NRL Preview - Will It Be Manly Again?

The NRL season is just around the corner, so there is no better time to have a look at the futures market and who may or may not be a good bet to win the title. Sportsbet.com.au has got a competitive futures market on both the Premiership and the top 8, you can get an excellent price if you can select a smokey that starts the season well. You can sit there on the couch and watch the price tumble when your money is already on at a juicy price.
The two favourites are last year's Grand Finalists which comes as no shock. Premier's Manly top the board at $4.25 and the runners up Melbourne start off at $5.50. In the old days teams used to back up premiership after premiership but things like salary caps and million dollar contracts have seen nearly all football codes even up their competition to a degree. For this reason I always think last year's winner represents bad value and I would have to say Manly are no exception. Melbourne can be the dominant team again next year but they have lost arguably their most explosive player in Israel Falou. Don't get me wrong, these two teams will start the season as the teams to beat, but it's a long season and I want value.
Cronulla are third favourites and are at $10.00. This too, for me, is far too short even though they had a good year last year and have picked up a few good signings. I just don't think they are a clear third pick. The teams I think are great value are North Queensland at $12.00, Roosters at $13.00 and St George at $16.00. North Queensland has the best player in the competition, St George has the best coach and the team everyone loves to hate (including me) the Roosters, have an excellent list and a good balance if they can get everything right.
The competition, however, is extremely close and I think you can make a case for any team to make the finals this year. The League does plenty of things wrong, but you must take your hat off to Gallop and the boys for making it at the very least a close contest.

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