Redcliffe Dolphins vs Manly Sea Eagles – Thursday night – Kayo Stadium

A few months ago Kieran Foran was leading the Kiwis to a Pacific Championship title on the pitch, and on Thursday night he makes his debut as a head coach in the NRL. The early dismissal of their former coach is something of a surprise, but 0 from 3 when you've played every game at home tells you something isn't quite right. Their first away game for the year takes Manly to the birthplace of The Thinker, a venue that deserves more games than it gets. Faulalo replaces the suspended Saab on the wing for the visitors. No changes for the Dolphins who were in the contest against the Broncos last week but couldn't get the job done. The final score perhaps not an indication of how close that game was. The 'house full' sign should go up on the Peninsula on Thursday night and the Dolphins should get the job done for their local fans.

Verdict - Dolphins by 10

Result - Sea Eagles 52 defeated Dolphins 18

South Sydney Rabbitohs vs Canterbury Bulldogs – Friday afternoon – Accor Stadium

Fifth plays sixth in the traditional Good Friday clash, and the ladder positions would indicate that this would be a close one. I'm about to suggest something that may be a little bit controversial - the Bulldogs form this season is a little bit ordinary. They had a fortuitous one-point win over the Dragons in round one, and the Dragons haven't won a game this season. They just held on against Canberra in round three, and the Raiders have just one win this year (a one-point victory over a team that haven't won a game this season. Last week the Bulldogs were soundly beaten at home by a team with half their salary cap watching in the stands. In their last two games they've missed 108 tackles, and while they've scrambled well enough in defence to stay in games it's a hard way to win a contest. Add to that an attack that isn't firing either (7 tries across 3 games) and things don't look awesome. Given all that, they've done very well to find themselves in the top eight. They'll need to be better than that to beat the Bunnies, who are fresh from a week off and welcome back Graham to a backline that can score points. The Bulldogs can be better, but on form the Rabbitohs are absolute morals.

Verdict - Rabbitohs by 7

Result - Rabbitohs 32 defeated Bulldogs 24

Penrith Panthers vs Melbourne Storm – Friday night – CommBank Stadium

Before I get into the nitty gritty of this contest, a shout out to Tui Kamikamica. Get well and good luck. Joining Tui in the casualties list is Moses Leo who is out with concussion symptoms. Nick Meaney returns in the centres and I would assume takes over goalkicking duties from Harry Grant. For the Panthers, Lussick replaces the suspended Kenny in the all-important dummy-half role. It's rare to see the Melbourne Storm as genuine outsiders in any game, but that's certainly the case on Friday night. There's not out of form, but they have lost two in a row, and they face a team travelling at a different speed to everyone else in the NRL right now. The Panthers have scored more points than anyone else and have conceded less points than anyone else. I've done the maths on that - generally means you're winning. I see no reason to tip against them anytime soon.

Verdict - Panthers by 14

​​​​​​​Result - Panthers 50 defeated Storm 10

St George Illawarra Dragons vs North Queensland Cowboys – Saturday afternoon – Jubilee Stadium

Back-to-back wins for the Cowboys after a slow start to the season. Mind you, losses to the Knights and the Tigers doesn't look as bad as it might have done before the season got underway. Knocking off the Storm should give them a boost of confidence. The challenge for them now is take their recent form on the road. Respectfully, this is one of the easier road trips the Cowboys will face this season. Tom Chester returns from the suspension in the centres, while the Dragons will be without Flanagan, who could be missing for a while after what was a particularly bad concussion. St George Illawarra have never lost their first five games of the season before. A fair chance they make some history they don't want to make on Saturday afternoon.

Verdict - Cowboys by 4

​​​​​​​Result - Cowboys 32 defeated Dragons 0

Gold Coast Titans vs Brisbane Broncos – Saturday night – Cbus Super Stadium

No luck for the Titans in their first two games with Qld teams this season, and this is probably the hardest of the three. That said, the win over the Dragons will do them the world of good. No changes from last week. The biggest risk for the Broncos might be the comedown factor, following a rare win over Melbourne in Melbourne and a big result over the Dolphins last week. Haas is a welcome return, while Shibesaki and Arthars replace Anderson and Karapani in the starting backline. Given it's the Easter weekend there's likely to be a fair crowd on the Gold Coast for this one, and a hefty portion of them could be cheering for the visitors. A milestone game for Reece Walsh too, as he racks up his 100th game in the NRL.

Verdict - Broncos by 16

​​​​​​​Result - Broncos 26 defeated Titans 12

Cronulla Sharks vs New Zealand Warriors – Sunday afternoon – Ocean Protect Stadium

I've mentioned previously the importance of giving young playmakers time to become playmakers, and on Sunday afternoon we have two great examples of that, with both Braydon Trindall and Tanah Boyd on the verge of having breakout seasons in the NRL. Trindall and the Sharks were particularly impressive against the Raiders last week and they get another daytime conditions against this weekend to see if they can repeat the dose. The Warriors had their first loss for the season last week. They could easily bounce back from that, but I'm risking them here against a tough opponent at an unpopular venue. And historically, the Warriors have struggled in Sydney more than they have in other locations in Australia.  

Verdict - Sharks by 1

​​​​​​​Result - Sharks 36 defeated Warriors 22

Newcastle Knights vs Canberra Raiders – Sunday afternoon – McDonald Jones Stadium

The Knights were simply too good for the Bulldogs last week, and the week prior the Bulldogs beat the Raiders in Canberra. It's never this simple, but based on those results you'd think the Knights would be too good for the Raiders in Newcastle. Mind you, the Raiders are well fancied here, so it's clearly not that simple. I'm hoping it is in this case, and see no reason not to believe in what the Knights and their new coach are doing. I mentioned playmakers having breakout seasons in my preview for the other Sunday game, but Fletcher Sharpe might end up being one of the very best. He doesn't seem to be getting the attention that others are, but he's got my attention. Knights haven't won a game at home for some time, but I'll tip them here.

Verdict - Knights by 4

​​​​​​​Result - Knights 32 defeated Raiders 12

Parramatta Eels vs Wests Tigers – Monday afternoon – CommBank Stadium

Another game where it looks like I'm seeing things differently to others - the Eels are a warm favourite but I like what the Tigers are doing. A big win over the Cowboys which is now starting to look like fair form, a narrow loss to the Bunnies and a dominant win over the previously undefeated Warriors in Auckland. What's not to like? There's nothing especially wrong with the Eels form either, but the Tigers get an opportunity to win some hearts and minds in western Sydney, and I think they'll take it. The injury to rising Eels star Isaiah Iongi lifts my confidence. Potentially the game of the round here.

Verdict - Tigers by 4

​​​​​​​Result - Tigers 22 defeated Eels 20

Wally Lewis - round five selections (in bold)

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

• DOLPHINS vs Sea Eagles
• Rabbitohs vs BULLDOGS
• PANTHERS vs Storm
• Dragons vs COWBOYS
• Titans vs BRONCOS
• SHARKS vs Warriors
• Knights vs RAIDERS
• EELS vs Tigers