It would seem as though some punter money has been migrating toward the Greater Western Sydney Giants as the bounce for their first round finals game against the Adelaide Crows at the Adelaide Oval is down to a question of hours.
The point spread is down from 15.5 to 10.5 and it is hard to imagine either side has done anything to justify a five-point drop in a day’s time, but after once being favoured by 15.5, the Crows are seeing a plunge as the game approaches.
The head-to-head market has also gotten tighter, as the Crows are now listed at $1.57 to $2.45 for the Giants.
All of our figures here are courtesy of ubbet.com. This bookmaker is offering 66 markets for the game, far fewer than some of the other bookies, but 66 should satisfy all except the few who want the most exotic of the exotics.
The drop in the prices towards GWS may have something to do with the Crows having ruled out Rory Sloane, but it is hard to see why anyone would have expected Sloane to, one, be back at all following an emergency appendectomy just over a week ago, and two, that Sloane would be doing anything other than standing on the sidelines looking smart in his Crows kit.
The Giants have made a few moves of their own. They have dropped veteran forward Steve Johnson in order to run Matt de Boer and they have added Harrison Himmelberg in Devon Smith’s stead.
One might think that the Giants’ decision to delist Johnson, who, according to GWS Coach Leon Cameron, has been a “big finals player,” would have tipped the balance further toward the Crows, but the market does not lie, and it seems as though the Crows missing Sloane had the bigger influence on the punting.
