Newcastle Knights vs St George Illawarra Dragons – Thursday night – Hunter Stadium

The tiny seaside village of Newcastle gets the honour of hosting the first game of the NRL season. Wayne Bennett is the newly-appointed clipboard holder at the Knights, and he spent the last few weeks talking down the importance of this clash with his old team. Few believe him, and I'm not convinced he believes it either. The locals will pack the joint and they'll be brimming with optimism after a lean decade. Providing the coach can extract improvement from the Knights forwards their backline looks formidable, and the all-important spine of Boyd, Gidley, Mullen and Buderus is close to the best in the competition. These sides met twice last year and shared the spoils in two close encounters. Another close game seems likely, but the sense of occasion gives the home side a significant edge. The Dragons have an astonishingly good record at Newcastle - their last loss at this venue was way back in 2003. No doubt they'll be keen to show the world they are a force in the post-Bennett era, but Thursday night is all about the Knights.

Verdict – Knights

Result - Dragons 15 defeated Knights 14 (golden point)

Parramatta Eels vs Brisbane Broncos – Friday night – Parramatta Stadium

The Brisbane Broncos have a better record at Parramatta Stadium than they do at home. At first glance this seems to be an astonishing statistic, until one remembers they get to play Parramatta at this venue - a team that has disappointed their fans for most of the last 20 years. Assuming the Broncos wear their new away strip on Friday night I urge viewers to adjust the brightness settings on their televisions now. It's really erm...bright. I just saw the jersey for the first time and I'm having trouble using my keyboard. My vision may be impaired but I'm not blind, and I can see that the Broncos forward pack (even without Civoniceva) is set to dominate the Eels on Friday. Chris Sandow is an exciting addition to the Eels backline but he may not get a lot of time and space to do what he does best. The Broncos started the 2011 season well under Anthony Griffin and I expect another flying start in 2012.

Verdict – Broncos

Result - Broncos 18 defeated Eels 6

Canberra Raiders vs Melbourne Storm – Saturday night – Canberra Stadium

Melbourne have a habit of beating everybody, but it would take an almighty intervention and the best medical assistance for the Storm to break their habit of beating the Raiders. If Nicorette have a sleeve sponsorship arrangement with the Storm I could give the Raiders a hope, but seventeen Melbourne wins from nineteen games is a statistic I'm finding hard to ignore.

Verdict – Storm

Result - Storm 24 defeated Raiders 19

Penrith Panthers vs Canterbury Bulldogs – Saturday night – Centrebet Stadium

Two new coaches and two teams with raised expectations this season after disappointing campaigns in 2011. Much is at stake in this battle of the west. Lose on Saturday night, and every single life-long fan of that club will drag their sorry carcass over to Bankstown Sporting Something-Or-Other and sign up for the GWS Giants bandwagon. It's that serious. Phil Gould is taking the threat more seriously than anyone, so I'm sure he'll have his Panthers prepped for a big performance. In any case, their recent record against the Bulldogs is encouraging. The Doggies are slight favourites but:

Verdict – Panthers

Result - Bulldogs 22 defeated Panthers 14

North Queensland Cowboys vs Gold Coast Titans – Saturday night – Dairy Farmers Stadium

The Titans have brought some impressive cattle to bolster their ranks but to my eye they haven't found a solution to their playmaking issues. Jordan Rankin gets a shot at a halves position with Scott Prince on Saturday night and I'm not sure if that's a long-term solution. I'll hold judgement until I see them in action but they'll want to gel quickly if they hope to match wits with Jonathan Thurston and Ray Thompson. The Gold Coast won just three games away from home last season - all three were against poor opponents and one of those was rather lucky. I'm sure they'll improve on last season but I won't be tipping them until I see some results.

Verdict – Cowboys

Result - Titans 18 defeated Cowboys 0

New Zealand Warriors vs Manly Sea Eagles – Sunday afternoon – Eden Park

The grand final rematch and despite their successes last season both sides start 2012 with a new coach. The Warriors are bursting with talented youngsters and they've decided to unleash another one by naming Konrad Hurrell in the centres on Sunday. Expectations are high and he's already doing enough to keep Krisnan Inu on the sidelines. The Warriors moved their first game last season to this venue (Eden Park) and found a way to lose to Parramatta. They also have a pretty awful record against the Sea Eagles - winning only one of the last eight clashes. The Sea Eagles need to have their travelling legs on (given the recent trip to England for the World Club challenge) but these sides aren't much different to those that took the field in the grand final last season. The Warriors are favoured but I think the Sea Eagles will prevail again.

Verdict – Sea Eagles

Result - Sea Eagles 26 defeated Warriors 20

Wests Tigers vs Cronulla Sharks – Sunday afternoon – Leichhardt Oval

I'm a little surprised by the price on offer for the Cronulla Sharks this weekend. I give them some hope of a top four finish this season (I said 'some') and on paper they look like a strong unit. In any case the Tigers are the safe selection this weekend for two primary reasons;1) the Sharks have an embarrassing history of poor performances in Sunday afternoon games, and 2)the Sharks have won just one of their last thirteen games against the Tigers. Perhaps the price isn't so surprising after all.

Verdict – Tigers

Result - Tigers 17 defeated Sharks 16 (golden point)

South Sydney Rabbitohs vs Sydney Roosters – Monday night – ANZ Stadium

They are the only two inaugural clubs left in the competition and picking the winner when these two clash is never easy. The bookies can't split them and neither can I, particularly now that Greg Inglis has been named for the Bunnies. But I'm not here to sit on the fence so I'll take the Chooks. Their halves pairing of Anasta and Pearce have a considerable edge in experience on their opponents. In a game where I'm struggling to separate them that might be enough.

Verdict – Roosters

Result - Roosters 24 (somehow) defeated Rabbitohs 20

Wally Lewis - round one selections (in bold)

Note: tips from Wally will be published as soon as possible (usually on Thursday night or early Friday morning).

• KNIGHTS vs Dragons
• Eels vs BRONCOS
• Raiders vs STORM
• Panthers vs BULLDOGS
• COWBOYS vs Titans
• WARRIORS vs Sea Eagles
• TIGERS vs Sharks
• RABBITOHS vs Roosters