Skip to main content

The fine lines of sport - St George Illawarra v Canterbury and one bad bounce

Yesterday saw another remarkable example of the fine lines in sport and highlighted once again how punters must be tearing their hair out at times. At the start of the match the handicap line was around 6.5pts start for the home team and they soon coughed those points up when they went 8-0 down from two Canterbury tries. But, the home side fought back to make it 10-8 at half time. Then from a very promising start after the team talks, St George came flying out of the traps taking a 20-8 lead after 50 minutes.

But in true sports drama, the entire match was turned upside down on one restart, one unbelievable bounce and a try not a minute after the kick. From there Canterbury were dead and buried and never recovered from one gigantic piece of bad luck. Canterbury then went on a run of 31 unanswered points in a quite remarkable turnaround. So was this written in the stars? Would the 'better' team have had that ball bounce differently? There is little doubt in my mind that if the ball had bounced anywhere but where it did, and that the home side had collected, then this match would have played out differently.

St George were flying when this happened and they would have had a complete set of six against a beleaguered away team who had seen their earlier momentum wiped out. It is yet another reminder that in sport and sports betting, it is never over until it's over.

NOTE - The swing for this game was 8 consecutive points for Canterbury, 20 consecutive points for St George, ONE BAD BOUNCE, 31 consecutive points for Canterbury