Paula and John Dean win The Courier’s NRL tipping contests

Husband and wife John and Paula Dean have emerged as the top tipsters in The Courier 2020 NRL tipping competitions.

Paula has taken out the Readers’ Competition and John, who was the tipster for McKechnie Bros, has taken the business through to win
the Business House Challenge preliminary season. The winning couple proceeded to the top of their respective ladders without comparing their weekly selections, Paula said.

The two winners are the first husband and wife combo to take out the two competition prizes.

“John would do his tips and we would do ours,” Paula said.

“We didn’t compare at all so it was interesting to see the results week in week out.

“I did my own tipping, with a little help from my son Alex, 16”, said Paula.

Her pathway to the top was boosted with two perfect rounds.

“That jumped me up the ladder,” said Paula.

“I was hanging around the top though.

“We took a few ‘roughies’ this week, or a few different teams. The week before nearly everyone took the same so to win we had to take a gamble.

“We picked out a couple of different teams and it paid off.”

This was Paula’s first foray into the Readers’ Tipping competition. “I have entered the Beat the Biz which I had a win in last year.”

“That was good too – very exciting.”

Paula said she didn’t have any special tipping technique – just going on instinct.

“It was pretty exciting,” she added.

“I was very nervous on Sunday watching the Warriors – that was the team that had to get me across the line.

“I had to wait all weekend for that game.”

Paula will take the Panthers and the Newcastle Knights as her Grand Finalist teams.

The details around the staging of the Grand Finals are still to be worked out.

“But whatever is decided I am happy with” said Paula.

Paula’s husband John Dean, was the successful tipster for McKechnie Bros, although proprietor Merryl Herden suggested she should have some of the credit for emailing the tips through.

Meanwhile, Paula is looking forward to the 2021 tipping competition as a defending champion.

The Business House Challenge continues throughout the finals, culminating in the Grand Final with the format unchanged and including Beat the Biz. In the readers’ competition, the top eight will participate in the finals fever contest.

The grand prizes of trips to Sydney for the winners, five star hotel accommodation at the Radisson Blu and Grand Final seats, remain in place but the pandemic health regulations may dictate the timing of the winners’ prizes.