Key Stats – Parramatta has won six of the eight matches played between the two sides at Parramatta Stadium. St George Illawarra has won three of the last four games between the two sides. Parramatta ended last season winning 10 of their last 12 matches. St George Illawarra have won nine of their last 10 Friday night matches, including winning their last four Friday night matches away from home.

Sportsmail comment – The Eels attack is built around second phase play and like last season I think it will again take them time to click. However the individual brilliance of Hayne, Mateo and Tahu should get them through early stages of the season. The Dragons skill level across the park looks to have improved and despite being two class players short of being a premiership contender. The Eels have named the strongest forward pack and bench in the NRL for round one. The Eels have a huge advantage in the forwards against the Dragons and the St George bench isn’t going to provide any impact. Green, Merrin and Hunt aren’t mobile and are very slow and will be targets of the Eels dummy half runners late in both halves. The Eels also have the edge in the outside backs, especially with the Dragons key defensive centre Matt Cooper unlikely to play. Question mark over Jeff Robson being named at halfback ahead of Kris Keating but he may complement the superstars around him with his composure, solid defence and good kicking game. Parramatta has won six of the eight matches played between the two sides at Parramatta Stadium.

Tip – Eels   Suggested Bet – Eels 1-12

Broncos v Cowboys at Suncorp Stadium Friday, 7:30pm

Key Stats -  Brisbane has won the past five encounters between the two sides. North Queensland lost four of their last five matches to finish last season. Brisbane has won the past two matches played between the two sides at Suncorp Stadium. 

Sportsmail comment – Thurston’s performance in the All Stars match suggests he’ll start the season in form while Peter Wallace starts the season underdone after not playing a trial match because of off-season surgery and Darren Lockyer is still carrying injuries from the All-Stars match and the Broncos last trial game. Brisbane have lost 14 of the 21 matches they have played without Justin Hodges over the past two seasons and Karmichael Hunt was responsible for 22 try assists last season. Folau replaces Hodges at right centre but Israel is target in defence especially marking a class centre like Willie Tonga. Folau is very susceptible to being beaten on the outside and guaranteed Thurston will look to attack down the left as much as possible to try and get Tonga one on one with Folau.

Both teams will miss the top eight but Thurston and Tonga give the Cowboys the advantage on Friday night.

Tip – Cowboys  Suggested Bet – Cowboys 1-12

Bulldogs v Knights ANZ Stadium Saturday, 5:30pm

Key Stats – Newcastle has won five of the past eight encounters between the two sides. Canterbury has won six of the nine games played between the two sides at ANZ Stadium. Newcastle have lost their last seven away matches.

Sportsmail comment – The Knights are a club under siege and will be without skipper Kurt Gidley for the opening month of football. Hooker Isaac DeGois, who is the Knight’s most important player and I believe the best hooker in NSW, is out of Saturday night’s match. The Bulldogs over-achieved last season and aside from Hannant and Mickey Paea coming off the bench there isn’t much strike-power in the forwards but they do have the best centre pairing the competition with Jamal Idris and Josh Morris.

Tip - Bulldogs Suggested Bet – Bulldogs 1-12

Panthers v Raiders at CUA Stadium Saturday, 7:30pm

Key Stats – Penrith has won the past two encounters between the two sides. Canberra has won four of their past seven meetings at CUA Stadium.
Canberra has lost their last six away matches.

Sportsmail comment – The Raiders have the edge in the outside backs with the likes of gun fullback Josh Dugan and defensive centre Joel Thompson is a very good selection to shutdown Pritchard and Jennings coming down the left side. However the Raiders have only won eight matches away from home in the last three seasons. Question mark on the Panthers halves pairing of Walsh and Burns. Burns is tough and a great defender but doesn’t offer much in attack. The Raider go into the season without a dominant number 7 and 9 which again leaves Terry Campese as the only point of attack.

Tip – Panthers Suggested bet – Panthers halftime/fulltime

Sharks v Storm Toyota Park Saturday, 7:30pm

Key Stats – Melbourne has won four of the past five matches between the two sides. Cronulla lost their last 10 matches to finish last season.
Melbourne has won three of their past four encounters at Toyota Stadium.

Sportsmail comment – Sharks coach Ricky Stuart has never lost a round one match in his NRL coaching career. The Sharks go into the match full-strength while Melbourne’s bench looks skinny without Sika Manu, Brent White, Atelea Vea and John Kite. Todd Lowrie is also in doubt for Saturday night’s match and the world’s best hooker Cameron Smith will play halfback to cover for the injured Cooper Cronk. Melbourne are the best team in the NRL but I expect them to start the season slowly because of the high number of key players on the sidelines and like last season I expect Craig Bellamy will ensure his troops are peaking at the right end of the season.

Tip – Melbourne Suggested bet – Melbourne 1-12

Titans v Warriors Skilled Park Sunday, 2pm

Key Stats – The Warriors have won only one of their last seven matches.The Gold Coast has won 11 of their last 13 matches at Skilled Park.
The Warriors won only two of their 12 matches in Australia in 2009.

Sportsmail comment – This game will be played at 1pm Queensland time which is a big advantage for the Titans. Steve Price, Simon Mannering and Ian Henderson are big outs for the Warriors.
Concern for the Titans is centres Rogers and Tomane are poor defenders marking two of the best ball-runners in the NRL in Brent Tate and Jerome Ropati. The Warriors have the worst 6, 7 and 9 in the NRL compared to the Titans with Bird, Prince and Friend.

Tip – Titans Suggested Bet – Titans 13 +

Rabbitohs v Roosters ANZ Stadium Sunday, 3pm

Key Stats – The Rabbitohs have the best starting pack of forwards in the NRL against a Roosters pack missing Anthony Cherrington and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves. The Rabbitohs are a better team but a number of their guns are underdone and Souths will take a number of rounds before they get cohesion and combinations working in attack. Mitchell Pearce and Todd Carney have been standouts for the Roosters in the trial matches but there opportunities will be limited if the forwards aren’t going forward.

Tip – Rabbitohs Suggested Bet – Rabbioths 1-12

Tigers v Sea Eagles SFS Monday, 7pm

Key Stats – The Wests Tigers have won seven of their last nine matches. Manly has won four of their last six matches at the Sydney Football Stadium. The Wests Tigers have won their last four Monday night matches. Manly has won five of their last six matches against the Wests Tigers.

Sportsmail comment – Not much between the two sides. Not sure if Robert Lui is the right choice to partner Marshall in the halves. Both players like to run across field and both aren’t natural organisers. Sea Eagles young gun Kieran Foran is a wonderful talent but unsure if halfback is his position. The Sea Eagles have the edge in the forwards with Watmough and Glenn Stewart but the Tigers have speed to burn in the outside backs. If Brett Stewart can inject himself in attack without Orford he’ll be the difference on Monday night. Manly will look to target Tuqiri by making hi turn and chase and also running numbers at him in attack to force him to make a decision in defence.

Tip – Manly Suggested Bet – Manly 1-12

To enter simply head to twitter, and reply to @Sportingbetoz the answer to the following questions:

1. What is the price at Sportingbet of Brisbane to win Head to Head vs Cowboys?
2. What price is Israel Falou at Sportingbet to be 2010 NRL Leading Try Scorer?
3. What price is Brisbane at Sportingbet in the Brisbane vs Cowboys Regular Season Head to Head market ?

All answers can be found on the Sportingbet Website www.sportingbet.com.au

Best of luck. 

Terms and conditions
1. Need to be a Sportingbet Member.
2. Need to be over 18.
3. Need to be able to make your own way to Suncorp Stadium on Friday 12 March.
4. Winners will be contacted by Sportingbet via direct message on your twitter account to obtain your details.

Sydney FC’s players looked devastated in the wake of Sunday’s dramatic extra-time defeat at the hands of arch-rivals Melbourne and coach Vitezslav Lavicka will have to pull out all the stops in order to lift his charges for this week’s do-or-die clash with in-form Wellington Phoenix. The Sky Blues can take heart, however, from the fact that they won all three of their meetings with the Kiwi side during the regular season, conceding just one goal in the process and that Ricki Herbert’s men traditionally struggle away from their Westpac Stadium fortress.

As far as team news is concerned, Alex Brosque will be fit to start after a suspected hamstring injury proved to be no more than severe cramp, but Shannon Cole and Sung Hwan Byun are battling to overcome hamstring strains in time to feature and a number of other key first teamers have only trained lightly this week in a bid to shake off minor niggles.

Phoenix, meanwhile, remain at the forefront of the football boom taking place across the Tasman and many neutrals would love to see their run continue right through to the Grand Final. Ricki Herbert is again set to enjoy the luxury of not having to make any enforced changes and will have versatile Socceroo Jon McKain at his disposal once more following his return from suspension. Key man Paul Ifill has had a minor muscle strain to contend with, but the former Millwall and Crystal Palace man remains adamant that he will be fully fit for the biggest game in Phoenix’s A-League history.

Extra-time and/or penalties have been required to separate the sides in every finals game played so far this season and it would be no surprise if this clash at the SFS continued that remarkable sequence. All the pressure will be upon Sydney, not least from the FFA who would clearly love to see the Sky Blues contest the Grand Final with Melbourne Victory and the home side traditionally fail to fire when the heat is on. It’s a very difficult one to call, but Phoenix may just have enough momentum to upset both Sydney and the FFA and squeeze through on penalties.

Likely favourite , the unbeaten Fair Trade ($3.60), saw his career kick off in Australia when winning a 1400m race at Flemington in mid January, 2009. Mick Kent saw his ability very early and decided to tackle the big boys in the Group 3 CS Hayes Stakes a fortnight later with more dramatic results. He toyed with the opposition in an awesome display that saw him win by nearly 3.5L, a display which marked him as a genuine future Group 1 performer. His next race was to be the Australia Guineas in early March, but owner/breeder Joe Vella had an offer from Hong Kong that was too good to refuse and so the son of Danewin made the 7500km treck to hit the shores of Hong Kong unbeaten, with the promise of further riches in store. He did not disappoint some 5 months later when winning a Class 2 event by 1/2 a length when first up for Caspar Fownes, heavily supported by locals into a $3.60 favourite.

But trouble struck a short time later with a tendon injury that saw him sit out the best part of 8 months on the sideline – watching from his stable as the best in the world competed in mid December on Hong Kong’s International Raceday. Great horses have many characteristics that set them apart from the general equine population – one of them is that they know where the winning post is. When stepping out in a Class 1 race, first up after injury, against proven Class 1 horses and even a Group 1 winner, Fair Trade showed that innate ability of knowing where that winning post was, by hitting the lead in the last couple of bounds thanks to a cracking ride by Australia’s own Brett Prebble.

His knockers will say that he’s had too much of an interrupted preparation – stepping up to the 2000m at Group 1 level, in only his second run since mid 2009. Although a trial can never fully substitute for raceday conditions, he showed he was right on track last week when taking out a 1600m trial with effortless ease against some of fellow Derby aspirants. Take him on at your peril, he will be very hard to beat.

The form horse leading into the Hong Kong Derby Trial was the undoubtedly talented Beauty Flash ($4.80). Trained by local horseman Tony Cruz, this son of Golan (who sired 2007 VRC Derby winner Kibbutz) went into the Derby Trial a long odds-on favourite ($1.60) but couldn’t quite win the feature being overhauled close to home to go down ½ a length to the Sean Woods trained, King Dancer. If he can rebound from this disappointing effort when all did not go his way, he could prove the value runner of the race. However, a late swinging curve ball has been thrown at connections – regular jockey Christophe Soumillon has been suspended for an indiscretion in Dubai late last week – and all reports say that he will not contest the suspension due to the chance of receiving an even longer stint in the sin-bin, which would rule him out of riding in the Dubai World Cup meet in late March. Connections are reportedly chasing flamboyant Italian Frankie Dettori for the mount.

Star recruit Irian, from the well credentialed John Moore stable, is on the 3rd line of betting at $6.00. John Moore works tirelessly to find proven horses that can stack up to the somewhat confined stabling structure in Hong Kong. He often travels to Europe in search of that horse – a tactic that proved very rewarding recently when he took over training Collection prior to winning last years Hong Kong Derby. It all looked good for Irian until a below standard trial last week (won by the aforementioned Fair Trade) where Beadman appeared to be looking down at the horses legs half way down the home straight. A very worrying sign indeed. But he does have the form on the board – he won the German 2000 Guineas and proved to be very competitive in France against their best Group 1 performers. There is no doubt he will need to lift, but he does have the team that can do it.

To celebrate the big race, Sportingbet Australia is offering its clients a 10% Maxi Div bonus on the Hong Kong Derby as well as a 10% Maxi Div bonus on all exotics for the whole 10 race card! We already have a Fixed odds market available right now for the Derby (as well as Fixed Price Quinellas) with a full pre-post market for all 10 races available mid Sunday morning.

We’ll also have the Hong Kong Power Play in action, as we do every Sunday, with markets to 3 races being set at an incredibly low 105%! You won’t get better prices and value for money anywhere! Sportingbet Australia – market leaders in fixed price betting for Hong Kong Racing.

For more fixed odds betting, check out our Racing Specials page where 2 and 3 Horse Match-ups, Total Margin betting, Favourites Challenge, Total Winning Saddlecloth and much, much more are available right now at Sportingbet Australia. Don’t forget Quaddies, all-ups, doubles, extra doubles, trebles and Placecard betting for even bigger payouts! And what meeting wouldn’t be complete without a Jockey Challenge where the worlds best jockeys are vying for dominance at the famous Sha Tin racetrack. Or, for a potentially massive payout, why not try picking the winner of both the Hong Kong Derby and the Dubai World Cup with our Feature Race Double!

Sportingbet Australia. Why would you bet anywhere else?

Sportingbet Australia CEO Michael Sullivan said the John O’Shea trained filly had been well backed in the week leading up to the Kindergarten and he expected it continue.

“She gave a couple of very handy horses a complete toweling and she certainly looks the real deal,” Sullivan said.

“We took bets to win $30,000 and $25,000 last week and those punters would be very happy with the $8.50 they secured now.

“It would take an enormous performance from something else now to displace her as favourite before the Slipper and I think punters will really step into her.”

Chance Bye and Benetau share second favouritism at 9.00.

GOLDEN SLIPPER
Sportingbet Australia Market
Solar Charged 4.50
Chance Bye 9.00
Beneteau 9.00
Military Rose 12.00
Elimbari 12.00
Zutara 12.00
Psychologist 15.00
Ambers Waltz 15.00
Shaaheq 16.00
Hinchinbrook 17.00
Divorces 18.00
Georgette Silk 20.00
My Amelia 21.00
Run For Wilson 23.00
Maules Creek 26.00
Shrapnel 26.00
Others 35.00 Plus

 Little Montpellier’s unlikely title challenge has been the story of the season in France’s League 1 and many neutrals would love to see Rene Girard’s unheralded side claim the championship come May. The men from Languedoc-Roussillon only gained promotion from Ligue 2 last season and were widely tipped to make an immediate return to the second tier, but they have defied their critics in spectacular style and are presently riding high in second place. Leading the way are defending champions Bordeaux and with only goal difference separating them from Girard’s surprise high fliers, Sunday’s meeting between the two at Stade Chaban Delmas could go a long way to determining this season’s title race.

The home side finally ended Lyon’s stranglehold on Ligue 1 last term and under the guidance of former Manchester United and France defender Laurent Blanc, they have again impressed this season both domestically and in the Champions League. Patchy form in recent weeks has seen them come back to the pack, but they remain a formidable force at home where they have been beaten only once in the league.

11-goal Marouane Chamakh continues to capture plenty of headlines, most linking him with an end-of-season move to Arsenal, while attacking midfielder Yoann Gourcuff has also been in fine form. Sunday’s clash will be a family affair for Bordeaux goalkeeper Cedric Carrasso, meanwhile, as his younger brother and fellow ‘keeper Johann is on Montpellier’s books.

The visitors will again be without sidelined skipper Nenad Dzodic, but leading scorer Victor Hugo Montano is set to start and experienced midfielder Gregory Lacombe may be promoted from the bench to the starting eleven.

Montpellier have won seven of their last eight games, but did lost at home to Bordeaux when the two met back in December and are likely to go into Sunday’s game as moderate underdogs. An intriguing tussle is in prospect and given the home side’s recent wobbles, they may ultimately have to settle for a draw that would probably satisfy Montpellier and would certainly delight the other title hopefuls, Lyon, Marseille and Lille.

Prediction: Bordeaux 2-2 Montpellier

 With Chelsea in FA Cup Quarter Final action against Stoke, Manchester United can reclaim pole position in the EPL with a win or even a draw at lowly Wolves on Saturday. Last week it was United who missed a league game due to their appearance in the Carling Cup Final, but Chelsea failed to seize the opportunity to extend their lead at the top, crashing to a 4-2 home defeat at the hands of Manchester City.

In claiming the season’s first piece of silverware with a hard-fought victory over Aston Villa, the Red Devils picked up several new injury concerns in the form of Michael Owen, who will be out for up to a month with yet another hamstring strain, Jonny Evans, who may miss the Molineux trip with a knee problem and fellow defender Rafael who is also a doubt for Saturday after limping from the fray at Wembley.

Wayne Rooney, meanwhile, has insisted that his knee problem is no more than bruising and the in-form striker should be available provided he comes through England’s midweek friendly against Egypt unscathed.

Mick McCarthy, meanwhile, was widely condemned for fielding a weakened team when the two sides met at Old Trafford in December and while the Wolves boss remains unrepentant, he will certainly not be leaving any of his first-team regulars out on Saturday. Only goal difference is currently keeping Wolves out of the relegation zone following back to back defeats against Bolton and Chelsea and with no fewer than fourteen of his players heading off on international duty this week, McCarthy will be praying that they all return to the Black Country injury-free. The club has already received some welcome news on the injury front, with Andy Keogh returning to full training and the Irish international may be included on the bench for the United clash. Michael Kightly is also close to making a full recovery from the ankle and knee problems that have ruled him out since November and David Edwards is another long-term absentee who should be back in full training before the end of the month.

Wolves can take heart from the fact that they have won three of the last six meetings with United at Molineux and they will undoubtedly make life tough for Sir Alex Ferguson’s men, but with the notable exception of the defeat at Everton, United have shown plenty of resolve in recent weeks and it’s hard to back against them picking up the points here.

Prediction: Wolves 0-2 Manchester United

Team News
Jason Akermanis and Will Minson has been included in the Western Bulldogs squad to take on Port Adelaide in this week’s NAB Cup semi-final.

Ben Hudson and Daniel Giansiracusa have been rested from the side that defeated Hawthorn and Brad Johnson will also sit out Friday night’s clash as he continues to recover from anachilles injury.

Josh Carr, Daniel Motlop and Hamish Hartlett will all take no part in the clash against the Bulldogs.

Comment
Barry Hall was outstanding against the Hawks, kicking six goals and if he remains on the park the Dogs are a genuine premiership contenders. Akermanis and Will Minson are big ins for the near full-strength Western Bulldogs and despite their be no competition points up for grabs on Friday night the Bulldogs will have far too much class for Port Adelaide.

Suggested Bet – Bulldogs – 18.5

 St Kilda v Fremantle at Etihad Stadium Saturday 7:10pm

Team News
St Kilda will be without skipper Nick Riewoldt and 2009 All-Australian defender Brendon Goddard. Young guns Tom Lynch and Will Johnson have been named as has defender Leigh Fisher.

Fremantle skipper Matthew Pavlich and midfielder Paul Hasleby return for Saturday night’s semi-final after missing last week’s win over North Melbourne. The Dockers will rest small forward Hayden Ballantyne.

Comment
The Dockers young gun have been very impressive in the NAB Cup thus far and veterans Tarrant and Sandilands were also terrific in last week’s win over the Kangaroos. Gun skipper Matthew Pavlich returns and the Dockers are every chance of knocking over last year’s minor premiers especially with Saints skipper Riewoldt sitting out Saturday’s match.

Suggested Bet – Fremantle +24.5

 Sportingbet Australia CEO Michael Sullivan said this year’s voting was proving tough for both punters and bookies.

 “We probably would have bet  200/1 if you’d wanted to back the combinations that landed in the bottom three on Thursday evening,” said Sullivan.

 “We were shocked about all of them with the possible exception of Doug and Jess and so were our punters who had heavily backed Don and Issi to get the chop.”

 NSW contemporary dancer Robbie heads the market at $6.50.

 SYTYCD – WINNERS
Sportingbet Australia Market
Robbie 6.50   �
Heath 8.00   �
Nick 8.50   �
Renee 9.00   �
Keiran 9.00   �
Jess.S 10.00   �
Ivy 12.00   �
Carly 12.00   �
Jessica.P 14.00   �
Jessie H 17.00   �
Matt 21.00   �
Don 26.00   �
Philipe 34.00   �
Issi 34.00