Thursday Night Rugby League

By The Man

Hunslet Hawks v Workington Town



5th August 18:30 GMT
Sky Sports 4 (19:30-22:00)

Tonight's televised offering drops down a division and sees champions elect Hunslet host Workington. Hunslet have had a massive season after a lot of recruitment and the automatic promotion berth is firmly in their hands. Coach Paul March has a side with plenty experience from both Super League and the Championship and tonight has a full squad to choose from. They have the benefit of the weekend off whilst Town were involved in a close, tough encounter with Rochdale. All the signs point to a comprehensive home victory and they are signs I agree with.

Workington themselves have brought in many players this year, mainly from the south of the County as Barrow have found their local players surplus to requirements. The players should ensure a play-off berth but coach Gary Charlton admitted himself they need another year in the lower league as they are far from ready for promotion.

The handicaps on offer range from 24pts to 26pts and to be honest they aren't too far away from my numbers. I am leaning with my handicap to the higher of the range and it wouldn't surprise me if Hunslet put on a show and blew the Cumbrians away. That said, I have to pitch my handicap somewhere realistic and I'm afraid it is 26pts which for me is no handicap bet.

Sportingbet pitch their match odds line at 1.05 and for those who like buying money it isn't the worst price in the world but it's not for me. Although extremely unlikely Workington could pull off a surprise.

The total points quotes that I have seen are in the mid fifties with the spread companies a touch higher. I'm in agreement with the spreads in that my line is 58pts but the spread companies have to inflate their prices as they are wary of an avalanche of points.

I've tried my best to find an angle in this game and it is a little disappointing that I haven't got a recommended wager with the fixed odds companies. I am going to try to get the right side of Hunslet and a high scoring game on the exchanges and I will make an account wager that I feel has little risk. I am going to sell the time of the 1st Hunslet try with Sporting Index. Admittedly there looks little upside with only 10pts maximum profit but I see this as having more potential than the downside. I would be amazed if the game went a quarter without a Hunslet try.
 
Pick: Sell Hunslet v Workington Time of the Hunslet Try @ 11 for 0.4pts with Sporting Index
 
The Man