NRL Odds: Look To The Skies
December 31st, 2014 by TJ DilferThere’s often a distinction made between the NSW-based teams in the NRL and the rest of the franchises. In fact, if you check out the NRL odds you’ll see that you can bet on which of those non-NSW sides will finish highest up the ladder come the end of the 2015 season (the shortest odds are beside the Broncos, incidentally: $2.85). But the sides outside of NSW have a big problem to face down every season – and this season it looks like the draw has made life even harder for some of those sides (and easier for some others)…
We’re talking about the distances that teams have to travel over the course of a season, and the effect that all that travel can have on their fitness and their performance. The travel is inevitable in a country like Australia, of course, and you can see why the Warriors clock up plenty of time in the air, but there will be some franchises coming out of the 2015 season with considerably more loyalty points with their favourite airlines than others, and that might well have an effect on the NRL odds for the year.
Look at a long stretch without any air travel, for instance, for the Roosters between rounds 15 and 26 – will that help them mount a real challenge for the title? It’s up for debate how much, in the modern era of physios and conditioning coaches, the flight will affect a group of players (and you can throw that debate together with the short turn-around one, if you’ve a mind to), but you can decide for yourself if you think it’s going to be a factor in your betting calculations. For the record, the Rabbitohs will travel the most miles of any NSW team in 2015, whilst the Warriors and the Cowboys will earn the most air miles in total. Will that affect the way you see their odds?
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