Manly might be regarded as the team everybody loves to hate but they’re receiving substantially more love with TAB punters than this weekend’s rivals Parramatta. A loss to Manly ($1.20) could see the fourth placed Eels ($4.40) slip to sixth on the ladder with the Sea Eagles being heavily backed from $2.50 into $2.25 to make the Top Four. Parramatta in contrast have drifted significantly again in the Premiership market from $21 to $26 after being as short as $8.50 four weeks ago. Canberra has been the other team on the slide, blowing out from $21 to $67 in the space of two weeks in the Premiership market as they fight to stay in the finals race against a Melbourne side that has won eight from eight at its home away from home on the Sunshine Coast. The Raiders have drifted from $6.50 to $10 Head-to-Head over the past 48 hours, while sharp punters have taken note of the Storm’s average winning margin of 25 points at the venue over the past two seasons and the line has shifted from 19.5 to 24.5 with one punter having $15,000 on Melbourne -23.5 at $1.85.
