Last weekend was huge for us in the Best Bets article, as we flew out of the gates by going four from five on our picks, with three of the winners paying over $2.45. The hope is that we can land some swings like that again this weekend, with a slate that looks just as tasty to dive into.
We’ve still got the Rugby Championship, NFL, college football, and the final round of the NPC regular season. So, as we always do, let’s crack right into and see what five bets we can cook up for this weekends action.
A couple of divisional rivals will duke it out on TNF, with the Rams hosting a dismantled San Francisco 49ers side at the outstanding SoFi Stadium. Heading into the game, the Niners roster is in pieces, with many of their stars and key role players missing from the line-up. Their franchise signal caller, Brock Purdy, is out with a toe injury, while they’re also down their top four receiving threats: George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk, Ricky Pearsall, and Jauan Jennings. That means Kyle Shanahan will have Mac Jones under centre, throwing to fourth and fifth-string wideouts.
On the other side, the Rams are reasonably healthy, with most of their big-time players ready to roll off a short week. Meaning McVay will have a full complement of playmakers on both sides of the ball at his disposal for this one.
Rather than doing anything with the result, though, I’m going to lean into the total for this one going under 45.5 points. I just think teams tend to struggle to really kick on during a short week, and with all these injuries to the Niners, they likely won’t be scoring many points regardless. Throw in the fact it’s a divisional matchup, where both sides know exactly what the other likes to do, and I think we could be in for a lower total than expected.
We saw what the rugby between these two sides looked like last weekend and it was frantic and fast-flowing. I would expect much of the same this time around, as these two rivals face off in Perth, which looks set to put on a pearler of a day for Saturday’s bout.
When you look at the style the All Blacks and Wallabies play against each other, they love to throw the pill around and use the full width of the field. This is quite different to what we see when the All Blacks play sides like South Africa or Argentina.
I do expect the All Blacks to win this one and give themselves a shot at claiming the Rugby Championship, if they can get their hands on a bonus point win. With that really being the prerequisite if Robertson wants to secure his first title as All Blacks coach, I think they will come out firing from the hip, trying to make plenty happen in the hard and fast Perth conditions.
That doesn’t mean I don’t think the Wallabies can keep up, because they likely will, but I would expect the All Blacks to post a score tally similar to, if not more than, last weekend.
The SEC is always home to some of the biggest matchups in college football, and this weekend will be no different. No. 9 Texas will head to The Swamp to take on the Florida Gators in what should be a juiced-up showdown.
The leading storyline for both teams centres on their young signal callers, who were the top-ranked recruits in the nation from the 2023 and 2024 recruiting classes. For Texas, their leader is Arch Manning, the nephew of Hall of Famers Eli and Peyton Manning, who was the preseason Heisman favourite. On the other side for Billy Napier and the Gators, they have the uber-talented D.J. Lagway pulling the strings from the pocket. Who last year was declared the saviour of this sleeping giant of a programme.
The craziest part is that both of them have struggled immensely so far in their first seasons as starters and have looked nothing like advertised. What’s even worse is that both teams have high-octane defences that have been getting after every opponent they’ve come across. That certainly makes the game tough to call.
But what I’m interested in is Texas -0.5 after the first quarter. This is due to their early-season trends showing they’ve dominated that period. So far through four games, they’ve scored 35 points and are yet to concede in the first quarter. I like them to build on that plus-minus in The Swamp.
An outstanding final is on deck for the NRL this weekend as we finally have a Panther-less matchup for the first time in half a decade. Instead, it will be two of the teams they beat on their way to four straight championships: the Brisbane Broncos and Melbourne Storm.
On paper, we’ve got some outstanding talent on show, with what I think is the best player in the league, Payne Haas, leading the Broncos. Meanwhile, Origin captain and former Dally M half pair Cam Munster and Jahrome Hughes will be looking to dominate once again this weekend
The question is, will the Storm be able to hold the Broncos at arm’s length for a full 80-minute performance, or will the Brisbane side find a way to make their presence felt when it matters most down the stretch once again?
What does bode well for the Storm is their record against the Broncos, they’ve won 17 of the last 19 showdowns between the two sides. However, what Broncos fans can take into this game is that when it comes to finals footy, anything can happen at any moment, as we saw in 2006 when they beat the Storm to win the premiership.
With all that being said, I understand many people are backing the Storm in Sunday’s big match, but give me Brisbane +2.5, because I think they’re a side that just doesn’t go away.
A battle between two floundering big-6 clubs will take place this weekend and headline the match day for the Premier League. Chelsea, who haven’t had a win in the league since the international break, will host the expected champions, who also haven’t won in their last two outings. That means there is a lot on the line for both squads, who haven’t been living up to expectations, and the players and coaching staff will no doubt be feeling some outside pressure.
For Chelsea, they will still be without their talisman, Cole Palmer, who has been one of their two foundational players in this new era alongside Moisés Caicedo. Without Palmer, a lot of pressure will fall on the shoulders of their new Brazilian duo, João Pedro and Estêvão, to try and unlock the Liverpool defence.
As for Liverpool, they will be without their number one goalkeeper for the trip to south-west London, which could open the door for Chelsea to capitalise on any errors. But what Liverpool will be looking to do is pounce on the one or two mistakes Chelsea have been making during their rut. These are the kinds of errors that have allowed lesser teams into games. Now, I am not saying Liverpool are a lesser team, but I will say if Chelsea make the same kind of mistakes against a side like this, it could be a long day at the Bridge.
With that said, I think we will see some goals come Sunday morning. Both teams have a point to prove, so that is why I am backing the over 2.5 total.
