2022 Commonwealth Games Daily Tips

He came to our attention 12 months ago in Tokyo and Peter Bol is our pick for gold in the Men’s 800m.

Despite an ankle injury he has cruised into the final and looks well placed to take out the title here.

It’s not the biggest odds but such is our confidence in Bol I’ll back him anyway.

Rousseau might have missed out on a medal in Tokyo but he is every chance of claiming the gold in this one.

At 21 he has a chance to kick start a long career with a victory here and I’ll back him as a favourite in this event.

If you’re tuning into this one after the 1m Springboard event, there’s a few familiar names competing.

However if the market is anything to go by it’s a two horse race between Mia Vallee and Aussie Maddison Keeney.

Keeney has medalled in this event in multiple events and is more than capable of putting together a winning effort so we’ll close out the weekend backing her in.

We’re going for the trifecta in the Women’s 800m with English runner Keeley Hodgkinson the short priced favourite to take out the gold.

For the silver we’ll take Scottish runner Laura Muir who cruised into the final in a 1:58.84 in her heat and has a PB that would put her in medal contention as well.

Finally to round out the podium we’ve got Natoya Goule, the Jamaican runner who bested Muir in the heat and actually posted the best qualification time for the final.

Can anyone stop Vinesh Phogat in this field?

We’re backing Samantha Stewart to do just that as the veteran chases what would be the biggest win of her career.

It’s not the biggest field and if Stewart can get into the gold medal bout, she is every chance of taking out the title.

It’s shaping up as an Aussie one-two in the high jump with the duo of Eleanor Patterson and Nicola Olyslagers (formerly McDermott) clear favourites over the rest of the field.

But the battle for bronze will keep this contest interesting with a wide open group of contenders set to compete and pounce if one or both Aussies falter.

Local hope Emily Borthwick looks to be a bit over the odds to even win a medal and I’ll back her to find her way on to the podium.

Canadian Taylor has an impressive resume, winning local events and now has a chance at a major international tournament victory.

It’s a wide open field with only two of her competitors installed with shorter odds and only four wrestlers given single digit odds at the time of publish.

Taylor has the potential to surprise here and I’ll back her in at her current price.

Aussie Georgia Sheehan already has a Commonwealth Games gold medal under her belt, taking out the 3m Synchronised Springboard on the Gold Coast but now she is targeting an individual honour in Birmingham.

It won’t come easily however with Mia Vallee and Grace Reid set to provide some stiff competition with the former taking silver in this event at the World Championships earlier this year.

Reid is the defending Commonwealth Games champion at this event but Sheehan is going into this event with plenty of confidence and she could offer up some good value.

Hometown hope Joscelin Lowden is seen as a great medal chance alongside Grace Brown and Georgia Williams of Australia and New Zealand respectively.

Lowden has the resume to push the gold medal favourite all the way having set the (since broken) mark for an hour in September last year.

With the home crowd behind her, Lowden will be well placed to go all out here.

Eight years ago, Dennis won the silver at the Commonwealth Games and missed out on a medal on the Gold Coast in 2018.

This might be his last chance to claim a Commonwealth Games gold medal and I’m backing him in here.

After all, he is a time trial specialist and only really has to overcome the challenge of Geraint Thomas, which he is more than capable of.

It’s not the most ambitious play but Matt Denny deserves his favouritism in this market.

The 2018 silver medallist in this event just missed out on the podium in Tokyo by just five centimetres but the good news is, none of his conquerors that day are in the field.

Back him to get the job done here and get that gold.

Aussie Rohan Browning flew out of the blocks in the 100m heats, literally, to register a time of 10.10 and he will need to go to another level in the semis and final overnight.

Only four runners registered a better time in the heats, one of which was a PB but Browning looks like a good value play to finish on the podium.

It will require a bit of good fortune, but Browning certainly looks like he has found form at the right time.

The other marquee event of the track program is the women’s 100m and it’s looking like a race for second behind Elaine Thompson from Jamaica who is at an unbackable $1.10 to take out the gold.

You could just about throw a blanket over the rest of the field but Nigeria’s Nzubechi Nwokocha made plenty of people stand up and take notice with a blistering 10.99 in the heat.

I’ll back her to continue with that impressive form and get a top two finish.

If the market is to be believed, we know who the top three in this race will be and probably what order they will be in.

Duncan Scott is a $1.50 favourite to take out the gold but Kiwi Lewis Clareburt has recent form, taking out the gold in the 400m IM as well as the 200m butterfly which has him well placed heading into this race.

We’re backing another New Zealander to win a gold medal in Birmingham with Kody Andrews on the second line of betting for the heaviest division in the Judo.

His main competition will come from gold medal favourite Marc Deschenes from Canada ($1.25) but the Kiwi will present a stiff challenge if the two can progress into the gold medal match.

The gap between the two might not be as big as the market would suggest.

One of the first medals to go on the line in the athletics at the Commonwealth Games is the Women’s Pole Vault.

2018 champion Alysha Newman will be out to defend her title and put a disappointing effort in Tokyo behind her.

Here she is on the third line of betting with Aussie Nina Kennedy as the favourite but if she can find her pre-2020 form, she could wind up pinching the gold medal.

The Aussie heads into this event as the second favourite behind Canadian Olympic bronze medallist Catherin Beauchemin-Pinard but represents a great chance to add to her country’s already sizable gold medal haul.

Thankfully, the draw has been very kind to Haecker, drawing the winner of the one “Round of 16” bout between Nigeria’s Cecilia James and Zambia’s Taonga Soko for her first outing.

Following that she will most likely have to go through England’s Gemma Howell in the Semi Finals before Beauchemin-Pinard for gold.

Having taken out the title in the Pan American-Oceania championships earlier this year, Haecker is a good value prospect in this tournament.

While one Aussie Elizabeth Dekkers is a near unbackable favourite to win gold ($1.35), her compatriot Brianna Throssell is an outside chance of a top two place.

All she has to do is find a way to outswim Laura Stephens of England who is on the second line of betting for the gold.

Throssell is every chance here and with the way the Aussies are going in the pool, it’s tough to back against them.

The Kiwi cyclist has already had a successful time in Birmingham after winning gold in the team and individual sprint events as well as a silver in the team pursuit as a late call up.

She will head into the keirin on the third line of betting behind Canadian duo Kelsey Mitchell and Lauriane Genest but does have the confidence of defeating both of those riders less than 12 months ago in Tokyo, where she claimed a silver behind Shanne Braspennincx of the Netherlands.

With no Dutch rider to compete with this time around, Andrews looks well over the odds and if she can avoid the fatigue of a busy program catching up with her, she could prove to be a solid value play.

With the pool play underway in the sands of Birmingham, now is the time to jump on the Aussie duo.

It looks like it will be a two horse race between them and Canadian duo Pavan and Humana-Paredes ($2.10) but after a convincing straight sets victory in their first outing, I’ve seen all I need to from the Aussies.

Chances are their price will continue to drop as the field is condensed throughout the week so get on them now while there is still some value to be had.

Mauritius might not be a powerhouse, but Priscilla Morand is a great chance to bring home the nation’s second ever gold medal from the Commonwealth Games.

She will start the Judo tournament as a slight favourite over Geronay “Michaela” Whitebooi ($2.80) and hometown hope Amy Platten ($3.75) but will have the confidence of taking out the gold medal in this event at the African Championships at the end of May.

Morand will be battling the weight of expectation heading into this tournament but the confidence of winning the prior event should be enough to spur her on to gold.

The Aussie swimmers are flying in the pool with 32 medals already including 11 golds and Day 4 should produce more success.

Kaylee McKeown should add to that tally as a $1.22 favourite in this event and her compatriot Minna Atherton is a great medal chance as well.

Pair them up in a SGM and back another two medals to be added to the Aussie total.

This race is not shaping up as an overly competitive contest in terms of the gold medal, but it’s anyone’s guess about the makeup of the rest of the podium.

South African Tatjana Schoemaker is an unbackable favourite and will be comfortably finished by the time the field catches up to her.

But the two Aussies in this race, Jenna Strauch and Taylor McKeown are both legitimate medal chances and they could both easily find their way onto the podium.

Back the swimmer at longer odds, which in this instance is McKeown.

Yes there is a bit of an Aussie theme to these swimming tips but it is one of the sports we’re good at, so why not lean into it.

It’s a race in two for all intents and purposes with McKeon on level pegging with Canadian Maggie MacNeil in the market, with Holly Barratt lurking in behind.

But it’s McKeon that loves these shorter distances and she has the runs on the board.

While not quite a home town pick, Jack Carlin is close enough to his native Scotland to qualify here.

He’s a short priced favourite and I like his chances of picking up the gold in this event.

The Olympic champion of this event will seek her first Commonwealth Games medal in this event and you can get her at a solid price for this one.

Her main rivals are Canadian Kylie Masse and fellow Aussie Mollie O’Callaghan but McKeown has the form over this distance and should be able to take care of business.

There is no questioning Paul’s pedigree when it comes to sprinting but he looks to be well placed in the Keirin.

He’ll start on the second line of betting with Aussie Matthew Glaetzer and only just behind Scotsman Jack Carlin.

At that price I love the value on offer here.

Let’s call this the Saturday home town special.

England will start this event as favourites and while the Canadians are seen as a threat by the market, but they might be more of a value play in the individual events.

In front of a home crowd at their back, take the English favourites.

Heading into this tournament as a clear favourite, the Aussies will face India in their first game.

The bookies have priced them at $1.28 to defeat the Indians who are coming off a 3-0 ODI series sweep of Sri Lanka.

Not that it should deter you from backing the reigning world champions in this one, however at that price you can and probably should be looking for a bit more value.

Meg Lanning was in good form in the warm up matches and I’ll back her to start the Comm Games with a bang, top scoring for the Aussies.

On the back of consecutive bronze medals, Jamaica will be chasing gold here in Birmingham and they get a relatively soft landing against a Welsh side ranked eighth in the world.

Maybe this one is close at the start of the match but Jamaica should be able to run away with the game the longer it goes on.

Take the Jamaicans to cover the line and get their campaign off to a good start.

This might be the best head to head contest of Day 1 at the Commonwealth Games with the New Zealand side just favoured ahead of the English.

But in the velodrome you cannot underestimate the boost the home town crowd will give the English team that extra motivation.

We’ve seen it many times before and I’ll back that to get the second favourites home.

We’ll wrap up Day 1 with a SGM tip from the pool and back an Aussie 1-2 in the 200m freestyle.

Naturally we’re backing Ariane Titmus to back up her gold in this event from Tokyo last year with a win, if she is on her game nobody is catching her.

There is a chance it could be an Aussie trifecta on the podium but we’ll just back the first two home and take Maddison Wilson over Mollie O’Callaghan.

Without trying to sound overconfident, the pool is where the Aussies should dominate so why not back them in here.