The best bet of the weekend was meant to be Northerly. The Victoria Cup was his for the galloping. If you fancied a bit of yachting not even Moby Dick was going to stop the Swiss yacht Alinghi securing the America's Cup.

There were other certainties. Tiger Woods, of course. England to lose the impossible. The captain of Bangladesh to consider his position. Some media outlet to print a guide to the Grand Prix. Craig Coleman for the high jump and an AFL coach would whinge about the format for the Wizard Cup.

They have all fallen nicely into place except for Northerly. The champ was struggling 600 metres out but we fancy him in Monday's Australian Cup. Fred Kersley will have him screwed so tight he will twang as he walks about the mounting yard.

Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams wants the Wizard Cup to revert to a round-robin competition which is a tad disappointing. That format was used last year and not even the teams bothered turning up; it was so irrelevant and boring.

Williams' remarks should be put in context. His side was beaten up by the Bulldogs who have more fundraisers than forwards. He was disappointed.

Mick Malthouse was also vocal on the weekend. He said his team was not given their due respect. Is he kidding? Collingwood are one of the most admired clubs -- administrators and players - in any code. It is very early in the season for mind games, Michael.

It appears there was one bigger certainty than all of these. And a lot of people were aware of it. It came to the AFL's notice all too late.

The story was told at the bottom of an inside page and must have been barely 10 paragraphs long. The article noted the result of the round two match of the Geelong-Brisbane Wizard Cup and some wildly fluctuating betting statistics.

Punters won as much as $300,000 on a pre-season game which gives a fair inkling of the breadth and depth of betting on football.

It concerns the AFL executive and therefore the match and the betting figures were discussed at length yesterday morning as the league reviewed the weekend's games. Chief executive Wayne Jackson said it set off alarm bells and his football operations manager Andrew Demetriou will address the issue this week.

It is clear punters took a fancy to the game after quotes from Brisbane coach Leigh Matthews late last week. The coach indicated in Melbourne's Herald-Sun that the game against Geelong had become a balancing act between player management and the wish to push further ahead in the Wizard Cup.

"Half the objective this time of year is to get guys through unscathed and how many match minutes you want to get into them, as well as then trying to win the match," Matthews said.

"If we knew we had to travel four weeks in a row and no other choice, it (the team focus) would be utterly and totally player management. As it is, we are trying our best to win games along the way."

Accordingly the Lions left out 10 of their best players. After leading at half-time, they were over-run by Geelong, who fielded a side close to top strength. Brisbane scored just seven points in the final half to lose by eight.

The betting changes are instructive. Geelong opened at $2.55 and Brisbane $1.45. When the match started Geelong were hot at $1.65 and the Lions had drifted to $2.10. No-one suggests the match was manipulated. Matthews had clearly articulated his predicament.

And AFL staff agreed yesterday that Geelong looked a good chance of beating last year's premiership team after the squads were announced.

However, it is a timely reminder how vulnerable football could be to exploitation. The AFL Commission later this month reviews a study commissioned by the league last year into betting in football.

It was carried out by the NSW Institute of Gambling Research, the body that did a lot of work for the Australian Cricket Board after gambling threatened to bankrupt cricket's credibility.

The commission is expected to agree to rule changes that severely penalise officials, both club and at AFL level, who pass on sensitive information.

Penalties and sanctions are harsh, falling in line with the drug code where offenders can be disqualified for up to two years. God help them for a second offence.

The commission has agreed to the Bill Sanders national review of umpiring. In the report Sanders notes that there has been no evidence of corruption, but the men and women in white - and orange, too - remain vulnerable. Sanders endorses fully the recommendations of the gambling report as they apply to AFL umpires.

So the weekend gave us one more certainty. We know betting on football will only get bigger. And therefore the AFL must get better at policing its product. No point having two bob each-way on this one.