Bulldogs, bookies and big bucks
Kate McClymont and Tom Reilly
October 2, 2010
AN INVESTIGATION into a huge betting plunge on the Cowboys to score first in an NRL match has identified many of those who made cash bets in pubs, clubs and TABs by matching the times of the wagers with CCTV footage.
It was August 21, the day of the federal election, and the adage ''vote early and vote often'' was replaced with ''bet early and bet often''.
There was a deluge of money for the lowly ranked Cowboys to open the scoring with a penalty goal against the Bulldogs. Two minutes after the 7.30pm kick-off in Townsville, a Bulldogs player, Ryan Tandy, was penalised for preventing a Cowboys player getting to his feet. A penalty was awarded in front of the posts.
But the Cowboys opted to take the tap rather than kicking for a goal. In that split second, the hundreds and thousands of dollars wagered by punters as far afield as New Zealand went down the gurgler.
Five hours before kick-off, Scott Woodward, a league analyst, who had been monitoring NRL prices, sent a text message to the league great Peter Tunks who was on air at radio 2SM.
''This looks a hot game,'' said Woodward. Bookmakers clearly thought so, too, suspending the betting on the Cowboys to score first.
The NRL was alarmed at the betting plunge and called in horseracing officials to help with their investigation.
The chairman of stewards, Ray Murrihy, traced almost every wager on this ''exotic'' bet to terminals in pubs, clubs and TABs across the country. Once they established the time of the bet, they matched it up with CCTV footage. They recognised some familiar faces.
Of particular interest were the bets that had been put on as early as the Wednesday before the game. Racing officials discovered that some of the bigger punters had cleverly disguised their bet by having a ''multi''. This entailed betting on five different sporting outcomes. The other four parts involved sure things such as tennis star Roger Federer to beat a qualifier.
When Murrihy gave the NRL his report, it was so concerned at what he had uncovered, it called in the NSW Police. Among those to have placed bets on the Cowboys to score first were Tandy's manager, Sam Ayoub. CCTV footage from the Duke of Gloucester Hotel in Randwick shows that Tandy's friend Michael Cook, a professional punter, also had a wager on the game.
There is nothing illegal about either Ayoub or Cook having such a bet. Both are regular punters and there is nothing to suggest either had any prior knowledge or involvement in what later took place.
But Cook at least is no stranger to betting controversies. In 2007 he was questioned by Murrihy in relation to an ''unhealthy maze of calls'' among jockeys, punters and trainers involving a race won by Interfere.
Cook was also questioned in 2004 after an apprentice jockey, Willie Peason, who had made calls to a punter before the race, was suspended after the stewards found his ride was suspect.
"There are a number of actions and inactions on your part that can be seen as an intention to lose,''Murrihy said at the time. Pearson's horse had been the favourite but there was a late plunge on the eventual winner Lord of the Land. No action was taken against Cook.
Since the Townsville incident, Tandy's love of the punt has come under the spotlight.
Although not linked to the betting scandal, there are also questions about his friendship with a former Dragons teammate, Nassan Saleh. Saleh is understood to be Tandy's flatmate and manages the Sapphire Suite nightclub in Kings Cross, which is owned by his father Charlie.
The nightclub, a favoured haunt of some league players, has had plenty of unwelcome publicity. Two years ago its bouncer, a former Rooster, Willie Brown, was shot in the leg. This year Saleh required 100 stitches to his face and neck after being attacked with a glass at the nightclub.
This week a barrage of texts and emails naming players allegedly involved in the betting plunge have been circulating widely.
One player-manager, who asked not to be named, said the betting scandal was the biggest point of discussion in the sport.
"This is a huge talking point in the game at the moment. Everyone's gossiping about it. Something happened in terms of the bets going on, and the names being bandied around are very interesting. But I guess it's a case of proving what really happened.
''Until then I suppose we will keep getting texts that certain players are about to be banned."
A police source familiar with the investigation said: "There's definitely a lot of rumour, gossip and speculation and a lot of what is going around is best described as fiction. Other parts, though, could be quite accurate.''
The Herald understands that no players have been interviewed by police, though detectives have arranged to meet with members of the Canterbury Bulldogs squad in the coming week.
