TAB have taken a bet of $50,000 on the Panthers to beat Manly tonight but are noticing a swing towards punters betting on player markets ahead of what appears to be a predictable round of match ups in the NRL.
Penrith start as $1.09 favourites against Manly at $7.50, while similar prices are on offer for tomorrow’s Good Friday games, featuring Souths ($1.07) against the Bulldogs ($8.50), and Melbourne ($1.08) versus the Broncos ($8.00).
It’s rare to feature such a gap in the Head-To-Head markets or this many short-priced favourites this early in a season. The longest odds on offer for a favourite this weekend is the $1.58 for Canberra in their match with Gold Coast.
Understandably TAB’s Same Game Multis have been prominent but there are some noticeable trends in the search for value among punters, including Panthers Winger Brian To’o to score a hat-trick against the Sea Eagles tonight ($9.00) and Cody Walker to bag two or more tries against the Bulldogs tomorrow ($6.00).
After winning 17 games in a row on their way to the Grand Final last season TAB has also opened up a market on when Penrith will suffer their first loss this season, along with the undefeated Eels.
Tonight
$7.50 Manly (were $7.00)
$1.09 Penrith
Tomorrow
$8.50 Bulldogs (were $8.00)
$1.07 South Sydney
$1.08 Melbourne
$8.00 Brisbane
Saturday
$1.35 Cronulla
$3.25 North Queensland
$2.40 Gold Coast
$1.58 Canberra
Sunday
$1.44 Roosters
$2.80 Warriors
Monday
$3.70 Wests Tigers
$1.28 Parramatta
TAB Odds
NRL Premiership – Round 3
$4.25 Penrith
$4.80 South Sydney (were $5.00)
$6.00 Melbourne
$9.00 Parramatta
$9.00 Roosters (were $11)
$10 Canberra
$17 Gold Coast
$21 Warriors
$26 Newcastle
$41 Cronulla
St George Illawarra
$51 Wests Tigers
$67 Brisbane
Manly (were $51)
$101 Canterbury
North Queensland
Next Loss
Penrith
$126 Undefeated Regular Season
$8.00 Round 4 Manly
$2.80 Round 5 Canberra
$13 Round 6 Brisbane
$5.50 Round 7 Newcastle
$17 Round 8 Manly
$10 Round 9 Cronulla
$7.00 Round 10 Gold Coast
$8.00 Round 11 South Sydney
$81 Round 12 Bulldogs
$34 Round 13 Wests Tigers
$29 Round 14 Cronulla
$34 Round15 Roosters
$51 Round 16 Parramatta
$81 Round 18 Warriors
$251 Round 19 Brisbane
$67 Round 20 Melbourne
$101 Round 21 Roosters
$301 Round 22 St George Illawarra
$301 Round 23 South Sydney
$1,001 Round 24 Wests Tigers
$501 Round 25 Parramatta
Parramatta
$501 Undefeated Regular Season
$3.70 Round 4 Wests Tigers
$4.50 Round 5 St George Illawarra
$2.50 Round 6 Canberra
$23 Round 7 Brisbane
$21 Round 8 Bulldogs
$7.50 Round 9 Roosters
$21 Round 10 Warriors
$26 Round 11 Manly
$17 Round 12 South Sydney
$67 Round 13 Newcastle
$151 Round 14 Wests Tigers
$251 Round 15 Bulldogs
$67 Round 16 Penrith
$251 Round 18 Gold Coast
$501 Round 19 Canberra
$501 Round 20 Roosters
$501 Round 21 South Sydney
$1,001 Round 22 Manly
$1,001 Round 23 North Queensland
$501 Round 24 Melbourne
$501 Round 25 Penrith