The BetDeluxe team hover their hands over the crystal ball as it delves into the sports futures markets.
AFL Premiership, Brownlow and Coleman Medals, NRL Premiership, NBA and NBL Championships!
AFL Premiership
This could be one of the more open races for the AFL premiership we have seen in recent years.
Four teams are tightly locked away at the top of the market with Richmond, Port Adelaide, Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs all vying outright favouritism as we head towards the half-way point of the season.
Melbourne clearly look the most dangerous threat to Richmond’s reign at the summit of the AFL having beaten them by five-goals earlier this season.
The query on Richmond now is its motivation to win a fourth flag in five years.
The old firm of Dustin Martin, Trent Cotchin and Jack Riewoldt has been there and done it all.
This season has a feeling of new kid on the block and it could very well be the Demons.
The bookends look solid with Steven May and Jake Lever holding fort in defensive fifty, while Bayley Fristch, Tom McDonald, Ben Brown and Kysaiah Pickett head one of the most dangerous forward lines in the competition.
Add in a midfield led by Christian Petracca and ball-magnet Christian Salem and it’s all systems go for the Demons to win their first premiership since 1964.
Suggested Bets:
Melbourne to win the premiership at $5.5
Brownlow Medal
Dubbed ‘the midfielders medal’ by most in the AFL fraternity, the Brownlow Medal in 2021 will be won by yet another midfielder.
All the names at the top of the market are the competition’s premier midfielders with Christian Petracca and Dustin Martin leading the way alongside Marcus Bontempelli.
Petracca is a clear standout in this market.
Goals, disposals and match-winning capabilities are exactly what the Demon midfielder possesses.
Martin is yet to really hit his straps in 2021 and Petracca might have an unassailable lead given his form this season.
There is a roughie longer in the market here that might just have a sneaky chance of knocking all the favourites off and that is Cameron Guthrie.
The ankle injury to Patrick Dangerfield will allow Guthrie to have a bigger say in things from the heart of midfield.
With an average of 30.8 disposals a game, he might just the one at huge odds to cause a Brownlow boil over!
Suggested Bets:
Christian Petracca to win the Brownlow Medal at $4.5
Cameron Guthrie to win the Brownlow Medal at $29
Coleman Medal
The return of the big forwards has been a delight for many AFL fans this season.
Adelaide Crows forward and veteran Taylor Walker has wound back the clock this season but it is the form of star Carlton tall Harry McKay that has taken headlines.
Josh Bruce and Cale Hooker have also been prolific in front of goal and loom as a danger to take home the leading goal-kicker medal this season.
Ben King has been the focal point for a Gold Coast Suns forward half that is reliant on him to hit the scoreboard being the only gun tall inside fifty.
Three-time Coleman medallist Jack Riewoldt will also be there or abouts but Richmond will likely have an even spread of goak-kickers again this season.
While there are plenty of live chances in this market, McKay just continues to be a shining light in a Carlton forward line void of any star tall options.
An agile 204cm man who can mark and turn an opponent inside out is a rare sight.
He is only trending one way; up!
Suggested Bet: Harry McKay to win the Coleman Medal at $2.24
NRL Premiership
Penrith might not lose a game this season…
It might seem a far stretch, but even if it does, the runner-up of 2020 look poised to go one better this year.
Melbourne Storm might have something to say about that again come the pointy end of the season.
After a few little hiccups early in the year, Craig Bellamy is ready to launch another assault at the Provan-Summons Trophy this year.
Barring any disasters to either team, it’s clear they have a stranglehold on the competition.
The Panthers would have learnt from its slow start in the 2020 grand final and they look have a fire in the belly that is hard to extinguish.
Suggested Bets: Penrith Panthers to win the NRL Premiership at $3
NBA Championship
The Brooklyn Nets shot up the betting markets as the soon as the announcement that James Harden would join them was made public.
With Harden joining Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving it’s no wonder the Nets are deemed the Championship favourites but they do look under the odds.
Defence does not really seem like a viable option for this Nets squad who are clearly the best offensive team in the game.
There is genuine value to be found outside the Nets with the Los Angeles Lakers poised to regain LeBron James for the playoffs.
The Utah Jazz recorded the league’s best run of form this season while the Milwaukee Bucks could go all the way on the back of Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Philadelphia boast two of the best talents in the league in the form of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons and are a genuine threat too.
Suggested Bets:
Utah Jazz to win the NBA Championship at $7.5
Milwaukee Bucks to win the NBA Championship at $9
NBL Championship
Melbourne United, Perth Wildcats and forget the rest.
These are the only two squads that can win the NBL Championship this season.
United and the Wildcats have gapped the rest of the competition on the NBL table and it will just be a matter of who finishes first and second come the end of the regular season.
Chris Goulding, Mitch McCarron and Jock Landale will lead the line for United while Bryce Cotton and John Mooney will fly the flag for the Wildcats.
Deadset flip of the coin between both teams the moment so we will side with the slightly better value of the two.
Suggested Bets: Perth Wildcats to win the NBL Championship at $2.5
