Manly Sea Eagles vs Sydney Roosters – Thursday night – 4 Pines Park

Two teams that have hardly set the competition on fire through the early rounds of the season. The Sea Eagles are yet to win a game - losing to the Raiders (who haven't beaten anyone else) and getting flogged by the Knights even though they had key players limping off to the sheds throughout the match. The Chooks have fared slightly better, with a win over the Rabbitohs. Their losses have been by hefty margins, but those games were against the only two teams that have won three games this season. Much attention will be on Daly Cherry-Evans as he makes a return to what was his spiritual home for most of his career. I don't expect the Manly fans to give him too much grief. No significant team line-ups for either side, although Billy Smith returns after he stacked it on one those e-bikes Mrs Thinker can't stand. The only way to describe the Sea Eagles last performance is poor. I've no doubt they can be better and will likely be better here, but the Chooks have enough firepower in their seventeen to get the points. Cherry-Evans with a field goal to win the game. That might generate a boo or two.

Verdict - Roosters by 1

Result - Roosters 33 defeated Sea Eagles 16

New Zealand Warriors vs Wests Tigers – Friday night – Go Media Stadium

If you told anyone at the start of the season that Jackson Ford and Tanah Boyd would be sitting on the podium of the Dally M Leaderboard you'd be laughed out of town...but here we are. The Warriors, winning by hefty margins at home took that form on the road and did much the same thing in Newcastle last week. On Friday night they welcome back Luke Metcalf, who would have just about won the Dally M medal last year if not for injury. Add to that the returns of Nikoll-Klokstad and Pompey and they're bringing a formidable line-up to a game they could have sold out twice over. While the Tigers lost last week they were competitive and are clearly a team on the rise. That said, the injury to Luai is a big blow, and while Doueihi has been named there has to be some doubt over his fitness. Long may the Warriors winning streak continue.

Verdict - Warriors by 14

Result - Tigers 34 defeated Warriors 14

Brisbane Broncos vs Redcliffe Dolphins – Friday night – Suncorp Stadium

Never a dull moment at Red Hill, with a change of personnel in the coaching box and what appears to be an ugly divorce between the club and a former club captain. The Broncos will no doubt brush it off...or try to. To add to their challenges their most important forward, and perhaps most important player in Payne Haas will be sidelined. That certainly evens out the battle of the forwards, and with Flegler returning for the Dolphins the lads from the peninsula might have an edge up front. The Broncos defence was much improved in their impressive (and surprising) win over the Storm in Melbourne last week. A repeat of that and they should win this, but this Dolphins attack will test them. The Broncos won both Brisbane battles in 2025, but this looks like the Dolphins best chance to knock off their bigger brother. Tipping the Phins in a minor upset.

Verdict - Dolphins by 4

Result - Broncos 26 defeated Dolphins 12

Canterbury Bulldogs vs Newcastle Knights – Saturday afternoon – Accor Stadium

The Bulldogs remain undefeated but few would say they are shooting the lights out. That said, good teams find a way to win even when they're below their best, and the Bulldogs are doing that. A real shame that the Knights have key players unavailable because they would have given this a fair shake with Ponga and Brown available. The return of Sharpe in the halves is a big inclusion and he looks set for a breakout season barring injury. I'm tipping the Bulldogs but not with a lot of confidence. It's their first game at home for the year and there should be plenty of dogs in the kennel to help get them over the line.

Verdict - Bulldogs by 4

Result - Knights 24 defeated Bulldogs 16

Penrith Panthers vs Parramatta Eels – Saturday afternoon – CommBank Stadium

Big Willie Mason has delivered a pretty sharp analysis of the Panthers dominance in defence. I'd share a link but Big Willie is a very sweary bear - you can probably find it yourselves (its the Levels Network podcast/youtube channel with Justin Horo). Anyhoo, at some point the opposition or the officials or both will work it out and find a way to counteract the strategy, but it might take some time. Technically an away game for the Eels...but not really. They've been okay, but like the podcast mentioned earlier, they're levels below the Panthers. The season-ending injury to Hopgood is a big loss, and I fear a big loss for the Eels on Saturday.

Verdict - Panthers by 22

Result - Panthers 48 defeated Eels 20

North Queensland Cowboys vs Melbourne Storm – Saturday night – Queensland Country Bank Stadium

I better start with the good news for the Cowboys - they've had a win, and it's nice to have a win. The Broncos proved that the Storm can be beaten last week, but the Storm don't lose two in a row very often so that may be more of a curse than a blessing. Laybutt returns for the suspended Chester in the centres. The Cowboys best ally on Saturday night could be the weather. If its a warm still night in Townsville the Victorians might start to wilt. That said, I feel like I'm desperately looking for reasons why the Cowboys can win this...so I can't tip them.

Verdict - Storm by 10

Result - Cowboys 28 defeated Storm 24

Canberra Raiders vs Cronulla Sharks – Sunday afternoon – GIO Stadium

The Raiders and Sharks started the season off with victories, and have both lost their next two games. Hard to split them based on that, although it's notable that the teams that the Raiders have lost to are both undefeated and not completely unexpected. The Sharks loss last week surprised almost everyone, and it wasn't even close. The daytime schedule should suit the Raiders attack, and the home ground advantage has to help a little (although recent results for the Raiders would suggest otherwise). I still think the Raiders are a top four team, but for that to be true they need to be winning games like these. I'm tipping them, and hoping I'm not wrong. Losing Nikora to injury is a bigger out for the Sharks than many might think. He's one of those quiet achievers that does more than people know, and he runs an attacking line that is beautiful to watch. Without him, the Sharks are a much easier team to contain.

Verdict - Raiders by 4

Result - Sharks 34 defeated Raiders 22

Gold Coast Titans vs St George Illawarra Dragons – Sunday afternoon – Cbus Super Stadium

They aren't the only teams without a win but it is last playing second last in the final game of the round. To be fair to both sides, they haven't been terrible, but both teams seem to be missing that all important element that turns a competitive team into a winning one. The Dragons have lost not one but two Couchmans, but they have plenty of big boppers across their seventeen to help with the heavy lifting. The Titans are a slight favourite to win this, but I think the Dragons can wear the Titans down. If the Dragons can get the Titans back-peddling, there's enough creative schemers in the Dragons middle (Cook, Liddle, Stewart) to take advantage. 

Verdict - Dragons by 4

Result - Titans 22 defeated Dragons 14

Wally Lewis - round four selections (in bold)

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

• Sea Eagles vs ROOSTERS
• WARRIORS vs Tigers
• BRONCOS vs Dolphins
• BULLDOGS vs Knights
• PANTHERS vs Eels
• Cowboys vs STORM
• RAIDERS vs Sharks
• TITANS vs Dragons