NRL TIPPING COMPS: CGS takes out the Business House Challenge, Ken Booby tops Reader Tipster ladder

The Courier’s 2021 NRL preliminary tipster competitions have been won and done, with the top tipsters reigning supreme across the weekend.

CGS is the annual Business House Challenge champion after finishing with 288 points alongside second-placed Weel Australia but claiming top spot on a countback.

Former CGS national sales manager Peter White got the business off to a positive start before Adam Hatton took over midway through June.

Adam, the branch manager for both Wee Waa and Narrabri, then brought CGS home with a superb run of tips.

He told The Courier that his secret to successful tipping during the second half of the season was watching the games closely to determine who nwas in form and who wasn’t.

Meanwhile, the Reader Tipster Competition was won by Ken Booby in his 10th season tipping with The Courier.

Ken’s previous best finish was second, which he achieved in both 2015 and 2019, while he also finished fourth in 2018.

He finished mid-table in the 12th position last year, but had a season to remember in 2021 having led for the last seven rounds after overtaking Christine McCauley at the top at the completion of round 19.

Ken told The Courier that he picked up his Daily Telegraph every week to study the team lists before submitting his tips to The Courier.

His eye for detail in regards to the ins and outs on those team lists certainly paid off in 2021.

It came right down to the wire in the annual business house challenge, with the second last game of the season deciding the winner.

It was CGS, which went into the 25th and final round of the NRL season as the top tipster, that got the job done.

CGS could only be overtaken by Meat on Maitland in the final round.

Meat on Maitland went into round 25 in fourth place, four points behind both CGS and second-placed Weel Australia which were locked on 278 points on top of the table.

CGS and Weel Australia chose the same teams which meant that Weel Australia could not overtake the ladder leaders.

Third-placed Greg Lamont and Associates was also four points back from those two tipsters, however, only chose one team different.

Meat on Maitland went with the Brisbane Broncos to beat the Newcastle Knights on Saturday and the Broncos scored a 35-22 upset victory which saw Meat on Maitland move within two points of the top two.

It then all came down to the Gold Coast Titans v New Zealand Warriors clash on Sunday afternoon.

If the Warriors had won, Meat on Maitland would have finished even on points with CGS and Weel Australia but won the Business House Challenge on a countback.

That was not to be though as a dominant Titans side overcame its opposition in a 44-0 shutout.

In the Reader Tipster Challenge, top spot was decided on Saturday night when the South Sydney Rabbitohs edged out the St George Illawarra Dragons 20-16.

Ken was just two points clear of Michael Knox going into that game but Ken took the Rabbitohs while Michael went Dragons.

The pair’s other seven tips were identical, which meant that if the Dragons won, Michael and Ken would have finished level and Michael would have taken out the competition on a countback.

However, the Rabbitohs’ win meant that Ken finished first by four points.

Michael’s second-place finish saw him claim a top eight spot for the fifth time in as many attempts in the past six years. He finished third in 2016, eighth in 2017, fifth in 2018 and sixth in 2020.