Punters, sports fans, nuts, techo geeks... tonight's the night, at least down under in Australia.
Network Nine Australia makes history at 7.30pm as they go to air with the Harvey Norman 'State of Origin' Series which will be the first sporting event ever to be broadcast live in 3D on free-to-air television production! Are you pumped, we sure are. Media Man and Gambling911 don the 3D glasses and grapple tackle the situation.
This years 'State Of Origin' NRL series, best of 3, is set to break a number of records (if not necks).
It's a rainy and windy day in Sydney, Australia, but that's unlikely to put a damper on fans attending ANZ Stadium, and the nasty weather may actually help it becoming a huge TV night. The 3D broadcast is also tipped to attract extra TV viewers who don't normally watch any or much NRL footy.
James Packer 50% owned Betfair, and competitor, Centrebet, are expecting record betting over the 3 match series, with Australian Productivity Gaming Report showing that sports betting in Australia was the #1 growth area. Former Media Man client, Betezy, is also hopeful of shattering their previous betting records. Most Aussie sports betting bookies who are still in business, are looking to recover from the loss they took at the hands of the Melbourne Storm "wooden spoon" sports betting scandal, which say bookies lost up to an estimated $300,000 AUD.
Tonight both The Blues (NSW) and The Maroons (QLD) will not only be fighting for bragging rights and pride in the game, but also for the ongoing support of their sports, currently trying to get out of the shadow of sports betting and salary cap mischief. Players and coaches will not want suspicion pointing at them.
Let's now cross to analyst Nick Tedeschi, for a snapshot of his informed opinion on State Of Origin , and a public thank you to the good folks at Team Betfair...
State of Origin 2010 betting has Queensland as a heavy favourite to win the series, a victory that would be Queensland's fourth in a row. Neither New South Wales nor Queensland have won more than three series in a row in the nearly thirty year history of Origin football.
Queensland are deserved favourites with State of Origin 2010 betting quoting Queensland around the 1.60 mark with New South Wales offered at about 2.30. It has been an absolute rarity over the last decade, with the exception of last year, that Queensland are viewed by punters, bookmakers and traders as the pre-series favourite.
At this stage of the year, it would seem only cruel fate could stop Queensland from rewriting history. If anything, State of Origin 2010 betting has Queensland over the odds at 1.60.
Queensland have an embarrassment of riches. Combined with a level of stability rarely seen in Origin football and the confidence that comes with three consecutive series victories under a coach that personifies the Maroons ethos, Queensland enter the 2010 series in as good a position as has been seen in Origin football.
Remarkably, nearly every position in the Queensland team has already been settled. Billy Slater will play fullback. Darren Lockyer and Johnathan Thurston will be the halves pairing. Cameron Smith will wear the nine. Steve Price and Petero Civoniceva will lead the way up front. Greg Inglis, Israel Folau, Justin Hodges and Darius Boyd will fill the three-quarter line. Dallas Johnson and Sam Thaiday have two of the three back-row positions locked-up. It is really only the final backrow position and a number of bench spots that need to be filled. Only injury will prevent Queensland from fielding one of the most lethal and effective Origin line-ups ever.
It is little wonder that Queensland are dominating State of Origin 2010 betting.
A look at the New South Wales situation only serves to reinforce Queensland's apparent dominance of the series.
To start with, New South Wales are without a captain with no obvious heir apparent waiting to replace retired legend Danny Buderus. Few positions have been settled. New South Wales will be forced to field an inexperienced halves line-up with Peter Wallace the favourite to wear the seven and the choice for six a lottery. A new hooker will need to be found to replace Buderus. Up front the Blues are clearly lacking with three of Luke Bailey, Justin Poore, Brent Kite, Luke Douglas, Michael Weyman, and Josh Perry to take on the ferocious Queensland pack. Bailey and Kite are the only two with Origin experience. It is anybody's guess who will line-up against the brilliant and lethal Queensland three-quarter line.
To complicate matters, New South Wales selectors have made a habit of choosing certain types of players who have proved impotent in Origin football. If they persist with the likes of Ryan Hoffman, Willie Mason, Anthony Tupou et al, the series is as good as over.
Traders should take the State of Origin 2010 betting odds available for Queensland. At this stage, they are well and truly over the odds.
Gambling911 back with you... you got to give it to Nick... credit where credit is due! Now, place a bet with Betfair to show your support and appreciation! ... just kidding, betting is still optional (not mandatory, like Sen Stephen Conroy and the Aussie Govt wants to do with the internet filter), but that's another story. Conroy has his own 'State Of Origin' battle with tech giant Google at the moment... think "Don't Be Evil" matters regarding rights to privacy and the like.
Queenslander Comments
Queensland coach Mal Meninga has this to say on tonight's clash, moving forward from last years round 3 team bashing....
"We haven't even talked about what happened in game three really - it's just about going forward, new beginnings and heading into this series in a confident mode... they think they've found the formula to victory and we have to just make sure we focus on what we do best and that's get out there and play for each other. I don't suspect there's going to be a stink - it's going to be a physical encounter and that's what Origin's all about. You've got to have an aggressive mindset. We didn't handle that very well in game three last year."
Know The Odds!
NSW VS QLD Match One
Betfair
NSW 1.86
QLD 2.1
Tech Head And Geek Scoop
On the 31st January 2010, UK Pay TV provider, BSKYB became the first broadcaster in the world to show a live sport event in 3D. This featured a football match between Manchester United and Arsenal to a selected audience in several pubs around the UK.
May the best and fairest team win. Gambling911 and Media Man remind the loyal readers to bet with your head, not over it, and have fun. Oh, most importantly, know the odds, so keep checking websites like Betfair and Centrebet, and G911 will be delivering follow up stories on both a betting, techno, news and gossip front. Happy hunting and good punting.
*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911
*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company.
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