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As things are really starting to hot up in the NRL as several teams are vying for top eight play off sports. I want to bring our attention to a clash involving two teams battling it out for top four spots to secure home ties; Brisbane Broncos host the Cronulla Sharks.

BRISBANE BRONCOS V CRONULLA SHARKS Friday 24th July 2008, 10:35 am UK Time

There is a real tension about the Broncos at the moment and it can be clearly seen with their somewhat indifferent displays in recent times as they have been dogged by a few injuries, the odd suspension and seemingly a lack of confidence. Now it really is crunch time.

The Sharks presently lie third in the table; whilst the Broncos languish in fifth which gives an indication that the general consensus is that this should be a very close contest. I think that this mentality should be avoided entirely because you have to look at the key players that have returned to the fold - Darren Lockyer and Peter Wallace are settled back into the side after returning from injury and the inspirational centre Justin Hodges returns to bolster the attack after having been suspended. These are extremely important players and should be key in deciding this match.

If we have to turn to statistics then we should look at this one in particular; Broncos have only lost two games at home in the NRL this season (one of which was to the impressive Manly Sea Eagles unit), and they generally treat Suncorp stadium as a real fortress. In light of this I am in no doubt over who I think is most likely to win this encounter but the big problem is that in the outright market the Broncos are a justified 1.45, which although is more than fair, I cannot seriously justify recommending you to throw your hard earned readies on such a skinny price!

When thinking about what I would consider to be a standard handicap for this encounter, I thought that a mark of eight-ten would be just about right when you consider that the Broncos have some key men fit and raring to go, have the aforementioned home field advantage and I see the Shark's unit attempting to play a pretty defensive game (they have scored the least points of all NRL teams). Ladbrokes offer a handicap start of just six to Cronulla Sharks and therefore I think you should accept this generosity, go the opposite route and cheer on the Broncos!

RECOMMENDATION - 2.5 Points stake on Brisbane Broncos -6 @ 1.91 (Ladbrokes)

Ciao for now.

Crafty Stan

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