Manly Sea Eagles vs Wests Tigers – Thursday night – Bluetongue Stadium

The Easter break always brings with it a tremendous weekend of sport, and this is a cracking way to kick things off. Both teams bring solid form with them and when the Tigers are playing well they're an entertaining outfit to watch. In the corresponding game at Bluetongue last season it was the Sea Eagles who prevailed by 4 points. I'm leaning to the Sea Eagles to repeat that result. I'm expecting a tight, grinding contest and I have a little more faith in the Sea Eagles to hold their nerve under those circumstances. Manly were in nine close games in 2012, and they won seven of them. One of those close losses was to the Storm, and the other was to Cronulla at Cronulla. I'm willing to call those honourable losses.

Verdict – Sea Eagles

Result - Sea Eagles 26 defeated Tigers 0

Canterbury Bulldogs vs South Sydney Rabbitohs – Friday night – ANZ Stadium

The Bulldogs are sitting low on the ladder but they lost no admirers with their final 20 minutes against the Storm last weekend. I suspect their opponent put the cue in the rack so perhaps the performance was flattered by the circumstances. In any case the signs were promising, and when one considers the players that were unavailable one must assume they will improve further. And on that note, both Ben Barba and Frank Pritchard should play on Friday night. Their addition adds plenty of firepower and I expect the return of Pritchard will (hopefully) bring out the best in Tony Williams. Good luck to the Rabbitohs right edge defence when they have Pritchard, Williams, Morris and Barba running at them. The Rabbits have plenty of upside about them as well, and they keep winning. They are a warm favourite in this game, but they have a short turnaround from a game played in stifling conditions. I'll tip the Bulldogs at a very backable price. Oh, and having Inglis and Barba on the same footy field. Hooray!

Verdict – Bulldogs

Result - Rabbitohs 17 defeated Bulldogs 12

Brisbane Broncos vs Melbourne Storm – Friday night – Suncorp Stadium

In my younger years I used to spend most weekends with a mate of mine in the tawdry part of some tawdry Australian town. He was one of the nicest, most well-meaning guys you would ever want to meet - but he was just hopeless when it came to the ladies. He didn't know how to approach them, he didn't know what to say to them, and on the rare occasions when the universe would drop an interested lady in his lap he'd find a way to stuff it up anyway. I can only assume he's picked up the gig as the backline coach with the Brisbane Broncos. Justin Hodges is back as their 'wingman', and they most certainly need him. He is the Broncos attacking force at the moment, but he can't outpoint the Storm without a lot of help. The Storm were getting run down in the latter stages of their round three clash, but I touched on their workload in recent times and I suspect that goes part of the way toward explaining the tired legs. Craig Bellamy will freshen them up for this, and they are simply too good and too professional to get beaten on Good Friday. The last time I gave the Broncos a decent spray they came out that weekend and played like the Harlem Globetrotters. I'm glad I made a difference, but even the awesome power of The Thinker isn't enough to turn the Broncos fortunes around this Easter.

Verdict – Storm

Result - Storm 32 defeated Broncos 26

Cronulla Sharks vs St George Illawarra Dragons – Saturday night – Sharks Stadium

Despite all the adversity the Sharks have conceded just 28 points in three games of football this season. Clearly their attitude is still spot on because defence is usually the first thing to suffer when your head is in the wrong place. The Dragons have scored just 33 points this season, and more than half of those were against a struggling Raiders outfit. This is one derby where both teams usually give their all but it's quite clear which of these sides has more to give. My good thing of the round.

Verdict – Sharks

Result - Dragons 25 defeated Sharks 12

Penrith Panthers vs Gold Coast Titans – Sunday afternoon – Centrebet Stadium

I'm starting to believe in the Gold Coast Titans. I don't want to get carried away, because the last time I believed in them they fell over five minutes later. That was a few years ago and they've been struggling to get back on their feet ever since. Penrith racked up some points against the Bunnies last week but that game was something of an anomaly because of the weather. The Titans look good in defence and I don't think Penrith have an attack that will trouble them.

Verdict – Titans

Result - Titans 28 defeated Panthers 10

Newcastle Knights vs Canberra Raiders – Sunday night – Hunter Stadium

Wayne Bennett said it and now I believe it - when it comes to the Knights you just don't know which team is going to turn up on the day. If the team that turned up in rounds one and three turns up on Sunday night they'll rack up 40 points. In round two they couldn't get off the mark. The difference between their very best and their very worst is extraordinary. Their very best performances have been at home, and since they're at home again against a side who aren't the best of travellers I'll assume the very good Knights will be on show again this weekend. Wayne Bennett and I will know if I'm wrong after about ten minutes. If the Easter rain doesn't arrive assume we're in for a high-scoring affair.

Verdict – Knights

Result - Knights 28 defeated Raiders 12

New Zealand Warriors vs North Queensland Cowboys – Monday night – Mt Smart Stadium

I did mention at the start of the season that the Cowboys had a tough first month, but I never expected what we saw on Monday night. The travel doesn't get any easier, but at least their opponent looks beatable. The Warriors are simply off the pace and they need to find their legspeed and find it fast. I'm not sold on their halves combination either. Thomas Leuluai has played 30 tests for New Zealand but I'm yet to be convinced he is a playmaker of NRL standard. You couldn't tip them to turn things around this weekend but they do grow a leg at Mt Smart Stadium and this is their first game at their spiritual home for the year. They might need to grow a few more legs yet.

Verdict – Cowboys

Result - Warriors 20 defeated Cowboys 18

Sydney Roosters vs Parramatta Eels – Monday night – Allianz Stadium

Three rounds down and the Sonny-Bill Williams experiment appears to be paying off. He's getting better each week and, rather astonishingly, he hasn't missed a single tackle. His attack will continue to improve but that defensive statistic tells me he's playing NRL for the right reasons. The defensive structure of the entire team is improving with every round, and in time they should be able to build some attack on the back of that defensive pressure. The Eels got off to a flying start this season but their opponent in that game wasn't much of an opponent. Ricky Stuart might have some cranky weeks ahead of him I suspect - I better send his cat a text message and tell it to find a good hiding spot.

Verdict – Roosters

Result - Roosters 50 defeated Eels 0

Wally Lewis - round four selections (in bold)

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

• SEA EAGLES vs Tigers
• Bulldogs vs RABBITOHS
• Broncos vs STORM
• SHARKS vs Dragons
• Panthers vs TITANS
• KNIGHTS vs Raiders
• Warriors vs COWBOYS
• ROOSTERS vs Eels