The Pacific Championships draw to a close with the two Cup finals to go with two key promotion-relegation battles. The Jillaroos and Kangaroos both start heavily favoured in their respective finals against New Zealand and Tonga respectively while the Kiwis and the Kumuls do battle in a shock promotion-relegation clash.
PNG have named an unchanged team for the opener of the four-game slate on Sunday while Samoa have lost star Evania Pelite. Samoa were disappointing even in victory against Fiji last week. The Orchids dug deep last week and have tried hard in two of their three showings. No line up yet but will be jumping on the Orchids if the number comes out at +18.5 or bigger.
Recommended Bets
- Best: No betting at time of writing but would take PNG if +18.5 or bigger available
Australia downed New Zealand 14-0 when these teams met two weeks back and it is hard to see the Kiwi Ferns being better suited here. They now play in Australia and have named a worse team with Tiana Davison inexplicably left out. Australia are, of course, strong and will be confident of putting New Zealand to the sword. The concern for the Kiwi Ferns is a dearth of a quality half with Gayle Broughton a pure runner and Tyla King not up to this. The firepower of the Jillaroos will be well suited by a fast track and sunny day. Three of the last five between these two nations have seen Australia win by 14-plus. Tamika Upton is an elite tryscorer with two Test doubles in just four Tests. Tiana Penitani has scored in both het Tests for Australia. Jakiya Whitfeld has nine tries in three internationals.
Recommended Bets
- Best: Australia -10.5 ($1.90)
- Next: Australia 19+ ($3.20)
- Tryscorer: Tamika Upton ($9.00 First, $2.20 Anytime)
- SGM: Tamika Upton Try/Tiana Penitani Try/Jakiya Whitfeld Try ($10.00)
Australia really struggled with Tonga when they won their prior clash 18-0 with Tonga really taking it to the Kangaroos. The final 18-0 scoreline flattered a disjointed Australian team. Tonga were aggressive and covered the line by a ½ point. They have arguably come on more following an historic 25-24 win over New Zealand last week. Australia have struggled to fire with their new halves pairing and the loss of Cameron Murray should not be underestimated. Tonga have not lost by more than 22 in a Test since 2016 – before the stars returned to play. The plus looks good. Tom Trbojevic is an elite tryscorer who has 57 tries in his last 56 NRL games. The Hammer has 12 tries in 12 games for Australia and Queensland. Australia win but the plus is an excellent bet in what projects as a low-scoring game.
Recommended Bets
- Best: Tonga +18.5 ($1.90)
- Next: Under 42.5 ($1.90)
- Tryscorer: Tom Trbojevic ($11 First, $2.15 Anytime)
- SGM: Tom Trbojevic Try/Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow Try ($5.00)
New Zealand have been terribly disappointing this Pacific Championships with new coach Stacey Jones doing little to help the cause. He continues to stick with a team that struggled against Australia and lost to Tonga, notably continuing to play Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad at five-eighth and Peta Hiku in the centres. The Kumuls are really emerging as a quality international team and though they were listless at times against Cook Islands, turned it on when needed. New Zealand are a different proposition but with arguably a better halves pairing, the Kumuls are an excellent bet to cover the big start. Robert Derby is a tryscoring machine with five tries in six Tests. Elitha Roltinga scored eight tries in his last 10 games for the Hunters and has scored in both Pacific Championships games.
Recommended Bets
- Best: Papua New Guinea +19.5 ($1.90)
- Next: Papua New Guinea Win ($7.50)
- Tryscorer: Robert Derby ($15 First, $2.40 Anytime)
- SGM: Robert Derby Try/Elitha Roltinga Try ($6.50)