NPC Tipping Competition 2024
Welcome to the 2024 edition of the ODT Sport Bunnings NPC Rugby Tipping Competition. Each week we'll be gathering picks from our sponsors to see who can predict not only the winner of each game but the margin as well.
Round 11
This week James is joined by Russell Lundy and Stephen Gibson.
Round 10
Well, just like that, 9 rounds complete and the regular season done and dusted.Sadly no Otago representation for the third consecutive year as we enter the play-offs.
It seems the inability to beat an under strength Wellington B side has come back to haunt us, and a few other banana skins along the way.
Speaking of which, also no representation from any of the teams that comprise the Blues franchise: Northland, North Harbour and Auckland.
That is unbelievable, but true. Today's fun fact!
On the matter of tipping, Will Moore and Brent Lucas continue to joust in the top 2 spots while No.3 is proving to be a merry-go-round of sorts with yet another change. Come on up Ronnie Proctor and take your place on the podium ...... for the time being at least!
Brian Greer goes from the Outhouse to the Penthouse. He jumps from finishing dead last with his picks for the previous round and achieves the best effort this week with 6 from 7 and 16 points.
Tonight sees top-qualifier Wellington host Eighth-placed Counties Manukau, but a repeat of the Steelers shock win over the Lions only 2 week's ago looks highly unlikely.
The men from the Capital are stacked with All Blacks, former All Blacks, players from the All Blacks XV and fringe All Blacks! However, Roigard versus Perenara will be an intriguing match up.
Other play-offs see a "Battle of the Bay" on Saturday afternoon (first time these two have met this season) and Taranaki at home should just pip Waikato in the night game.
Sunday afternoon's meeting is yet another Crusaders-catchment derby and Canterbury will be looking to avenge the defeat to Tasman way back in August. The Red and Blacks are notoriously good in clutch games so don't rule them out despite the TAB thinking otherwise.
Joining us today in the studio to share his thoughts is Conrad Stedman from GJ Gardner Homes.
Round 8
Some helpful tips thanks to TAB for round 8 with James updating leaderboard and preview to this week's games and hot tips for the winners.
Round 7
Southland were gutsy and managed to hold Canterbury to 'Unders' on Friday night, but the biggest surprise came on Saturday with Waikato's pumping of the Magpies. I thought Hawke's Bay might be hurting after the Shield loss to Tasman and Waikato would feel the backlash, um, not quite.
Otago were disappointing against Counties and, since the ill-disciplined effort against Taranaki they really are proving that losing can become a habit. Let's hope a trip to Palmy North can get the ship back on course against the Turbos. The Green and Wites scored after the hooter to beat Southland midweek, but realistically this should be their one-and-only token win for the season. Speaking of Storm Week, just 1 tipster from 20 backed Manawatu with the correct margin. Well done Geoff Hay from Rylock! Not only picking the Turbos but his haul of 7 successful picks (from 8) sees him nudge into third spot at the expense of Russell Lundy.
Games to watch this weekend include Hawke's Bay hosting Taranaki to open the round, Wellington against Bay of Plenty on Saturday afternoon, and of course Oh-taaaaaago!
Joining us today in the studio to share his picks is David Hogue from Polson Higgs.
Round 6
Storm Week for Otago, and no matter how you dress it up the boys in Blue and Gold were beaten by an out-and-out Wellington "B" team. Or more accurately, they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory! Rugby is an 80 minute game not 77 last time I checked. This week it's Counties-Manukau away so let's hope for a win or it's four on the bounce on the wrong side of the score card. Disappointingly this was on the heels of a second-half meltdown against the visiting Cantabs, Otago undoing a magnificent opening 40 and watching as a 7-16 lead was totally undone. But this isn't meant to be a "Let's beat up on Otago" column so we'll move on.
In other games, Bay of Plenty walloped Manawatu, Tasman lifted the Shield with a glorious 50m penalty on fulltime, and it was very much business as usual in the other fixtures.
On the tipping front there was only one headline: Simon Conrad picked 8 from 8 with correct margins in 7 of those games. Truly outstand stuff and this sees Luna jump to fourth spot in the rankings.
This week we are joined by the father and son Dream Team, Mike and Jack Todd from Todd Engineering.
Round 5
Southland and Counties Manukau were the obvious "upsets" but many were also picking Auckland to end its losing streak. Not to be.
Otago suffered early injuries, not to mention 2 yellow cards and overall poor discipline, but still only lost by four points to a decent Taranaki side. Talk about the glass half-full!
Our Top 5 tipsters now all sit in the "sixties" with Will Moore outright first (67) and the others just a shade behind. Come on you stragglers at the other end, it's time for a comeback of Stags' proportions!
Okay, moving on, forget about the past because the Stadium beckons on Saturday afternoon for a tasty local encounter. Otago host Canterbury in the second of our two South Island derby matches, so let's hope for a better outcome than the Southland loss in Round One.
Speaking of derby games, the "Battle of the Bridge" earlier on the same day looms as another doozie. The tipping looks fairly split, half backing Harbour and the rest still believing Auckland will pop its cherry with a win.
Today we are joined in the studio by two guests to share their thoughts, Drew Carmody from Brooker Travel and Will (Maestro) Moore from WAE.
Round 4
Another week done and dusted, another win for Otago! They say winning is a habit so let's hope that's true. This weekend the lads are on the road to Taranaki and face another tough game. By the way, did we mention Oliver Haig is a beast!
Somewhat of a log jam on our Leaderboard sees Property Brokers and WAE tied equal first, and Brent Lucas sits third due to a superior number of correct wins over Michael at the Bottle-O Hillside. At the other end, Shane McFelin is starting to gain momentum and all it takes is a couple of strong weeks of tipping and he'll be amongst it.
Aside from the Otago game, there's plenty of other tasty match ups. The "Far North" takes on the "Far South" in game one, and Canterbury hosting Wellington on Sunday should be a corker. Storm Week sees Northland travel down the road to Hamilton, and most are tipping Waikato for this one.
This episode we are joined by Sean Hurley from Dynes Transport with his thoughts.
Round 3
Otago, for the second week running, set the cat among the pigeons with another shock result.
But it was all smiles this time with a sensational result over the travelling JAFAs!
Special mention to the "Faithful Four" for backing Blue and Gold - Sean Hurley, Will Moore, Conrad Stedman and Brent Lucas. Will and Brent also achieved the perfect 7 from 7 and sit first and second respective
Round Three kicks off with the Taniwha travelling to Napier for a crack at the Log of Wood, but it'll be a big ask to expect a win. Canterbury, meanwhile, play Saturday afternoon in arguably the game-of-the-round against old rivals Auckland at the Garden.
But forget all that, get down to the Glasshouse on Sunday afternoon and watch our boys in Blue and Gold get the chocolates against the other team in blue and gold!
This episode we are joined by Michael Sumner from the Bottle-O Hillside Road.
Round 2
Southland hosted Otago in Round One and threw a massive spanner in the works with its 22-13 upset win. The other boil-over came from Bay of Plenty with a comfortable "W" over Waikato in the Chiefs derby match. Most folks had picked the 'Mooloo' men to get the spoils.
This weekend sees some tasty match ups with Tasman at home to Canterbury, and Wellington hosting Taranaki. Can last year's champs pull it off against the team that could well be this year's champion side, that's the question!
On the picking front, largely a mixed bag. The Bottle-O on Hillside reign supreme in top spot (18 points) with Property Brokers and WAE making up the Top 3 on 17 points.
This episode we are joined by Brian Greer from Loan Market Dunedin
Round 1
There are so many questions to answer. Will Taranaki go back-to-back champions, or will Hawke's Bay avoid "white line fever" and go one better? Will Canterbury atone for the underwhelming efforts of its Super Rugby big brother? And, most importantly, will our boys in Blue and Gold cover themselves in glory?
Join us this week as Conrad Stedman from G.J. Gardener Homes shares his thoughts on the opening round and the possible winners.
