Tradies seek tipping comp glory as NRL and AFL seasons set to launch

Footy fans right across Australia are no doubt starting to get excited, with the 2012 season now just one day away and every club feeling that they have a chance at the premiership.

You have read all the season previews and club reports, signed up to the Fox Sports package and cleared your social schedule for the round one weekend.

There is now only one more box to tick before the action gets underway and it's an important one - get your footy tips in!

Far too often you have turned up to the building site on a Monday morning for a chat about the big round of exciting matches, only to notice one of your mates looking a little sheepish in the background.

It is quickly revealed that he forgot to enter his latest tips on the previous Friday evening and has received either zero points or the lowest score in the league - not to mention a day of ridicule from the entire group.

Do not let this be you - study the team line-ups when they are announced, check for injury updates as the week progresses and make necessary changes on time.

Whether you follow the NRL, AFL or both passionately, footy tipping comps have become an established winter pastime for everybody to get involved in.

It can be a lonely few months if everywhere you go - the work site, home, the pub or the local pie shop - people are talking about tipping results and you did not sign up.

Forget the odd banter around the water cooler - when it comes to football season the discussion and debate can rage all day.

If you have been part of the same league for a few years then chances are it will be up and running again in 2012. But if you are looking to make your tipping debut it is a good idea to ask some of your colleagues which website they use - and whether they can email you an invitation to join.

You might even be lucky enough to emerge as the top tipster, with some of the major sites generally offering fantastic cash prizes.

In the NRL bookmakers have installed the Benji Marshall-inspired Wests Tigers as the early favourites, with the Wayne Bennett era at Newcastle expected to see the Knights also challenge for the title.

After winning the trophy last year, off-field dramas and the loss of coach Des Hasler might prove too great a disruption for the Manly Sea Eagles to go back-to-back.

Collingwood and Geelong are expected to lead the way in the AFL, with the 2011 grand finalists once again near the top of betting markets.

At the opposite end of the table, interest will focus on new club the GWS Giants' attempt to make their mark in the competition.

Early season tipping form often proves crucial, so try to get the jump on your opponents with some clever picks over the first month.

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