Tag: Samoa

Four Nations Finalists Found After More Drama

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Drama and Destruction were the themes in two contrasting Four Nations matches this weekend.  New Zealand and Australia’s dominance of the Four Nations continued with both sealing finals births.

New Zealand v England (16-14)

The Kiwis scraped into the Four Nations final with a narrow victory over a gallant English side in the penultimate round of the Four Nations.

The Kiwis only needed to avoid a heavy defeat to sew up a Four Nations final birth, but instead chose the more dignified route, winning by two points in front a raucous Dunedin crowd.

The game was close for the duration with only a conversion separating the sides after Gareth Widdop cruelly hit the upright with this first two attempts.  Despite being close, this one always had the feel of a New Zealand victory, thanks in part to their fleet footed forward pack that ate up metres in the middle of the park.

A frenetic start saw four tries in the first 30 minutes, all to wingers, a theme that continued for the rest of the game.  Jason Nightingale’s early opener was cancelled out by a Ryan Hall effort before Josh Charnley briefly gave England their only lead of the night.  The wingers then continued to dominate the key plays.  Nightingale scored a try – Vatuvei bombed a try – Hall bombed a try – Hall scored a try.

Thomas Leuluai made a massive impact for the Kiwi’s both defensively and in the attacking end, compounding Isaac Luke to a fair few minutes on the bench.  Simon Mannering was epic in defence too and worthy of a mention.  England again showed they can match it with the top two of International league, and in James Graham, Geaorge Burgess and Daryl Clark have three forwards to build their future plans around.  That’s provided George Burgess doesn’t follow his brother to Rugby Union.

The finish lacked points but in keeping with the tournament trend, was full of tension.

The Kiwi’s can celebrate by turning their attention to the Four Nations final in Wellington on Saturday night.  The English, well they celebrated with a visit to a famous Dunedin student flat and smashed the front door down.

 

Australia v Samoa (44-18)

Joining New Zealand in the Final are the Kangaroos as they easily saw off the surprise package Samoans in Wollongong by 44-18.

After shaky performances in the first two weeks of the Four Nations the Australians finally played to their potential, relying on superstars Greg Inglis, Cooper Cronk and Daly Cherry-Evans.

Cherry-Evans’ 30 minute breakaway try effectively sealed as much and ended Samoa’s bold Four Nations campaign.  Ill-discipline was the killer for the Samoans, Joey Leilua who was so dynamic against the Kiwi’s last week only bothered chalking up penalties this week rather than the more sought after Rugby League stats such as metres, line breaks and tries.  Josh McGuire who many believe should’ve have been playing for Australia, and not Samoa, was their most effective forward, while surprise package David Klemmer saw his stocks rise with an exceptional display.

The result delivers the expected Four Nations final and a repeat of last years Old Trafford showpiece.

Four Nations Week 3 Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Will week three of the Four Nations finally see the favourites dominant their opponents?  Can Samoa scare a third straight team?  Will England’s point deferential struggle let their game?

Those will be the key questions being answered in week three of the Four Nations.  Let’s look at the two games.

New Zealand v England

The Kiwi’s shift venues form the beautiful afternoon sun in Whangarei to the closed roofed Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin to take on the desperate English in the week’s first game.  The game features and interesting test for mathematicians as they calculate the scenarios that will decide the Four Nations finalists.  At this stage, if New Zealand win or draw they are through to the final;  if they lose heavily then they need Samoa to get close to, or beat, Australia

Both teams met lady luck last week.  The Kiwi’s escaped a stern Samoan test and were fortunate to cross for a late four pointer to win the duel for the fictional blonde in the green dress.  England on the other hand got stood up; they narrowly lost to Australia thanks to a controversial final minute TMO decision.

Both sides have played some decent football in the Four Nations thus far.  New Zealand’s best was missing last week, but they have added experience to that side by reinstating Thomas Leuluai and Greg Eastwood to the interchange bench.  Isaac Luke will be better for last week’s hit out and he should be able to ignite the Kiwi’s play utilising the offloads of Bromwich and Blair and the rest of the hard running forward pack.  However, their susceptible backbone has errors in them and will need to be at top form to control the exciting English equivalents.

The geezers have shown that they have improved since last years World Cup.  In last year’s semi-final they suffered a last minute loss to the Kiwi’s and despite some reservations about their ability to close out games, I’m backing them to be right up for this challenge.

Key contributors James Graham and Gareth Widdop will look to exploit a soft New Zealand middle and error prone back three.  In Ryan Hall and Josh Charnley they have two World class wingers who could benefit from the pressure instilled on the nervy Kiwis.

I’m picking an upset here.  England by 6.

Odds

New Zealand $1.45

England $2.80

Four Nations odds courtesy of Sportingbet.

Teams

New Zealand: 1. Peta Hiku, 2. Jason Nightingale, 3. Shaun Kenny-Dowall, 4. Dean Whare, 5. Manu Vatuvei, 6. Kieran Foran, 7. Shaun Johnson, 8. Jesse Bromwich, 9. Issac Luke, 10. Adam Blair, 11. Simon Mannering (c), 12. Kevin Proctor, 13. Jason Taumalolo. Interchange: 14. Thomas Leuluai, 15. Greg Eastwood, 16. Martin Taupau, 17. Tohu Harris, 18. Lewis Brown (one to be omitted).

England: 1. Sam Tomkins, 2. Josh Charnley, 3. Kallum Watkins, 4. Dan Sarginson, 5. Ryan Hall, 6. Gareth Widdop, 7. Matty Smith, 8. George Burgess, 9. Josh Hodgson, 10. James Graham, 11. Liam Farrell, 12. Joel Tomkins, 13. Sean O’Loughlin (c). Interchange:
14. Daryl Clark, 15. Brett Ferres, 16. Tom Burgess, 17. Chris Hill.

 

Australia v Samoa

Samoa have been a revelation in the Four Nations thus far but I fear their energy may have already been consumed in their sterling efforts in weeks one and two.  They should be no match for the World Champion Australian outfit, but they could still influence the finalists based on the points differential calculations.

Australia have been forced to reshuffle their back;  Beau Scott forced out with injury and replaced by Josh Papalii in the run on side.    While Samoa have opted for a tactical change and bring in nightclub troublemaker Reni Maitua.  Expect the Aussies to be far too strong in this matchup.  The structured play and kicking game of Cooper Cronk should force Samoa into mistakes.  Of particular interest to a lot of pundits is the centre battle;  Jennings and Walker v Lafai and Leila will be brilliant to watch.

Odds

Australia $1.09

Samoa $7.75

Teams

Australia: 1. Greg Inglis, 2. Josh Mansour, 3. Michael Jennings, 4. Dylan Walker, 5. Sione Mata’utia, 6. Daly Cherry-Evans, 7. Cooper Cronk, 8. Aaron Woods, 9. Cameron Smith (c), 10. Josh Papalii, 11. Sam Thaiday, 12. Greg Bird, 13. Corey Parker. Interchange: 14. Boyd Cordner, 15. Robbie Farah, 16. Aidan Guerra, 17. Ryan Hoffman, 18. Ben Hunt, 19. David Klemmer, 20. Matt Moylan (three to be omitted).

Samoa: 1 Tim Simona, 2 Antonio Winterstein, 3 Tim Lafai, 4 Joseph Leilua, 5 Daniel Vidot, 6 Ben Roberts, 7 Kyle Stanley, 8 Isaac Liu, 9 Pita Godinet, 10 David Fa’alogo (c), 11 Frank Pritchard, 12 Leeson Ah Mau, 13 Josh McGuire. Interchange: 14 Dunamis Lui, 15 Reni Maitua, 16 Sauaso Sue, 17 Mose Masoe, 18 Jesse Sene-Lefao, 19 Tautau Moga (two to be omitted).

Four Nations odds courtesy of Luxbet.

Luckless Samoa Denied At The Death (Four Nations)

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

England and Samoa were the unlucky teams in a pair of nail-biting finishes rarely seen in International Rugby League.

Both sides outplayed their highly fancied opponents and deserved upset wins only to be cruelly denied in the last moments.

New Zealand v Samoa

Shaun Kenny-Dowall’s late try was enough to sink a passionate Samoan effort in the Whangarei sun on Saturday afternoon.  In a game often lacking in quality, but featuring plenty of aggression, the complacent Kiwis were rocked by a powerful Samoan forward pack and riot running / fearsome haircut centre Joey Leilua.

Samoa were the better starters and took a surprise but deserved lead from a Tautau Moga breakaway try.  Moga had been suspended from the first week of games because of a nightclub incident, and his touchline dash may have mimicked his actions avoiding police of the fateful night in question.

The Samoans, who were paying $3 just to lead at any stage, played huge Bronco’s forward Josh McGuire at hooker for the opening stanza, and controlled played nicely through the usually erratic Ben Roberts.  New Zealand on the other hand showed none of their week one Four Nations form; they were untidy, and lacked imagination and spark in the attacking third.

The win for the Kiwi’s was less about their escape, but more about what Samoa achieved.  There is much to admire about the side that in one game have done plenty for the global game.  They have easily made the biggest impact of any of the fourth teams to play in the Four Nations.

New Zealand have not played well in either game so consider England a chance next week.

England v Australia

A finger nail was all that separated the sides on Sunday night in Melbourne.  A fiercely debated TMO decision that went against the English has made their qualifying path to the final much tougher.  The try / no try call came in the dying stages and saw winger Ryan Hall half force the ball and half smack it over the dead ball line while chasing a Liam Farrell grubber.  It probably wasn’t a try in my view, but it was a fortuitous Four Nations escape for the mediocre Aussies.

England dominated the first half; playing with width and enterprise they tired the Australian team who went into the break behind and risking a place in the Four Nations final.  Daryl Clark again ignited the English attack, leading to tries for Kallum Watkins and Ryan Hall.  Unfortunately for the sunburn susceptible English they went into their shell in the second stanza and were left exposed to a quicker ruck initiated by debutant Ben Hunt.

Discipline also let England down as referee Cameron Smith Gerard Sutton penalised heavily as the game’s momentum shifted.  In other highlights: Cameron Smith was man of the match, Ben Hunt was terrific and must play against Samoa, Greg Inglis scores tries for fun, and Sam Tomkins has a questionable new thigh tattoo.

Expect Aussie to put 40 on Samoa next week when the Four Nations picks its finalists.

 

 

Kiwi’s Stun Dizzy Kangaroos (Four Nations)

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The Four Nations got underway on Saturday night with a pair of captivating rugby league matches that lived up to the pre match hype and rewarded the huge Suncorp Stadium crowd.

In the showpiece match the Kiwi’s upset an injured and disorientated Australian team to record their first victory over their fierce rivals for four years.  That match followed a Samoa / England curtain raiser that defied the tag to deliver a contest befitting of its own feature.

The Four Nations is now much more than a one horse race; the Australians look vulnerable.

Australia v New Zealand

In a match of high drama but little quality New Zealand exploited some Australian rustiness to surprise the Rugby League World and win 30-18.  Australia, already without a number of key players also lost Daly Cherry Evans and Greg Inglis half way through the game to injury and illness.  The injuries turned the Australian into rabbles. Robbie Farah and Cameron Smith jumped between hooker and the haves, Dylan Walker made a number of errors filling in at fullback, and Aidan Guerra couldn’t stop the Kangaroo’s frail defence when he moved into the centres.  The changes were too much for the Australians; their completion rate suffered, and they failed to score a point after the 21st minute.

But the night belonged to a gutsy New Zealand side that, to be fair, weren’t without their own personnel setbacks.  The Kiwi’s responded well to periods of the game where they should’ve gone behind, should’ve dropped their heads.  The first was Beau Scott’s soft minute try, which was closely followed by Jason Nightingale butchering a try over the line.  Kiwi teams of yesteryear would have given it away, but Steven Kearney’s 2014 version responded brilliantly with tries to Kevin Procter and Lewis Brown either side of another soft effort from Greg Inglis.

The second half saw the Kiwis take advantage of more Australian mistakes and in turn play with a lot more confidence and enterprise.  The offloads of Jesse Bromwich and Adam Blair allowed the likes of Shaun Johnson and Keiran Foran to run at a broken defensive line to make the inroads which stretched the lead.  Dean Whare, Shaun Johnson and Jason Nightingale all crossed the line to extend the winning margin to the biggest win over their rivals since the 24-0 win in the 2005 Four Nations final.

The Kiwi’s will take a heap of confidence from their dazzling display, and will take heart in the fact that the rest of the tournament is to be played on home soil.  The win should also galvanise the belief in a number of squad members who had yet to experience a wine against the Kangaroos.

England v Samoa

As the beaten semi-finalists at last years Rugby League World Cup England should have been too strong for the tournament debutants, however they only narrowly avoided a shock loss to Samoa.  Samoa’s stirring effort in going down 26-32 proved their inclusion in the Four Nations was justified.  Feeding off a passionate Samoan based crowd the NRL-packed Samoan line up tested their more favoured opponents and even lead by 2 with 19 minutes remaining.  England did just enough; led by outstanding talisman James Graham and experienced pivot Gareth Widdop they were ultimately too strong.

The English exerted most of their pressure through reigning Super League Man of Steele Daryl Clark who was a constant threat with ball in hand, while the Tomkins brothers (Sam and Joel) also combined well and both crossed for tries.

For the unlucky Samoan’s they’ll be better for the experience and will also get the chance to make adjustments to their side and reintroduce their suspended stars.  One such change should be the inclusion of Pita Godinet who provided a real spark from dummy half and kept his side in the game with two well-taken tries.  Frank Pritchard was immense too.  His switch of allegiance will add massive value to the Samoan Four Nations campaign.  Their efforts to back up their dazzling first up effort will be interesting to watch.

We’ll review Week Two of the Four Nations later in the week.

 

Four Nations Rugby League Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The shock of Jarryd Hayne’s ambitious move to NFL has been the only Rugby League talking point over the past few weeks (aside from a great piece I read on Foxsports about what NRL players get up to in the off-season – it’s mainly partying in Vegas and Cancu by the way), but all that’s about to change with the start of the Four Nations on Saturday night.

All four teams are in action when the tournament kicks off with a double header in Brisbane. Teams include: the dominant but injury hit Australians, the forever bridesmaid Kiwi’s, the warm beer preferring English, and Samoa – who we’ll see if they can fight as well on the rugby field as they can in nightclubs.

The Four Nations tournament probably sits below the World Cup in terms of importance to Rugby League and this year has seen a number of NRL clubs withdraw players who they feel are fatigued or at risk of further injury during the tournament. The withdrawals prove that the financial rewards of representing your country in a one-off tournament are far inferior to the riches of the NRL salary cap, which may see an increase in club v country tensions in future years.

The tournament won’t be without stars though, as the remaining cream of the Rugby League crop contribute to an intriguing spectacle.

The Teams (As They Line Up For Week 1)

Australia: 1. Greg Inglis, 2. Josh Mansour, 3. Michael Jennings, 4. Dylan Walker, 5. Daniel Tupou, 6. Daly Cherry-Evans, 7. Cooper Cronk, 8. Aaron Woods, 9. Cameron Smith (c), 10. Sam Thaiday, 11. Beau Scott, 12. Ryan Hoffman, 13. Greg Bird.

Interchange: 14. Robbie Farah, 15. Aidan Guerra, 16. Josh Papalii, 17. Corey Parker, 18. Boyd Cordner, 19. David Klemmer, 20. Sione Mata’utia (three to be omitted).

Australia have an entire team injured in Thurston, Morris, Slater, Boyd, Scott, Tamou, Justin Hodges. Yet, in naming 11 debutants in their squad, they still appear to be the strongest team on paper. Australia has not lost a Test since the 2010 Four Nations final. It will take a monumental effort from the other three to get close, but the Four Nations opener at Suncorp is probably the best chance.

New Zealand: 1-Peta Hiku, 2-Jason Nightingale, 3-Shaun Kenny-Dowall, 4-Dean Whare, 5-Gerard Beale, 6-Kieran Foran, 7-Shaun Johnson, 8-Jesse Bromwich, 9-Thomas Leuluai, 10-Adam Blair, 11-Simon Mannering (captain), 12-Kevin Proctor, 13-Jason Taumalolo

Interchange: 14-Lewis Brown, 15-Greg Eastwood, 16-Martin Taupau, 17-Tohu Harris, 18-Suaia Matagi (one to be omitted).

Injuries have also hampered NZ’s build up. Waerea-Hargreaves, Moa, Matulino, Hurrell, Tuivasa-Sheck and McKendry have all been scratched, and Issac Luke is still suspended. The Kiwis haven’t beaten Australia in their last eight match-ups so will need to rely heavily on Jesse Bromwich and Jason Taumalolo to challenge the Australian forwards and go some way to reverse the recent trend. The interchange made up of only forwards suggests NZ would prefer the game to be played in the middle of the park and clearly see their strength in and around the ruck which is curious with Issac Luke’s absence.

England: 1. Sam Tomkins, 2. Josh Charnley, 3. Kallum Watkins, 4. Michael Shenton, 5. Ryan Hall, 6. Gareth Widdop, 7. Matty Smith, 8. George Burgess, 9. Josh Hodgson, 10. James Graham (c), 11. Liam Farrell, 12. Joel Tomkins, 13. Joe Westerman.

Interchange: 14. Darryl Clark, 15. Brett Ferres, 16. Tom Burgess, 17. Chris Hill.

James Graham had a taste of captaincy in the NRL final and now gets to lead his countryman into an exciting battle against Samoa first up. Regular captain Sean O’Loughlin may return at some point during the Four Nations, but until then Graham and a host of other NRL stars are tasked with putting the loss of Sam Burgess to rugby at the back of Rugby League fan’s minds. NRL regulars including Sam Tomkins, The Burgess Twins, and Gareth Widdop are all included in a team that could upset weakened opponents in the Four Nations. They’ll need to see off the spirited Samoa side first that is equally packed with NRL talent.

Samoa: 1.Tim Simona 2. Antonio Winterstein 3. Ricky Leutele 4. Joey Leilua 5. Daniel Vidot 6. Ben Roberts 7. Kyle Stanley 8. Sam Tagaetese 9. Michael Sio 10. David Fa’alogo 11. Frank Pritchard 12. Leeson Ah Mau 13. Josh McGuire

Interchange: 14. Pita Godinet 15. Jesse Sene-Lefao 16. Isaac Liu 17. Mose Masoe 18. Dunamis Lui.

NRL fans will recognise most of the names in the Samoan squad. The powerhouse island nation will have plenty of support as the overwhelming underdogs, however they have given themselves the worst possible preparation thanks to a late night brawl culminating in the loss of three key players. The main concern for the talented side will ne in the halves. Ben Roberts and Kyle Stanley are polarising players who can influence games but can also produce errors. The loss of Tim Lafai is a bitter blow.

The Format

The Four Nations will run over four weeks. Each team will play each other once in the pool rounds with the top two nations contesting the final at Westpac Stadium in Wellington on November the 15th.

The Predictions

Winner – Australia – $1.35 – Luxbet

Outside Pick – Samoa v England Round 1 – Samoa $5 – Topbetta

To Score a Try Round 1 – NZ v Aus – Jason Taumalolo – $6 – Unibet

Top Tryscorer Four Nations – Josh Mansour $6.5 – bet365