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 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.
