Daily tips for July 12

NRL (R18) for July 12

Brisbane Broncos v Cronulla Sharks, Suncorp Stadium, Friday, July 12, 7.30pm

The last thing Broncos coach Anthony Griffin needs right now is to lose his State of Origin stars to the Queensland side. With last Friday night’s 32-0 loss to Melbourne relegating Brisbane to 13th on the ladder, they need all hands on deck as they look to salvage the remnants of a rapidly sinking season over the next two months. Cronulla find themselves in fifth spot on the NRL ladder with a top-four berth beckoning; however they will be well aware that their past two road trips have been far from inspiring: in Round 13 they were thrashed 38-6 by Melbourne at AAMI Park and in Round 16 fell 24-4 away to North Queensland. That level of performance will undoubtedly need to improve if they are to challenge the big guns at the business end of the season. Both sides replacements are better defensively than they are in the attack, making the ‘under’ our preferred play here.

Suggested bet: Game total -38 WIN (18-19)

AFL (R16) for July 12

Collingwood v Adelaide, MCG, Friday, July 12, 7.50pm

Gotta hand it to Nathan Buckley – from the outside, the Collingwood Football Club has resembled a three-ring circus at times this year. Somehow, they’ve stayed mostly competitive and still relevant in premiership discussions for 2013. With Dayne Beams making his long awaited return here and Ben Reid confirmed as a legitimate second tall forward along side Travis Cloke, the Magpies look well placed for a tilt at the top four. In contrast, last week’s loss to West Coast was just about the last roll of the dice for Adelaide. Brenton Sanderson loses Aidan Riley (injury) and Shaun McKernan (suspension) this week and only has SANFL form to consider for the trip to Melbourne. Having watched the Magpies train this week, I expect they’ll stick with the aggressive attacking style of play that served them so well after quarter-time against the Blues, and put the Crows to the sword.

Suggested bet: Collingwood -27.5 LOSE, game total +173.5 WIN (111-84)

Racing for July 12

Horse racing: Geelong (Vic), Goulburn (NSW), Ipswich (Qld), Tamworth (NSW). Harness racing: Maryborough (Vic), Young (NSW), Newcastle (NSW), Melton (Vic), Gold Coast (Qld), Port Pirie (SA), Gloucester Park (WA). Greyhound racing: Grafton (NSW), Gawler (SA), Bendigo (Vic), The Gardens (NSW), Ipswich (Qld), Wagga (NSW), Geelong (Vic), Wentworth Park (NSW), Mandurah (WA).

Harness racing tip: Melton R4 #2 Have A Bender (win) 1st ($1.60)
Greyhound racing tip: Wentworth Park R5 #6 Gradence (win) LOSE (U/P)

MLB for July 12

Colorado Rockies (44-48, 18-27 away) @ Los Angeles Dodgers (45-45, 25-21 home), Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, CA, Friday, July 12, 12.10pm

After recalling Carlos Gonzalez back in the line-up (with Dexter Fowler and Troy Tulowitzki not far off either) their last time out, the Rockies are hoping that they’re virtually at full strength when they face the Los Angeles Dodgers, winners in 15 of 18. They’ll be timely additions in a what we expect will be a high scoring affair between two clubs coming off late finishes yesterday. Colorado (44-48) will try to continue heading in the right direction with another strong showing against the struggling Chris Capuano (2-6, 5.19 ERA). The left-hander has lost his last four match-ups with the Rockies with a 6.75 ERA, giving six runs over 4 1/3 innings in a 9-5 loss at Coors Field last Thursday.

The Rockies will have to face a surging Dodgers club that’s 1 1/2 games behind Arizona for the NL West lead after a sweep of the Diamondbacks. Los Angeles (45-45) capped that series by rallying for a 7-5 victory in 14 innings Wednesday. Rockies starter Drew Pomeranz (0-2, 9.72) has not made it past the fifth inning in two starts since being recalled from the minors. He gave up five runs in four innings of an 11-1 loss to Arizona on Saturday, matching a career high with five walks. The left-hander gave up six runs over four innings in his most recent match-up with Los Angeles, a 10-8 loss on August 29. Ramirez hit a two-run homer off him in that game.

Suggested bet: Rockies WIN (one unit @ $2.49) LOSE, game total +8 (three units @ $1.87) LOSE (1-6)

Other tips

AL: Blue Jays @ Indians WIN $2.07 WIN (2-4)

AL: Twins +1.5 $2.00 @ Rays WIN (3-4)

AL: Royals @ Yankees WIN $1.86 WIN (4-8)

AL: White Sox @ Tigers +7.5 $2.13 WIN (6-3)

AL: Red Sox @ Mariners +8 $1.95 WIN (8-7)

AL: Rangers @ Orioles +9.5 $2.05 LOSE (1-3)

NL: Nationals @ Phillies WIN $2.27 WIN (1-3)

NL: Reds @ Braves WIN $1.92 WIN (5-6)

NL: Cardinals WIN $1.83 @ Cubs LOSE (0-3)

NL: Brewers WIN $2.22 @ Diamondbacks LOSE (3-5)

NL: Giants @ Padres +7 $1.87 LOSE (4-2)

CFL for July 12

Saskatchewan Roughriders (2-0) @ Toronto Argonauts (1-1), Rogers Centre, Toronto, ON, Friday, July 12, 9.40am

The Thursday night CFL spotlight will be on Toronto as the Argonauts host Saskatchewan at Rogers Centre. Easily the top-scoring club in the league so far, Saskatchewan is averaging 37.5 PPG thanks to a season-opening 39-18 romp over Edmonton on the road, and a 36-21 triumph over Calgary. They scored in every quarter, with quarterback Darian Durant converting all but eight of his 34 pass attempts for 258 yards and two touchdowns, shaking off a pair of sacks along the way. Coming out of the backfield, Kory Sheets accounted for another 133 yards and a major on 26 rushing attempts for a squad that has run the ball a league-high 53 times through two games for an average of 147.5 YPG. Note that the Riders have posted back-to-back 30+ point performances only four times in the past three seasons. In their next game they've put up 25, 23, 5, and 20 points.

While the Riders seem to be stacked with talent at the skill positions, Toronto also has some marquee players to keep an eye on. Everyone knows how devastating Chad Owens has been for the team and he did so again versus the Lions with a game-high 11 receptions for 111 yards, adding another 70 yards on kickoff returns and 18 on punt returns as well. The other key components for the Toronto offense are Ricky Ray at quarterback and running back Chad Kackert. Both defences need to be at the top of their respective games or Ray and Durant could carve them up with surgical precision. Because the Argos are at home and will have the full weight of the crowd behind them, give the hosts a slight edge in this one with a trend to the over.

Suggested bet: Game total +54.5 (2.5 units @ $1.91) WIN, Argonauts -1.5 (1.5 units @ $1.91) LOSE (39-28)

• Prices with thanks to Centrebet, correct at time of publication – for most people gambling is an exciting and fun recreational pursuit. For others it can become a problem with devastating consequences for them, their families and friends. We want you to enjoy your gambling experience. We want you to stay in control of your gambling and not allow your gambling to control you.