Time for NRL to follow cricket’s lead on exotic bets
There aren’t enough betting options in rugby league. Cricket betting gets it right. There, things get pretty granular.
You can put your hard earned on whether the next ball will be bouncer or a yorker or a Trevor Chappell.
Will the next over be a maiden or a run fest?
What will be the next type of scoring shot?
Who will be the next player to forget to pick up his hat from the umpire?
What grade of sandpaper are the Australians using on the ball today?
Get yourself a price.
Rugby League? Not enough options. Pick the winner? Boring. Pick the score? Yawn. Get more exotic. More fancy. More novel. More in-play.
Why not an option to predict first and second in the send-offs (Binellas) or the first three (Binfectas).
Who wouldn’t be in favour of being able to bet on how many Trbojevic brothers will be on the field at the end of the game?
Will Victor the inflictor be binned, concussed, or (odds on) both?
How many syllables will be left on the field when Mark Nawaqanitawase or Tino Fa’asuamaleaui get a break?
Mark Nawaqanitawase. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Which of Adam Reynolds’ arms will fall off and need to be taped back on before he kicks another goal?
And here’s one everyone will love.
The winger is bundled into touch at the corner post underneath a pile of defenders. Before any replay, the ref draws a square in the air, there’s a hush and the ground announcer, like they do at the roulette, says, “place your bets”, or, to make it classy, “Faites vos jeux!”. Try? No try? Too hard to tell?
Get on.
And after a reasonable interval, say the time it takes for a roulette ball to drop, the announcer says, “Rien ne va plus”. No more bets. And only then do the replays start. Replays from the left, the right, above, below, from close, from afar. And then, a decision! Cheers, boos, rip up your ticket or collect your money. Punters’ paradise.
The more the better. More betting agencies. More betting ads. More witless oz yobbos exchanging witless repartee with giant NBA players. Bring it on. The only limit is our imagination.
Ladies and gentlemen, messieurs et mesdemoiselles, Faites vos jeux!