put it bluntly it was the poorest performance from a Aussie team I've seen in 30 years and it was certainly not a top performance by the AB's either....the person that had the best performance was the REFEREE. I got the impression that he thought the reason that 85,000 people turned up was to see him in the middle of the paddock teaching two teams how to play the game, talking non-stop and waving his arms around blowing his whistle for the full 80 minutes....unbelievable, he was so good he could talk underwater with a mouth full of marbles.

Cheers

[Squirter]

Whoever think the Wallabies are going to be a walkover to-night have got rocks in their head.

Squirter.

[mad]

Yep, i expect the Wallabies will have a red hot go.

Might have a small go at $1.90 +17.5 points.

[Squirter]

Hey Mad,

Havva look at my location....she'll be a good ole go mate as it always is with you jokers....hard and fast track....stick a buck or two on ya team but havva saver too.

Go the AB's.

[mad]

Didn't need one - thankfully.

Didn't really rate the Wallabies a chance given form and injuries. Add to that AB's at home and in good form but i thought pride would be enough to get 'em near enough (+17.5).

Hard to go past +17.5 points = 2.5 converted tries.

Congrats All Blacks.

One last question Squirter, how come the Barbarians are called the Bah Bah's? That should be you blokes - No? (Only stirring ya m8)

[Sportz]

Well, they lost, but fair dinkum, if the Wallabies had put in that sort of effort in their previous 4 games, I'm sure they would have got away with at least a couple of them.

[Squirter]

Sportz,

They had a good ole go in the second half after a few of your new blokes got their act together, and some were not in their normal positions....pretty keen to see Rogers hold that 1st.5 posy though, Larkam's got some real competition there, and theres still a game or two left in Gregan yet. I Suppose the knives are out for the coach now.

Hey Mad,

I don't mind a bit of stiring....love it mate.

[Desi]

Squirts,
Thought the ABs played a shocker around the half time mark (great attacking from the young winger though) and reckon the standard of refereeing throughout the whole series has been poor...Aussies looking ok in the loose forward department and most of the backs...some potential there but the tight 5 mate are terrible...doesnt matter who you put at halfback at the moment (although I agree that it looks as though George's legs are gone) if your tight 5 arent at least getting parity you will be up against it...Looks like the Wallabies will have to go through a rebuilding phase like all the other teams (incl ABS)...but from what I can see theres no need to panic cos theres some exciting options coming thru..you just HAVE to give them the opportunity before its too late (and not just buy league players or keep on putting the old guys on the field) NZ has been thru this and suffered for years...its very political over there and you dont get another chance so Coaches tended to be conservative and not blood the talent pool and lost some great individuals..I think they have learnt from the past and hope the ARU also does the same...