As promised a couple more from the National Leagues

Dewsbury +6 v Sheffield 2pts@1.91 with Bet365

Despite conceding 70pts at home to Salford last weekend there were signs that Dewsbury could be competitive in this one. They held their full time rivals for 60 minutes until the floodgates opened. This week sees them pitched against Sheffield who are not in the same class. Before the Salford game there were more encouraging signs with a close defeat at Whitehaven. I promised myself not to back poor teams after their defeat at home to Celtic and I do so with an element of trepidation but I've got to trust my tissue which has been so good to me this season. Sheffield's recent form has been very patchy with defeats by Whitehaven and Leigh and a close victory at home to Batley. That form is nothing to write home about and their coach Aston has had a few public moans about missing key players. Dewsbury can compete against this lower ranked team and I had this one as a scratch fixture. The lower stake is caution against backing a team that is low on confidence.

Celtic scratch v Whitehaven 4pts@1.25 & 1pt@1.91 Celtic -10 both with Stanjames

Celtic's home form has been very good and they put away a strong Widnes team with ease in their last match in the Valleys. Defeat at Featherstone coupled with Whitehaven's win at Sheffield has probably done us a favour in obtaining this low handicap. I've said before that the layers tend to over-react to a team's last fixture and I prefer to look at the overall capabilities of a team. There's nothing in the form book that suggests Whitehaven can win away at a team like Celtic. If the weather is poor there's a chance that Whitehaven could keep it tight though the Welsh team looked good in the rain in that Widnes fixture. With the possible poor weather in mind I've put more of my eggs in the match odds basket. I had Celtic by 14.

Incidentally you may be wondering why there's been no suggestions from SuperSoccer in the last few weeks when I had a glut of bets with that firm in the early weeks of the season. Well I'm afraid they've closed down my account as I don't give them the sort of business they desire. Any firm with half a brain would use the information from their respected clients and alter their lines but they've preferred to put up the white flag. I won't suggest a bet that I haven't placed myself which in some cases means that the handicaps quoted are no longer obtainable but I try to put up what my own tissue is to give others a chance to decide whether it's worth playing at an inferior line.

the man