Sydney Roosters vs South Sydney Rabbitohs – Thursday night – Allianz Stadium

There's been plenty of hype, what with a certain acronym returning to the game where it all began. Sonny Bill Williams is many things - he's a brandname, a traitor, an athlete, a superstar and, according to Ms Thinker, pretty darn gorgeous (I keep telling her that he's no George Rose). But what Sonny Bill needs to be in 2013 is a team player. If the Roosters gel as a unit they are a top four side, but without unity they won't get close. Their trial form this pre-season has been promising, and the bookmakers have been shortening the Chooks in premiership betting every week for a month. Still, I'd like to see some signs of life during the season proper before I get too enthusiastic, and I want to see those heavily decorated shoulders of SBW handle the workload of an NRL game (he'll make more tackles on Thursday night than he would have done in an entire Super Rugby season). Regardless of the SBW factor (and it should be noted that he may not even play) this game deserves your attention. These sides really truly hate each other, and in 2012 they gave us the two most extraordinary games (and finishes) all season. Anything remotely close to either of those games will have everyone grinning. And let's face it, we all want to see what happens when Greg Inglis runs at SBW close to the line and puts on that big right arm fend. Let's hope it happens in the 79th minute, and the winner of that little one-on-one stoush determines the outcome on the night. Oh sweet television!

Verdict – Rabbitohs

Result - Rabbitohs 28 defeated Roosters 10

Brisbane Broncos vs Manly Sea Eagles – Friday night – Suncorp Stadium

Cricket fans will be hoping former English international David Gower makes his debut for Manly off the bench on Friday night (according to his profile he weighs in at 105 kilograms so he's obviously been pushing himself in the gym). Many are writing the Broncos off this season and they'll be keen to prove the doubters wrong. This games happens to mark the 25th anniversary of the Broncos debut in the national competition, and I'm sure the coach will remind the current mob that the Broncos beat Manly on that occasion by 44-10. The current mob would kill to have any of Wally Lewis, Allan Langer, Gene Miles or Colin Scott lining up this weekend, but Scott Prince, Peter Wallace, Corey Norman and Josh Hoffman are jostling for positions and will be desperate to impress. The Sea Eagles will give a good account of themselves but without Glenn Stewart (injured) and Tony Williams (Bulldogs) I think the Broncos pack can win the all-important battle for field position. If conditions at Suncorp are anything like my backyard (and I'm just around the corner) then that ground will be pretty heavy underfoot and that forwards battle becomes more important than ever. The Broncos haven't won a trial game in the pre-season, and they haven't beaten Manly in their last three outings, but here it is folks - my sure-fire lock-it-in Eddie pick of the round.

Verdict – Broncos

Result - Sea Eagles 22 defeated Broncos 14

Parramatta Eels vs New Zealand Warriors – Saturday night – Parramatta Stadium

Picking a winner in the first round of the season is never easy, but when these two sides meet just about anything can happen and almost none of it is predictable. Both sides have new coaches this year and I do rate the Warriors coach Matthew Elliott. I'm hoping he brings out the best in our trans-Tasman neighbours because the NRL is a better competition when the Warriors are playing well. And if Elliott has a clue (and he does) he'd be calling former Eels coach and current Kiwis coach Stephen Kearney and asking for some pointers on how to beat the side that unceremoniously dumped him last season. Hayne and Sandow are looking a lot fitter this year, and Ricky Stuart does appear to have the key that turns on the Hayne engine, but I can't warm to that Parramatta line-up. No doubt the Eels will pick up some games here and there, but they don't look good enough to me. The Warriors are often slow starters, and tipping them away from home isn't entirely sensible, but that Warriors backline has speed to burn (Glen 'the fish' Fisiiahi might be the fastest player in the NRL), agility (Johnson, Locke) and brute strength (Hurrell, Vatuvei) to make the best of oppositions look foolish. Parramatta, more often than not, make fools of themselves. Parramatta, it should be noted, are favourites to win this game. Pfft!

Verdict – Warriors

Result - Eels 40 humiliated the Warriors (and the Thinker) 10

Canterbury Bulldogs vs North Queensland Cowboys – Saturday night – Bluetongue Stadium

The Cowboys didn't have much luck with the season draw. In the first month they play games in Gosford, Newcastle and Auckland and their only home game is against the Melbourne Storm. This weekend they face the other 2012 grand finalist but they might be facing the Bulldogs at a good time. Missing from the Canterbury engine room are Sam Kasiano, Frank Pritchard and James Graham, and I'm sure you all know they won't be without their most potent attacking weapon in Ben Barba for some time. The Cowboys have (I think) the two best prop forwards in the game (Scott and Tamou) and their interchange bench has three of the biggest boppers you're ever likely to come across (the Sims brothers and Taumololo). They also have a pretty handy attacking weapon of their own in Matt Bowen, and Jonathan Thurston goes okay.

Verdict – Cowboys

Result - Cowboys 24 defeated Bulldogs 12

Penrith Panthers vs Canberra Raiders – Sunday afternoon – Centrebet Stadium

The key to doing well in a footy tipping competition is getting as many of the 50-50 games right as you can, and when these sides meet you can be fairly certain we'll have a 50-50 contest. The venue suits the Panthers, but daytime conditions suit the Raiders. Pre-season form suggests the Panthers, but the Raiders have a better side. I've decided on the Panthers. No-one wants to lose their first home game of the season, and the Raiders do have a few important players unavailable (Dugan, Croker and Campese).

Verdict – Panthers

Result - Panthers 32 defeated Raiders 10

Melbourne Storm vs St George-Illawarra Dragons – Sunday afternoon – AAMI Park

Melbourne pick themselves...almost every round. They certainly pick themselves when they're playing at home and their key players (you know who they are by now) are available. My only niggling doubt is the back-up from the World Club Challenge - many NRL teams struggle in the first round of the NRL after backing up from what is a very tough road trip. The Storm have a habit of winning narrowly in the early rounds of the season, and if the Dragons are in the hunt with twenty to go they might gain some self-belief and pull this off. I couldn't possibly tip against the defending premiers, but I'm one of a very few people that wouldn't be surprised if the Dragons spring the first big upset of the season. Tip the Storm, but if you like a flutter consider backing the Dragons with the handicap start (+10.5 points).

Verdict – Storm

Result - Storm 30 defeated Dragons 10

Cronulla Sharks vs Gold Coast Titans – Sunday night – Shark Stadium

Oh the tremendous weight of expectation. They haven't been this excited in the Shire since the debut of that television show with the same name (I missed it...sounds like I dodged a bullet). I'm not sure how this Cronulla side will respond to these expectations, but they've named a fairly handy seventeen for their first foray into season 2013. New recruits Michael Gordon, Beau Ryan, Luke Lewis and Chris Heighington are all getting a start, and all will be keen to impress the locals. The Sunday night schedule plays in their favour also. I expect the Titans to make a game of this, but only the staunchest of Titans fans would be tipping them with confidence this week. As an aside, who came up with the name Shark Stadium when you can have the name Shark Park? Madness. Sheer madness I tells ya.

Verdict – Sharks

Result - Sharks 12 defeated Titans 10

Newcastle Knights vs Wests Tigers – Monday night – Hunter Stadium

Two of the true under-achievers from season 2012 face off, and let's hope that at least one of these sides is up for a big year in season 2013. I wonder out loud if either of these sides is entirely happy off the field at the moment. Given the sad passing of Tigers prop Mosese Fotuaika just last week one can certainly forgive the Tigers if they aren't entirely in the right headspace for this game.

Verdict – Knights

Result - Knights 42 defeated Tigers 10

Wally Lewis - round one selections (in bold)

Note: tips from Wally will be published on Thursday night or early Friday morning.

• Roosters vs RABBITOHS
• BRONCOS vs Sea Eagles
• EELS vs Warriors
• Bulldogs vs COWBOYS
• PANTHERS vs Raiders
• STORM vs Dragons
• Sharks vs TITANS
• KNIGHTS vs Tigers