Daily tips for June 22

 
Rugby Union for June 22

First Test – Wallabies v British & Irish Lions, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, Saturday, June 22, 8pm

The Wallabies haven’t played together as a unit since December 1, 2012, when Kurtley Beale scored a late try to snatch a 14-12 victory over Wales. And only six members of that starting XV – Berrick Barnes, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Wycliff Palu, Kane Douglas, Ben Alexander and Benn Robinson – will start against the Lions. Robbie Deans’ men have been in camp training since June 2, but their lack of match practice is a major concern.

The Lions suffered their first defeat of the tour at the hands of the Brumbies in freezing conditions at Canberra Stadium on Tuesday night, but only five members of that squad will feature in the match-day 23 on Saturday. Prop Alex Corbisiero, who came off the bench in the shock 14-12 defeat, is the only player from Tuesday’s loss who will start against the Wallabies. The Lions won their first five games on tour including Saturday’s 47-17 win over the Waratahs. Twenty of the 23 players involved in the Waratahs win are playing here.

Wallabies forwards Scott Higginbotham (shoulder), Sitaleki Timani (thumb), Tatafu Polota-Nau (arm), David Pocock (knee) and George Smith (knee) will all miss the entire three-Test series through injury. Winger Joe Tomane (toe) is also out but should be available for selection for the second Test next Saturday. The Lions are missing Wales inside-centre Jamie Roberts (hamstring), Ireland winger Tommy Bowe (hand) and England centre Manu Tuilagi (shoulder). Coach Warren Gatland is hopeful all three will be available for the second Test. Wales winger George North has overcome a hamstring injury and will take his place on the left wing in a major boost for the tourists.

The Wallabies have never beaten the Lions in six Tests in Brisbane and enter Saturday's series opener seriously underdone having not played a warm-up match. We expect the Lions' pack to win the physical battle and deny the dangerous Wallabies backs the space they need to work their magic. Goal-kicking will also be key and the Lions have the edge in that department with Leigh Halfpenny in rare form. In contrast, the Wallabies will rely on Berrick Barnes, who has played 15 minutes of rugby this year, to kick for goal.

Suggested bet: Lions -3.5 (three units) LOSE (21-23)

AFL (R13) for June 22

Port Adelaide v Sydney, AAMI Stadium, Saturday, June 22, 1.40pm

Even in the best of times, Port Adelaide has been a ‘bunny’ side for the Swans at AAMI Stadium with the visitors triumphant on seven of their last 10 trips to play the Power. Despite a much-improved performance in their win over the Giants last week after losing five straight, these are not the best of times for Ken Hinkley’s side. In contrast, Sydney is in sublime form – Daniel Hannebery and Kieren Jack would be in the top 10 of Brownlow voting to this point of the season while John Longmire has the luxury of calling up recruit Kurt Tippett after serving his 13-match suspension. Star Port midfielder Travis Boak misses due to injury, making the Swans’ task even easier.

Suggested bet: Port Adelaide +39.5 WIN, game total -177.5 WIN (72-54)

St Kilda v Melbourne, MCG, Saturday, June 22, 4.40pm

For a game featuring 16th versus 17th, there’ll be plenty of neutral interest here with back stories galore. Rape charges against Stephen Milne, major milestone games for Nick Dal Santo and Nick Riewoldt, a clearly divided St Kilda playing group, the sacking of Mark Neeld … who needs reality TV? Incredibly, for the third time since 2007, Melbourne has a caretaker coach with Neil Craig taking the reins for the rest of 2012. The double-edged sword for Demon fans is the significant bounce-back factor in play here under the new coach and coming off the bye. Throw in a fairly anaemic St Kilda attack and the Demons have a stupid chance of scoring a major upset – we’ll be having a small play on the win too.

Suggested bet: Melbourne +39.5 WIN (104-69)

Footscray v Richmond, Etihad Stadium, Saturday, June 22, 7.40pm

You know things are ticking along nicely when an AFL side names an unchanged line-up, and that’s exactly the position the Tigers are in after clinically dispatching Adelaide last week. While Richmond remains an unproven commodity against the competition’s better sides, the Bulldogs are not in that category. Their numbers have improved over the past month and they have improved their ability to control the temp of the game but they remain a bottom four side across a range of indicators. The biggest discrepancy between the sides is on the scoreboard, where the Tigers are scoring more than three goals per game more and conceding three goals fewer than the Doggies. The exclusion of forwards Dylan Addison and Koby Stevens won’t help that stat – Tigers by plenty.

Suggested bet: Richmond -36.5 WIN, game total -188.5 (best of the round) WIN (61-121)

Racing for June 22 

Horse racing: Flemington (Vic), Randwick (NSW), Eagle Farm (Qld), Morphettville (SA), Belmont (WA), Pakenham (Vic), Newcastle (NSW), Albury (NSW), Rockhampton (Qld), Toowoomba (Qld), Darwin (NT), Broome (WA), Royal Ascot (UK). Harness racing: Gold Coast (Qld), Bunbury (WA), Globe Derby (SA), Menangle (NSW), Parkes (NSW), Shepparton (Vic). Greyhound racing: Bendigo (Vic), Richmond (NSW), The Meadows (Vic), Cannington (WA), Wentworth Park (NSW), The Gardens (NSW).

Place a bet in any race at Eagle Farm this Saturday and if your horse runs second to the favourite, Centrebet will refund your first bet up to $100 cash!

It’s a magnificent sunny winter’s day for today meeting at VRC headquarters, with an unseasonable dead (5) for the eight-race program. We’ve been aboard the Cooldini bandwagon for his past two wins and have no plans to climb off today as the 3yo gelding sets out to make it three successive wins. The fifth heat of the Banjo Paterson Series over 2520 metres is race 2 on the card – #4 Cooldini cruised to victory in heat 3 of this series two weeks back by three lengths, and the only punishment for him is that jockey Chad Schofield has since outridden his claim and the horse will carry 54kg instead of 52.5kg. Even at the odds-on price of $1.80, we still reckon he’s excellent value.

Suggested bet: Flemington R2 #4 Cooldini WIN (three units @ $1.85) 1st ($1.85)

Other tips

Flemington R1 #3 Lady Lakshmi (win) 1st ($3.10)
Flemington R3 #11 Beau Jez (E/W) LOSE (U/P)

Flemington R4 #15 Avighna (place) LOSE (U/P)
Flemington R6 #8 Clanga's Glory (E/W) LOSE (4th)

Flemington R8 #1 Goldslick (E/W) 1st ($10.70/$3.50)

Randwick R2 #3 Correio (E/W) LOSE (U/P)

Randwick R3 #2 Northern Glory (win) 1st ($3.60)

Randwick R4 #8 Soledad (E/W 1x4) ABANDONED

Randwick R6 #9 Eigelstein (E/W) ABANDONED

Randwick R7 #1 Sussuro (place) ABANDONED

Randwick R8 #1 Travolta (E/W) ABANDONED

Eagle Farm R3 #2 Discreet (win) 1st ($2.60)

Eagle Farm R6 #2 Rothera (win) LOSE (3rd)

Eagle Farm R7 #1 Streama (E/W) 2nd ($1.90)

Eagle Farm R8 #1 Howmuchdoyouloveme (E/W 1x4) 1st ($2.40/$1.40)

Morphettville R4 #7 Zerprise Us All (win) 1st ($3.20)

Morphettville R6 #4 Classy Chloe (E/W) 1st ($4.20/$1.80)

Morphettville R8 #2 Green Ginger (E/W 1x4) LOSE (U/P)

Belmont R1 #1 Ihtshymn (win) 1st ($1.60)

Ascot R2 #4 Mount Athos (E/W 1x4) LOSE (U/P)
Ascot R3 #16 Sea Siren (E/W) LOSE (U/P)

Harness racing tip: Shepparton R2 #7 Purplepeopleater (win) 1st ($1.40)

Greyhound racing tip: The Meadows R9 #1 Schroder Bale (win) 1st ($1.30)

MLB for June 22

Baltimore Orioles (42-31, 22-16 away) @ Toronto Blue Jays (35-36, 19-17 home), Rogers Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Saturday, June 22, 9.10am

Though their pitching staff has played a key role in a lengthy winning streak, the Toronto Blue Jays figure to be tested by the powerful Baltimore Orioles. R.A. Dickey looks for his second win during the run as the host Blue Jays go for their ninth straight victory here against heavy hitting Baltimore. Toronto starters have posted a 1.18 ERA in the last seven games, while the bullpen has gone 24 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run. Reliever Brett Cecil has retired 38 batters without giving up a hit, the longest streak in team history. Though last in the AL East, the Blue Jays (35-36) are beginning a 10-game stretch against division opponents.

The Orioles, 22-16 on the road, scored 27 runs and hit 10 homers in that set. They rank at or near the top of the major leagues with 98 home runs, a .274 batting average and 360 runs. Baltimore seeks its third straight win and ninth in 12 games after scoring 18 times and hitting five homers in its last two. Dickey will be opposed by fellow right-hander Jason Hammel (7-4, 5.24), who is 0-2 with a 6.32 ERA in three starts this month. Hammel was scheduled to start Tuesday but was unable to pitch against the Tigers due to a stomach virus. He's 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA in three career starts in Toronto, giving up a career-worst four homers there in a 4-1 loss May 30, 2012.

Suggested bet: Game total +9 (2.5 units @ $1.87) WIN, Blue Jays WIN (1.5 units @ $1.85) WIN (6-7)

Other tips

IL: Astros WIN $2.55 @ Cubs LOSE (1-3)

IL: Pirates WIN $2.44 @ Angels WIN (5-2)

AL: Rays @ Yankees +9 $1.95 LOSE (6-2)

AL: Red Sox @ Tigers WIN $1.74 LOSE (10-6)

AL: Athletics @ Mariners WIN $1.93 LOSE (6-3)

NL: Mets @ Phillies -7.5 $1.95 WIN (4-3)

NL: Braves WIN $1.75 @ Brewers LOSE (0-2)

NL: Dodgers @ Padres +1.5 $1.74 WIN (2-5)

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