Thursday Night Rugby League

By The Man

Whitehaven v Widnes



1st July 19:30 Sky Sports 2

Whitehaven entertain Widnes in tonight's televised affair and I'm afraid I can't find an edge. Whitehaven were only seconds from a Super League place a few short seasons ago yet they allowed their team to grow old and the replacements are not of sufficient quality. Lack of funds have hampered any serious recruitment drive and as a result Haven find themselves in the depths of a relegation battle. They now sit in that zone three points adrift of safety. If they are going to survive they really must win games like this. However, I fear that the task is beyond them. Traditionally they have been very strong at home and the Rec' was something of a fortress but whilst they still perform better there than on their travels they aren't winning games. They have secured home bonus points versus Leigh, Barrow and Keighley but only have the solitary win against Toulouse.

Widnes meanwhile have had a poor season themselves. They will cite injury problems but even so they should have done much better. They currently sit outside the play-off positions and they also will see this as a must win game if they want their season to be extended.

There is little doubt that Widnes are the better side and they tend to beat the lesser lights as proven at Keighley, Dewsbury and Sheffield but as always it's a question of by how many? My handicap was 10-12pts. The bookmakers' handicaps range from 10pts-12pts so there is little option for me other than to play layer on the exchanges and let the other punters make the mistakes at what I consider to be poor prices. My exchange prices are below and you're all welcome to join me. Layer liquidity is generally low and with the game televised I would be very surprised if I didn't have a position one way or another at kick off:
 
Whitehaven 4.2
Widnes 1.21
Draw 25
 
Whitehaven HT +5.5 1.95
Widnes HT -5.5 1.75
 
Whitehaven +10.5 1.91
Widnes -10.5 1.79
 
Whitehaven +22.5 1.21
Widnes -22.5 3.65
 
Whitehaven -8.5 6
Widnes +8.5 1.07
 
The Man