AFL / Will Hamer / 11 February 2010 / Leave a comment Bet Now View Market

Knowing who wants to win is as important as thinking who will win in the NAB Cup, believes Will Hamer.

In many ways, betting on the NAB Cup is for those who've been so starved of no footy for five months that they would happily take a wager on which side of the bed Andy Demetriou gets out of bed each morning.

Actually, the NAB Cup is worse, that is unless the AFL boss has a bed where one side is pushed up against a wall, because, as is well known, not every team is trying to win the pre-season competition.

Some even say as much.

Eagles coach John Worsfold has pretty much said he's not interested, while every other team is justifiably talking about experimenting with players in new positions and blooding youngsters.

Two coaches have indicated they are out to compete and will be, shock, horror, trying to win.

The first is Sydney's Paul Roos, who in five years has yet to record a win in any NAB Cup game. Anything he says on his team's NAB Cup prospects should be taken with a truck full of salt.

The other coach who is talking NAB Cup success is Richmond's new helmsman, Damien Hardwick.

In reality, however, Hardwick's desires about his team's NAB Cup prospects should be taken as a joke.

The Tigers are young and rubbish. They are favourites for the wooden spoon for very good reason. (Disclaimer: I am a Richmond supporter.)

So, as always with the pre-season competition, betting caution should be urged.

As a guide, the draw is the best way to sort out the wheat from the chaff.

In the round one fixtures, Essendon will beat West Coast, Hawthorn will beat Richmond, Adelaide (my tentative pick as the overall winner) will beat Port Adelaide and Fremantle's long-suffering fans should see a win in Subiaco against Melbourne.

I'm not saying any of those four teams, should they win their opener, go on to hold the often-derided trophy aloft, but you can be sure that you will have plenty of hedging power.