Melbourne Storm vs Brisbane Broncos – Thursday night – AAMI Park

I shouldn't have doubted the Broncos depth last week, given they won the pre-season comp in Australia while their entire first grade squad were in Las Vegas. Sailor was much more than adequate at fullback and their forwards got the job done without Payne Haas. There are few bigger footballers than Payne Haas, but the Broncos are about to unleash another one, with Benjamin Te Kura making his debut off the bench. He's big. He's real big. They'll be confident after the big win over the previously undefeated Cowboys last week, but they'll need to be. The Storm have had a week to prepare for this game, they're playing at home, and they welcome some of their biggest names back to the side on Thursday. Christian Welch, Jahrome Hughes and Cameron Munster are all back, and all eyes will be focused on the groin of Munster (ewww!) to see if he can overcome what has been something of a curious condition. History is the only guide to everything, but it's a very handy starting point, and I can't ignore that the Storm have absolutely had the wood on the Broncos for years now. The Storm have won their last 11 games at AAMI Park, they've won 14 of their last 15 games against the Broncos, and the last time the Broncos won in Melbourne was 8 years ago. That said, this Broncos squad look like a genuine premiership contender again this season, so if they miss, it won't be by much. The game of the round, and comfortably so.

Verdict – Storm by 2

Result – Storm 34 defeated Broncos 32

Canterbury Bulldogs vs Sydney Roosters – Friday night – Accor Stadium

Last week the Rabbitohs did enough to beat the Bulldogs. The week prior the Roosters belted the Rabbitohs. Given those two events, it stands to reason that the Chooks should be too good for the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs have also lost Preston, Morrin and Addo-Carr from the side that played last week, while the Chooks have Lindsay Collins returning. The Bulldogs effort will be there, but they lack the quality at the minute.

Verdict – Roosters by 14

Result – Bulldogs 30 defeated Roosters 26

Newcastle Knights vs St George Illawarra Dragons – Friday night – McDonald Jones Stadium

The Dragons are clearly a fitter team this season, and it's making a difference. It's probably not enough to get them to the pointy end of the ladder, but they'll give plenty of teams a fright this year, particularly if an opponent takes them lightly. They're not likely to fear a trip to Newcastle to a venue where their overall recent record is quite strong. Lomax is on the hunt for a new club, so expect another strong performance from him as he chases potential suitors. The Knights find themselves at the ugly end of the NRL ladder, but they're better than that. A narrow loss to the Cowboys in Townsville and a competitive performance against the Warriors in Auckland is fair form. They bring back Dane Gagai and Jackson Hastings, and the Knights should (ideally) settle on a halves pairing soon. I think they're a better side with Hastings in the halves, and I'd try and find a spot for Gamble on the interchance, but I'm not much of a coach. Of all the games this round, this is the game that I've spent the most time scratching my enormous head about. A coin toss.

Verdict – Knights by 2

Result – Knights 30 defeated Dragons 10

South Sydney Rabbitohs vs New Zealand Warriors – Saturday afternon – Accor Stadium

The Rabbitohs needed to win a game, and they did. That said, I wasn't thrilled by the performance, and I didn't get the impression they were either. Relieved more than anything. This is harder, so they'll need to step up to compete, and I'm not sure they have the steps in them. The Warriors have had narrow losses to the Storm and Sharks followed by solid wins over the Raiders and Knights. The injury to Luke Metcalf is a blow but Te Maire Martin is no slouch and will give a good account. Note that Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad returns at fullback for this game, with Tuivasa-Sheck moving back to the centres. It's a backline brimming with class, and I expect them to get the job done.

Verdict – Warriors by 4

​​​​​​​Result – Warriors 34 defeated Rabbitohs 4

Manly Sea Eagles vs Penrith Panthers – Saturday night – 4 Pines Park

It's a kind of milestone for Daly Cherry-Evans on Saturday, surpassing club legend Cliff Lyons as the most capped Manly player in the history of the club (310 games). I say kind of because the 349-game career of Steve Menzies included 69 games with the Northern Eagles. Same Same...but Different. In any case, I would Cliff is there to present the jersey to DCE. It's still a milestone, even if I'm putting an asterisk next to it. Manly scored just two tries against the Dragons last week - something of a surprise as their attack had been humming along quite nicely up until that point. If they can only score twice against the Dragons I fail to see how they can score enough points against the miserly Panthers defence. Penrith showed us all they can win without Nathan Cleary steering them around, and not for the first time. They aren't a one-man band that's for sure (although they are clearly a better band when he's there). James Fisher-Harris returns for the visitors and he'll go straight back to doing what he does best. It's worth the cost of entry to see these two fullbacks going around on Saturday night. Terrific footballers and decent humans to boot. Manly won't concede easily it home, but Penrith are a very hard team to tip against in any circumstance.

Verdict – Panthers by 4

​​​​​​​Result – Sea Eagles 32 defeated Penrith 18

Redcliffe Dolphins vs Wests Tigers – Saturday night – Suncorp Stadium

What an age we live in - the Dolphins are on the top of the table and the Tigers are in the top eight. The Dolphins lost by 25 in their first game of the season, and the Tigers lost by 20, so it's quite the outcome. I suspect the Tigers victories over the Eels and Sharks is stronger form than the Dolphins victories over the Titans and Dragons, but it's early days and we shouldn't get too carried away with what anything means. The last time the Dolphins played at Suncorp they were disappointing, so they'll be keen to give their Brisbane-based fans a better showing. The Tigers can easily win this without surprising any of us, but the absence of Galvin in the halves is a big out. If the weather clears in Brisbane on Saturday night they'll get 30000+ to this game. I might even wander down and check it out for myself.

Verdict – Dolphins by 4

​​​​​​​Result – Dolphins 26 defeated Tigers 16

North Queensland Cowboys vs Gold Coast Titans – Sunday afternoon – Queensland Country Bank Stadium

The Cowboys completion rate was about as poor as is possible. Almost every team will punish you for a performance like that, and teams like the Broncos will punish you badly. I'm going to assume that was a bad day in the office for the Cowboys, and that they'll be better this weekend. If not, yikes. Jake Granville plays his 200th game for the Cowboys this weekend, and I expect the club to rise for the occasion and celebrate with one of the clubs most popular sons. As for the Titans, another big last week after an improved start. There were moments where they were better, but not 80 minutes of them. Hopefully they are gradually improving, but they are coming off a very low base.

Verdict – Cowboys by 16

​​​​​​​Result – Cowboys 35 defeated Titans 22

Canberra Raiders vs Parramatta Eels – Sunday afternoon – GIO Stadium

Ricky Stuart wouldn't have shouted any soft serves for the boys after the loss to the Sharks. Losing hurts, but it hurts even more when you are leading 18-0 after 23 minutes. A quiet bus ride back to Canberra I suspect. You would hope they wouldn't switch off this time, and an 80 minute performance from the Raiders can definitely compete with the Eels. I'll back them to bounce back against an Eels side without Moses in the middle. His kicking game eases the pressure on the Eels forwards, and without him their pack might struggle against the Raiders engine room.

Verdict – Raiders by 4

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Result – Raiders 41 defeated Eels 8

Wally Lewis - round five selections (in bold)

Note: tips from Wally will be published on Wednesday night or Thursday morning

• STORM vs Broncos
• Bulldogs vs ROOSTERS
• KNIGHTS vs Dragons
• Rabbitohs vs WARRIORS
• Sea Eagles vs PANTHERS
• DOLPHINS vs Tigers
• COWBOYS vs Titans
• Raiders vs EELS