Punters lock in Richmond for finalsPaul Gough, Betting Editor
Sportal
19/06/2013 Is Richmond's long AFL finals drought about to come to an end?The Tigers have famously not played in the finals since 2001 and have only reached the September action twice since their last grand final appearance in 1982.
And since the top eight was introduced in 1994, the men from Punt Road have become the butt of countless jokes from rival fans for having finished ninth on six occasions.
But a win over the struggling Western Bulldogs on Saturday night - a team the Tigers beat by 70 points earlier in the season - will see Damien Hardwick's team move up to sixth spot on the ladder with an 8-4 win/loss record and leave them two games clear inside the top eight.
With matches still to come against St Kilda, North Melbourne, Gold Coast (who admittedly have beaten the Tigers the past two seasons), Brisbane and GWS - all teams expected to miss the finals - and Richmond suddenly looks more than capable of getting the 13 wins that would guarantee a finals berth.
The Tigers also have a return game against Carlton, whom they beat in the opening round, and face Fremantle at the MCG having only lost to the fifth-placed Dockers by a point when the teams met in Perth earlier in the season.
So is it any wonder the Tigers are the big firmers in top eight betting following Saturday's crucial win against finals rivals Adelaide at the MCG.
The Tigers firmed from $1.25 to $1.15 to make the top eight at the TAB following that win and are also $1.15 at Centrebet while Betfair punters can still snap up slightly better odds of $1.19.
Centrebet's Michael Felgate said it was the shortest price the Tigers have ever been to make the top eight at Centrebet since they began betting on the AFL.
"Tigers’ supporters won’t believe it until it happens but with a soft draw in the second half of the season something would have to go terribly wrong for them to miss the eight,” Felgate said.
But Felgate said long-suffering Richmond fans could take out insurance by snapping up the $10 on offer on the Tigers again running ninth this season.
The Tigers have also firmed in premiership betting from $26 to $17 at Centrebet while at Betfair they are on the seventh line of betting at $30 behind Hawthorn ($3.65), Geelong ($4.50), Sydney ($4.70), Fremantle ($9.80), Collingwood ($14) and Essendon ($18.50).
Full article at: http://www.sportal.com.au/betting-zone-news-display/punters-lock-in-richmond-for-finals-240100
