Brisbane Broncos vs South Sydney Rabbitohs – Friday night – Suncorp Stadium

The Broncos are winning again but their fans are about to see where their team sits in the pecking order. I doubt I'm surprising any of you when I say that the Storm, Roosters, Sea Eagles and Rabbitohs appear to have the rest of the competition covered. The Broncos have played three of those teams for three losses, so another loss here seems the likely outcome. To give the Broncos their credit their biggest loss this season was by eight points - they may not be beating the big boppers but they are certainly competing with them. The Rabbits have a pretty awful record against the Broncos (21 losses from 25 games) but Greg Inglis will turn on the after-burners at some point, and the right boot of Adam Reynolds turns four points into six almost every time. The Broncos will hang tough despite some key injuries (Hodges, McGuire), but I expect the lads in cardinal and myrtle to pull away in the final 20 minutes of what should be another cracking game.

Verdict – Rabbitohs

Result - Rabbitohs 26 defeated Broncos 12

Canterbury Bulldogs vs Wests Tigers – Friday night – ANZ Stadium

I know what all you Bulldogs fans are thinking right now. "We're coming back baby...woof! woof!" Yes...well maybe. Maybe not. Phil Gould and I are still scratching our giant heads trying to work out how they beat the Sharks last week, but a win is a win is a win - and your lot certainly needed the win. And they certainly have some luck this weekend as well, coming up against an almost unrecognisable Tigers outfit who have been decimated by injury. James 'Dr Teeth' Graham returns from a lengthy suspension for the Dogs, and the most important cog in the Canterbury machine (Sam Kasiano) can't be far away now. The Bulldogs aren't there yet, but things are looking up. I must confess I don't know a lot about a number of the players sporting silks for the Tigers on Friday night. Let's hope some of these kids take this opportunity to show us how good they are, and lets hope the commentary team have found out how to pronounce Sauaso Sue. I can hear Andrew Johns and Brad Fittler stepping on each others tongues trying to get their noggins around that one.

Verdict – Bulldogs

Result - Bulldogs 40 defeated Tigers 4

Melbourne Storm vs Canberra Raiders – Saturday night – AAMI Park

If the NRL is one of the most even sporting competitions in the world (and it is) then it's quite a feat to string a decent number of wins together. The Storm are on the verge of racking up sixteen wins in a row on Saturday night. A coin toss is a fairly even competition, and the odds of racking up sixteen consecutive heads is 64792-1*. I'm no financial planner but I like those odds, and if you can find a bookmaker willing to offer you even half that price about the Storm you should take it. Where's Tom when you need him? I know what this punter wants. Providing Slater, Cronk and Smith aren't booked in to see a vet today the purple machine shall keep on keeping on.

* I know, I know. Gambler's fallacy and all that.

Verdict – Storm

Result - Raiders 24 defeated Storm 20

Parramatta Eels vs North Queensland Cowboys – Saturday night – Parramatta Stadium

When a team has a bad day it can get pretty ugly. When Parramatta has a bad day it's uglier than the Thinker on Sunday morning after he stayed up until 3am celebrating the birthday of Mrs Thinker (Can you mix scotch and white wine? Yes you can).  Three weeks ago the Cowboys beat the Panthers by 30, and on Monday night the Eels lost to the Panthers by 30. And that Panthers team that beat the Eels had very good players unavailable who played when they lost to the Cowboys. If this was in Townsville the Cowboys would win by 40, but the Cowboys do seem to lose their way a little when they travel to Sydney. It's still ugly for the Eels, just not 'Thinker ugly'. And in case you were wondering - Semillon Sauvignon Scotch = nectar. Head-destroying, vomit-inducing nectar.

Verdict – Cowboys by 20

Result - Cowboys 14 defeated Eels 10

New Zealand Warriors vs Gold Coast Titans – Sunday afternoon – Mt Smart Stadium

The Warriors are one of those teams that tend to lose to teams they should really be beating. Then they come up against the big guns and show everyone what they are capable of when they get their heads in the right space. They are losing plenty of games this season but three of those were narrow losses to the Roosters, Rabbitohs and the Storm. They may not be winning, but last place on the ladder doesn't seem the right place for this side. They should be winning this weekend. The Titans struggle with the Warriors at the best of times, and some unfortunate injuries make what is always a tough road trip even tougher. The Warriors haven't played a lot of footy at Mt Smart this year but when they have theyv'e been pretty good. If Titans coach John Cartwright has been doing his homework he'll be aiming Jamal Idris and those speedy outside backs at Jerome Ropati. All those injuries appear to have affected his leg speed. I'll take the Warriors by 1-12 in what should be an entertaining spectacle. 

Verdict – Warriors

Result - Warriors 25 defeated Titans 24

Newcastle Knights vs Cronulla Sharks – Sunday afternoon – Hunter Stadium

The Sharks of recent seasons have never had a lot of flash and bubble in their game, but they were a tough uncompromising footy team who would compete with the best of them with grit and resolve. They have some more flash and bubble now, but that grit and resolve doesn't seem to be there at the moment. I can understand why. That big black ASADA cloud hanging over your team every minute of every day has to wear you down. They created enough opportunities to beat the Bulldogs by 20 last weekend, and they scored eight points. When they were gritty and tough they would score more than eight points. The Knights are around the same level as the Broncos and the Cowboys - likely to make the finals but not likely to make the important finals. They'll rack up a serious score on Sunday afternoon. I'm thinking 40-10, 44-10.

Verdict – Knights by 30+

Result - Sharks 21 defeated Knights 20 (golden point)

Sydney Roosters vs Penrith Panthers – Sunday afternoon – Allianz Stadium

The Panthers have named Sam McKendry as a starting prop this Sunday even though he broke his neck last weekend. It's either a medical miracle or the Panthers have run out of Windsor Wolves to backfill their roster. That was a solid win by the Panthers on Monday night but they'll have to take on a proper football team this Sunday. The Roosters don't have a great record over the Panthers but this Roosters outfit looks like the real deal to my eyeballs. Sheesus McSneesus they might even win the comp this year. Former Panther Michael Jennings will take it up to his former Windsor Wolves team-mates and find the tryline...more than once.

Verdict – Roosters

Result - Roosters 30 defeated Panthers 6

St George Illawarra Dragons vs Manly Sea Eagles – Monday night – WIN Jubilee Oval

The Sea Eagles lost their second game of the season (and what a fine game it was) but their supporters wouldn't be too disappointed with the performance. It's becoming quite apparent that games involving the top four teams on the ladder are played at a superior level to all others, and with that in mind the Sea Eagles are a vastly superior outfit to the Dragons. Glenn Stewart should improve following his first run back from injury and his attacking combinations with the halves, his brother and Jamie Lyon will get better each week. When Manly lost their first game this year (to the Titans) they came out the following week and beat the Tigers 26-0. They might be away from home, but a similar scoreline wouldn't surprise.

Verdict – Sea Eagles

Result - Sea Eagles 24 defeated Dragons 18

Wally Lewis - round eight selections (in bold)

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

• Broncos vs RABBITOHS
• BULLDOGS vs Tigers
• STORM vs Raiders
• Eels vs COWBOYS
• WARRIORS vs Titans
• KNIGHTS vs Sharks
• ROOSTERS vs Panthers
• Dragons vs SEA EAGLES