Shumpty’s Punt: The Weekend Multi #3

July 6, 2012 By in Shumpty's Punt Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

Last week we picked up four of five legs of the multi and were let down by the Texas Rangers not covering the line against the Oakland A’s.  There is again a plethora of sport to watch, support and punt on this weekend however, despite that, I am not being greedy and am going back only a five legger this week.  All prices are from sportsbet.com.au and are current at the time of posting.

My weekend sports multi for this weekend is as follows:

Leg 1

As I have previously noted I usually loath to put a bet on the NRL.  This is principally because I am not a big follower of the game any more but for when the Canberra Raiders play.  That said, this week I am very keen on the Canterbury Bulldogs to defeat the Wests Tigers.  The Bulldogs are coming off the back of a five game winning streak and have been minimally disrupted by the State of Origin period.  The Tigers have lost their last two games whilst missing 100 tackles and they are without Robbie Farah for this one.  The Bulldogs should win and win well and I think they will cover the line.

Canterbury Bulldogs to cover the line (-6.0) against the Wests Tigers at $1.92

Leg 2

The North Melbourne Kangaroos host the West Coast Eagles at Blundstone Arena in Tasmania on Saturday afternoon in what should be a very interesting fixture.  The Eagles have lost three games this season and have lost them all away.  The Kangaroos are coming off a two match winning streak and have been playing an expansive brand of football that might trouble the Eagles.  All that said, I think this game could come down to a battle of the big men in the middle and that leans me towards the Eagles because they will be pitting their stars in Cox and Naitanui against a depleted ruck for North with Hamish McIntosh sidelined with a knee injury.  Dominance in the mid-field should convert to points for the Eagles and I think they will cover the line in this one.

West Coast Eagles to cover the line (-15.5) against the North Melbourne Kangaroos at $1.92

Leg 3

Round 17 of Super 15 Rugby presents as a vital round for the combatants seeking to make the finals.  An interesting fixture from a betting perspective is the Waratahs hosting the Brumbies at the Sydney Football Stadium on Saturday evening.  The Brumbies have been the form team of the Australian conference and have been in excellent recent form save for a 1 point loss to the Reds.  The Waratahs have been woeful this season and have not had a win in 9 weeks.  I can not believe that the line has the Brumbies only giving up 1 point.  I expect the Brumbies to win and win fairly comfortably and thus am more than happy to take the Brumbies at the line here.

Brumbies to cover the line (-1.0) against the Waratahs at $1.90

Leg 4

Round 17 of Super 15 also provides our fourth leg of the multi this week.  Bloemfontein plays host to the Cheetahs playing the Stormers in the early hours of Sunday morning Australian time.  The Stormers have been consistent all season, lead the South African conference and have the best defence in the competition.  The Cheetahs are enigmatic at best and can be woeful at worst.  I have no hesitation of declaring the Stormers the winners of this fixture but I have no clue as to how much they will win by because they just do not score enough points for me to be confident they will cover the line. 

Stormers to defeat the Cheetahs straight out at $1.38

Leg 5

The final leg of our multi this week again comes from the world of Formula 1.  This weekend is the British Grand Prix from Silverstone.  This is a race that many think the McClarens will dominate: I do not share that view.  Jenson Button has not had a car under him to do much at all in recent rounds and Lewis Hamilton is another jack failing during a pit stop away from descending into red mist territory again this season.  For some reason people do not seem to think Mark Webber is a good driver of a F1 car.  I for one think he is a great driver who does not get the plaudits he deserves.  In six of eight rounds this season he has placed fourth or better and he is the second placed driver in the championship.  Whilst I am unsure of his chances of winning here I reckon he is a lock for the top six and have him doing just that as the anchor of the multi this week.

Mark Webber to place in the top six in the Great Britain Grand Prix at $1.80

All up the multi this week will return $17.40 to punters.  As usual, only bet what you can afford and if you can not afford it is simple: don’t bet.

Have a great weekend.

Yours in sport,

Shumpty

Shumpty Eats: Grub St Cafe

July 1, 2012 By in Shumpty Eats Tags: , , Leave a comment

It has been a little while since I posted a food review: simply I have not been eating out much.

Today, however, I decided to head to a cafe that I have driven past multiple times but never ventured into: Grub St Cafe.  Located on Samford Road at Gaythorne, this cafe has always seemed busy when I have driven past and that is as good an indicator as any for me as to whether a cafe has the goods.

The set up of the cafe is excellent: there is a courtyard area were you can sit in the sun, a back deck and an enclosed restaurant area that fronts the street.  In the enclosed area (which is where I sat) the walls are filled with photos, I presume, from the travels of the staff.  It is, I confess, a small room that is filled with some small two seat tables and a some communal style dining tables.  Wooden floors mean that conversations tend to vibrate off the walls so if a noisy feed is not to your liking then I would suggest you choose to dine outside in the courtyard.

To say that menu is a little eclectic is an understatement.  I do not believe I have seen a pork curry, carrot and parsnip pancakes or nasi goring on the menu for breakfast before.  Emboldened by my surrounds I decided to go with the Sri Lankan breakfast pork curry and a vanilla milk shake for my breakfast.

Let’s start with the vanilla milkshake first: I tweeted whilst I was drinking it that it was the best vanilla milkshake and I do not resign from that.  Indeed the milkshake was so good that I ordered a second one when my food came out.  What made it the best milkshake I have ever had? Two things: you could really taste the vanilla (courtesy of ground vanilla pods being in the drink) and the milkshake had been perfectly shaken (there were no ice-cream lumps in the bottom).  I would go back to Grub St again just for the milkshake.

Now onto my food: I have never eaten curry for breakfast (granted it was 10:30am when I ate) and I will declare now that I am unlikely to do so again.  This decision has absolutely nothing to do with my meal and everything to do with having a dodgy stomach that probably didn’t need curry this morning  on top of a pizza laden with chilli the night before.  The curry was pretty good and certainly was breakfast sized.  The pork in the dish was perfectly cooked and the curry had just enough sting in it so as to have me crushing through the water like there was an impending water shortage.  For the curry buffs it was hotter than a madras but not as hot as a vindaloo.  Just the right of amount rice accompanied the dish (and I did not need to order it in addition to the dish).

Sri Lankan breakfast pork curry

All in all, I am unable to say a bad word about Grub Street.  I had an excellent meal, the best vanilla milkshake I have ever had, the service was great and the prices were very reasonable.

I would recommend breakfast or lunch (some of the burgers on the lunch menu look immense) for anyone in the Gaythorne area and indeed would suggest it is worth a drive to to try if you are not on that side of town.

10 out of 10

Grub Street on Urbanspoon

Shumpty Punts: or does he? When to put the cash back in the wallet

June 30, 2012 By in Shumpty's Punt Tags: , Leave a comment

A very short post today: the Caloundra Cup race day has presented with a Heavy 10 track and frankly, with all of the rain in South East Queensland this week I am a bit surprised they even got on.

I hate punting on wet tracks and will not be having a bet. It is one of those days to leave the money in the wallet.

If you are having a punt: hope you go well.

Shumpty’s Punt: The weekend sports multi #2

June 29, 2012 By in Shumpty's Punt Tags: , , Leave a comment

It is Friday and that means only one thing: it is time for the weekend sports multi.

Last week, if you had a bet on the multi you received a return of just over $10 (per dollar invested) after Sauber’s Sergio Perez limped home to be 9th in the European Grand Prix.  I don’t know what I was cheering more loudly: Mark Webber’s charge through the field to pick up 4th or Perez holding on to put Shumpty’s Punt fans in the cash.

Off the back of that result, I have come up with a 5 leg multi that I am again pretty confident will see followers laughing all the way to the bank.  All odds have been sourced from sportsbet.com.au. 

The multi this week kicks off tonight with the Reds visiting the Rebels at AAMI Park.  The Reds need to keep winning to keep their finals hopes alive however the Rebels will be farewelling some of their star players who will be donning the Rebels’ jersey for the last time at home.  I think the Reds have too much firepower in this one and will cover the line. 

Leg one: Reds to cover the line (-9.5) at $1.92

For the second leg, attention turns to the Texas and MLB where the Texas Rangers host the Oakland As.  The Rangers send their in form Matt Harrison to the mound and have an offence that is firing on all cylinders (save for their superstar Josh Hamilton who has hit .200 in June).  I think the Rangers will score a heap of runs off Oakland’s rookie starter A.J. Griffin whilst restricting the opportunities for the As to score.  That all means that I am tipping the Rangers to cover the line in this one.

Leg two: Texas Rangers to cover the line (-1.5 runs) at $1.89

Leg three comes from the AFL and the Bombers v Bulldogs game from Etihad Stadium.  James Hird has his young Bombers side flying at the moment while the Western Bulldogs have been more than a bit pedestrian this year.  Like the Baby Bombers of the early 90s, the Bombers are winning games through speed in the mid field and tough defence.  The Bulldogs will not score enough points to challenge the Bombers and I expect them to run away with the game in the fourth quarter.  Again I am tipping the Bombers to cover the line.

Leg three: Bombers to cover the line (-28.5 points) at $1.92

At the same time as the Bombers will be taking on the Bulldogs, the fourth leg of our multi will be kicking off at nib Stadium in Perth where the Western Force will be hosting the Brumbies.  The Brumbies have been the form Australian team in Super 15 rugby this year and I expect them to rise to the challenge of the Western Force’s blue army to win this game in what could be a tight one.  I am tipping the Brumbies to cover the line.

Leg four: Brumbies to cover the line (-4.5 points) at $1.92

This week’s final leg sees me break one of my cardinal rules and place a bet on the NRL.  The Cowboys will be without their talismatic leader in Jonathan Thurston as well as their key forward Matt Scott for their visit across the ditch to take on the New Zealand Warriors.  The Warriors are enigmatic at the best of times but I expect them to put a score on the Cowboys in this one and cover the line.

Leg five: Cowboys to cover the line (-14.5 points) at $1.92

This week I have not tipped any particular banker and am happy with the five legs which, if successful, will return $25.68 for every dollar invested. 

Good luck to all if you are having a punt and remember, as always, if you can not afford to make the bet: don’t.  Is pretty simple really.

Super 15: Round 16 Preview

June 28, 2012 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , Leave a comment

The three week break for the winter international tours is now over and it is time for Super Rugby again. The finals are only three weeks away and there are nine teams still in contention for the final six finals spots. There is not a round left that does not have two or three games in it the result of which will have a large bearing on who does and does not make the finals.

Read more here: http://pinkrugby.com/2012/super-rugby-recap-and-preview-rd-16