Daily tips for May 17

NRL (R10) for May 17

Brisbane Broncos v Gold Coast Titans, Suncorp Stadium, Friday, May 17, 7.35pm

The Broncos will be looking for history to repeat itself here. They had lost two in a row when they met and beat the Titans in Round 5, and now they have lost two in a row again. Their win over the Titans was the start of a three-game success streak that improved the Broncos’ win-loss record from 1-3 to 4-3.

The Titans, despite that loss to the Broncos, are travelling better overall. They have a win-loss record of 5-4, including three wins in a row over the Raiders, Sea Eagles and Panthers. Their form since then has been inconsistent, but when they badly needed a win against the Dragons last weekend they prevailed narrowly.

Ben Hunt will start for the injured Scott Prince at five-eighth, and Josh McGuire for the injured Ben Hannant at prop. Justin Hodges’ withdrawal due to a rib niggle is a huge blow to the Broncos. The Titans have an unchanged starting side and, despite the quick turnaround, we like the visitors at the small start.

Suggested bet: Titans +2.5 (two units @ $1.91) LOSE, game total -38 (two units @ $1.91) PUSH (32-6)

Other tips: Rabbitohs v Tigers +42.5 WIN (54-10)

AFL (R8) for May 17

West Coast v Nth Melbourne (Patersons Stadium, Friday, May 17, 8.40pm AEST)

North won't want a repeat of their last visit here when they were smashed by 96 points in the first week of the 2012 finals. Indeed, the Roos have gone five without victory against the Eagles and it’s hard to see that record improving here. West Coast regains Daniel Kerr, Chris Masten, Beau Waters and Adam Selwood while Andrew Swallow remains under an injury cloud, especially on the short turnaround. While the Eagles probably win here, they were far from their best in Brisbane last week while North, with its forward line suddenly looking potent, has to be a solid chance to cover this line.

Suggested bet: Nth Melbourne +18.5 (one unit @ $1.91) WIN, game total +192.5 (two units @ $1.91) LOSE (90-88)

Racing for May 17

Horse racing: Geelong (Vic), Scone (NSW), Ipswich (Qld), Mt Gambier (SA), Albany (WA), Wagga Wagga (NSW)

Harness racing: Mildura (Vic), Young (NSW), Gold Coast (Qld), Melton (Vic), Newcastle (NSW), Globe Derby (SA), Gloucester Park (WA)

Greyhound racing: Casino (NSW), Gawler (SA), Bendigo (Vic), The Gardens (NSW), Albion Park (Qld), Geelong (Vic), Wentworth Park (NSW), Mandurah (WA), Winnellie Park (NT)

The racing spotlight shifts to the heartland of our breeding industry over the next two days for the biggest country racing carnival in Australia. The Scone Cup Carnival boasts more than $2 million in prize money with stand-alone metropolitan status on Saturday. Feature races include the Dark Jewel Classic, Emirates Park Scone Cup, Prydes EasiFeed Quality and the Inglis 3YO Guineas.

Race 7 is the $200,000 Emirates Park Scone Cup (Listed) over 1600m. The top trainers have a big hand in the race and we’ve singled out Peter Moody’s new charge #12 Floria as the value runner of the race. The 5yo Kiwi mare has won just three of 24 but looked impressive in her last start second to Skyerush in the G2 Emancipation Stakes over 1600m on Sydney Cup Day. She drops from 56kgs to 54kgs here, with Josh Parr taking the ride.

Suggested bet: Scone R7 #12 Floria each-way (two units @ $8) LOSE (4th)

Other tips

Scone R2 #10 Tableaux (E/W) 1st ($3.10/$1.40)

Scone R4 #1 Chandos (win) LOSE (U/P)

Scone R5 #2 Smart Moochi (E/W) 2nd ($2.80)

Geelong R2 #4 Lideem (win) 1st ($2.10)

Geelong R4 #8 The Princeling (win) LOSE (U/P)

Harness racing tip: Melton R4 #2 Ima Grumpy Jasper (E/W) 2nd ($1.40)

Greyhound racing tip: Wentworth Park R2 #1: Maya Keroma (win) 1st ($2.00)

MLB for May 17

San Francisco Giants (23-17) @ Colorado Rockies (21-19), Coors Field, Denver, CO, Friday, May 17, 10.40am

We can’t promise another day like yesterday’s insane 10 winners from 11 tips but have a rolled gold special to keep our MLB betting well and truly in the black. Though they had Marco Scutaro only for a brief time, the Colorado Rockies might regret sending him to the San Francisco Giants. Scutaro has ripped apart Colorado pitching since that trade.

San Francisco is 14-2 against the Rockies since acquiring Scutaro, and he’s hit .418 with 13 RBIs in that span. He’s 12 for 27 with seven RBIs in six games back at Coors. The Giants’ current nine-game winning streak over Colorado (21-19) is their longest in the 20-year history of this series. They’ve averaged 7.1 runs during that run while batting .355.

Matt Cain (2-2, 5.04 ERA) is out to beat the Rockies for a fifth straight time. He’s 7-1 with a 2.79 ERA in his last 10 starts against them. Jhoulys Chacin (3-2, 2.70) is looking to avoid a third loss in as many starts following a stint on the DL. He's allowed eight runs and 16 hits in 12 innings since returning, compared to 3-0 with a 1.46 ERA before straining his back.

Suggested bet: Giants WIN (three units @ $1.93) WIN (8-6)

Other tips

Mariners @ Yankees -9 WIN (3-2)
Brewers @ Pirates -8.5 WIN (1-7)
Reds WIN @ Marlins WIN (5-3)
Red Sox @ Rays WIN LOSE (4-3)
Mets +1.5 @ Cardinals WIN (5-2)
Tigers WIN @ Rangers LOSE (4-10)
White Sox @ Angels -8 LOSE (5-4)
Nationals WIN @ Padres WIN (6-2)

NHL playoffs for May 17

Western Conference semi-finals, game 2: San Jose Sharks @ Los Angeles Kings, Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA, Friday, May 17, 12.10pm (Kings lead 1-0)

San Jose suffered its first loss of the 2013 playoffs in Game 1 against the Kings (2-0) after sweeping the Vancouver Canucks in the first round. The loss was also the 17th time in the team’s history that they have been shutout in a game during the postseason. Furthermore, the Sharks moved to 1-5 in their last six versus the Kings when meeting them in LA.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles continues its sensational play at the Staples Center, winning 11 straight, which includes their final seven during the regular season and four in the playoffs. The Kings own a stellar 38-13 record in their last 51 games played on their home ice. While center Jarret Stoll is out after that ferocious hit from Raffi Torres in Game 1, the Kings are clicking at the right time as they continue their quest to repeat as Stanley Cup champions.

Suggested bet: Kings WIN (three units @ $1.70) WIN (3-4)

Other tips

ECSF1: Rangers @ Bruins -5 WIN (2-2)

NBA playoffs for May 17

Western Conference semi-finals, game 6: San Antonio Spurs @ Golden State Warriors, ORACLE Arena, Oakland, CA, Friday, May 17, 12.35pm (Spurs lead 3-2)

If the Spurs want to close out the Warriors in Game 6 on Thursday night at rowdy Oracle Arena, they'll have to do what neither team has in this series: win consecutive games. Golden State also is 4-0 after a loss in the playoffs. San Antonio has increasingly shown its veteran savvy the last three games, and Golden State has looked like it’s finally wearing down from all its injuries but we reckon they have enough in the tank to drag this to Game 7.

Tony Parker, Tim Duncan and the rest of the Spurs overwhelmed the Warriors in Wednesday night’s 109-91 win in San Antonio. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson combined to score just 13 points on 6-of-22 shooting. Teams that have won Game 5 of a best-of-seven series that was tied have gone on to win the series 88 out of 99 times. However, those teams are 50-49 in Game 6.

Suggested bet: Warriors WIN (two units @ $2.15) LOSE, game total -195.5 (one unit @ $1.91) WIN (94-82)

Other tips

ECSF5: Pacers +5 LOSE @ Knicks -181 (3-1) WIN (75-85)

* Prices with thanks to Centrebet, correct at time of publication