Wests Tigers vs South Sydney Rabbitohs – Friday night – ANZ Stadium
Footballers are like racehorses - they eat a lot, wear numbers on their back, have funny shoes and the true greats get to retire to a life at stud. They can also be a little bit unpredictable when you take them out of their comfort zone. A 40 degree day on the Gold Coast sounds okay, providing you're in an air-conditioned apartment within arms length of a decent swell. It's less ideal for football and footballers, but few would have expected the Tigers to handle those conditions better than the Titans. Winning doesn't hurt like losing, but those conditions have to take something away from the Tigers this round - particularly on a short back-up against a very good side. Be wary of my selection in this game folks. I've had four chances to tip a winner in games involving these two sides, and I'm yet to get off the mark.
Verdict – Rabbitohs by 24
Result - Tigers 25 defeated Rabbitohs 16
Brisbane Broncos vs Sydney Roosters – Friday night – Suncorp Stadium
The form around the Broncos just might stack up. Not only are they undefeated but they've held both their opponents to 12 points. Adding credibility to those efforts, those opponents racked up big scores (28 and 42) when they played other teams. That said, holding the Roosters to 12 points may be beyond them, particularly with Josh McGuire unavailable in the engine room. I'll leap to the conclusion the Chooks are short-priced favourites and sensible tipsters should stick with them. But I know how much these Broncos like Jharal Yow Yeh. Given the retirement of his jersey on Friday night, I have a feeling the Broncos will climb new heights and give Jharal a night to remember.
Verdict – Broncos by 4
Result - Roosters 30 defeated Broncos 26
Penrith Panthers vs Canterbury Bulldogs – Saturday afternoon – Sportingbet Stadium
I haven't got much right this season, but I did suggest the Panthers will have a big year. So far so good, and their one-point loss to the Storm last round was an indication of how far they have come. They're back home this week, Jamie Soward and Tim Grant return to the line-up, and they've had two extra days to prepare for this game. The Bulldogs impressed on Monday night, but they'll face a sterner test on Saturday. The Panthers to prevail, with Soward popping a field goal at some point to shore up the result. Back Josh Morris to score a try...for the losing side.
Verdict – Panthers by 7
Result - Panthers 18 defeated Bulldogs 16
Cronulla Sharks vs St George Illawarra Dragons – Saturday night – Remondis Stadium
Speaking of getting things right, I tipped the Sharks to get the spoon this season, and at this rate they may finally have some woodenware to put in that empty cabinet at Sharkies Leagues Club. Even more astonishing is where the Dragons are on the ladder - John Howard himself wouldn't have been tipping you that. One has to assume the Dragons go on with it here, and Gareth Widdop appears to be relishing the opportunity to step out from under the shadows of the big three at the Storm. The Sharks have a short turnaround from last week and they have plenty to work on after that woeful display. Todd Carney returns but Gallen, Fifita and Lewis remain on the sideline. I can't have them, but I'm tipping this may be a contest because of the extraordinary level of hate these sides feel for each other. I can sense the seething already.
Verdict – Dragons by 2
Result - Dragons 14 defeated Sharks 12
North Queensland Cowboys vs New Zealand Warriors – Saturday night – 1300SMILES Stadium
Once were Worriers, and still we're worrying. None from two I tells ya, and they haven't had to play anyone good yet. Johnny Ray might be the gun tipster on this site and the lad is on fire, but his heart must be breaking each and every weekend. More pain for Johnny Ray and the Warriors seems on the cards, although the Cowboys have a rich history of losing the games we expect them to win. I'll bank on the Broncos formline to hold up, and failing that the right boot of Mr Thurston should get them home.
Verdict – Cowboys by 8
Result - Warriors 20 defeated Cowboys 16
Manly Sea Eagles vs Parramatta Eels – Sunday afternoon – Brookvale Oval
Is there anything I could say here that would convince any of you to tip Parramatta this weekend? Anything? Didn't think so. Back Cherry-Evans in try-scoring betting markets if you need a reason to stay glued to this fixture.
Verdict – Sea Eagles by 22
Result - Sea Eagles 22 defeated Eels 18
Canberra Raiders vs Gold Coast Titans – Sunday night – GIO Stadium
My old adage of backing the home team when these sides clash isn't as water-tight as it used to be, but it's still water resistant to about 30 metres. I'm hard-pressed to find reasons to tip the Titans anyway, although the absence of Papali and Fensom from the Raiders pack does leave me hesitating for a moment. David Shillington returns for the Green Machine to ease the concern somewhat. Then I heard a whisper that Aidan Sezer may not play for the Titans, and I'm in next to no doubt.
Verdict – Raiders by 8
Result - Titans 24 defeated Raiders 12
Melbourne Storm vs Newcastle Knights – Monday night – AAMI Park
The 'First Rule of Holes' is to stop digging, although it looks like the Knights will find themselves in a slightly deeper hole next week. If there's a harder road trip than the Melbourne road trip I don't know what it is. Two one-point victories for the home side leave them undefeated near the top of the table, a place which has been their preferred habitat for most of this century. Some may question the strength of those one-point victories, but the two teams they beat did win their other games. Further to that, if you look back over the years the Storm often eke out narrow low-scoring wins early in the season. It's just the way they are and the way they are trained. At some point in 2014 Bellamy will fire up the after-burners and we'll get to see a show.
Verdict – Storm by 8
Result - Storm 28 defeated Knights 20
Wally Lewis - round three selections (in bold)
Note: tips from Wally will be published on Thursday night or early Friday morning.
- Tigers vs RABBITOHS
- Broncos vs ROOSTERS
- Panthers vs BULLDOGS
- Sharks vs DRAGONS
- COWBOYS vs Warriors
- SEA EAGLES vs Eels
- RAIDERS vs Titans
- STORM vs Knights
Comments
Submitted by a on
Here are my tips
Rabbitohs by 8 I think Rabbitohs to beat Fighting Tigers here
Roosters by 2 I think Roosters to win in a thriller here
Bulldogs by 1 I think Bulldogs will win back to back here
Dragons by 12 I think Dragons should beat the Sharks here
Cowboys by 20 I think Cowboys should beat Warriors here
Sea Eagles by 16 I think Sea Eagle to be to strong for the Eels here
Titans by 4 Raiders have too many injuries
Storm by 30 I think Storm to be to be way too good here
Submitted by The Joker on
Bunnies
Roosters
Bulldogs
Sharks
Cowboys
Manly
Raiders
Storm
Cheers!
Submitted by Ivano Franco on
Bunnies
Chooks
Panthers
Saints
Cowboys
Manly
Canberra
Storm
See if I can get more than 3 this week?
Submitted by Johnny Ray on
Yeah hey everybody ! Two weeks into the competition and I don't know about you but I have no idea where this season is going ! For me, this has got to be one one of single greatest entertaining opening seasons of footy that I've seen for long time ! I'm loving it. Let's get on with this weeks tips :
Rabbitohs : The West Tigers looked good last week but they were playing up against Titans. Playing up against Bunnies will be a different story but I wouldn't want write them off just yet as I can so see this being close match
Rabbitohs - 12 And Under.
Roosters - I'm sorry Thinker but in this game The Broncos aren't going to know what's hit them as I really do think Roosters are just going to punch there way down the middle of field all way back to Sydney with the points.
Roosters -13 Plus.
Bulldogs - I really don't know about this game as it could be anybody's for the taking but looking at players they got, especially up front in forwards, I suspect Bulldogs will have alot more in them than Panthers to go on and win this match in what should be one huge brutal dogfight out in Penrith !
Bulldogs - 12 And Under.
Sharks - Todd Carney is back playing this week for Sharkies. Beau Ryan is also suspected play off bench. That's enough for me tip them in this game.
Sharkies - 12 And Under.
Cowboys - No, thank you for your concern Thinker but speaking to you as Warriors fan, I am not happy. For last two weeks of this season I've carried around alot hurt and with everything else that we've got piling up on top of us this week, things are only going to get alot more worse ! Things are really starting to get heavy and yeah, seriously dude, I don't know much more of this I can take ! That's why for me on Saturday instead of staying up late and watching game I'm going to instead take a large metal spoon and jam it up my a$$ as that's sort of pain that I rather inflict on myself !
Cowboys - 13 Plus.
Sea Eagles - My Dad's mate Ken who's Paramatta Supporter will probably want to borrow spoon off me after this game and that probably won't be the only spoon that Warriors and Eels will share at the end of this season.
Sea Eagles - 13 Plus.
Raiders - I know God hates me because constantly $hits on me from great heights. In same week my team, The Warriors, are guarantee to lose match against The Cowboys he has got my other two teams, The Titans and The Raiders playing off each other in the same game ! Oh well, at least I've still got The Auckland Vulcans to watch in NSW Cup. *My Brother Interrupts Me* What ? Huh ? What do you mean they drop them from competition ? When did they decide to do that ? What do you mean I know this is huge emotional loss for you that's why you were planning to tell me gradually ? Dude I've going start gradually kicking your a$$ beginning with your face if you don't start tell me things ! Has PNG got team in QLD Cup yet ? Yes !
Raiders - 12 And Under.
Knights - If I'm right this will be upset of the round because 2014 season is going to start resembling anything that's like 2013 season, then upsets on Monday Night Footy will have to be one of them because there were always upsets on Monday Night with Footy back in 2013. That and don't think Storm are same side as they were back in 2013, though like they do every year under Coach Bellamy, they do seem to spend first eight weeks before first Origin Game feeling their way! It will be touch and go for most of full eighty minutes but really do think Wayne Bennett will win this one out in Melbourne in big purple people seater stadium that Storm have got.
Knights - 12 And Under.
My apologies go out to Barbara and everybody else the last two weeks, for not remembering to put my margins in with my calls ! Cool, thanks again Thinker !
Go The PNG Hunters ! Papua New Guinea Power ! Peow ! Peow ! ;-D
Submitted by mark ashford on
Firstly congratulations to Johnny Ray & "a" it hasn't been easy so far so well done!
Everybody has given heaps of commentary and margins this week so I'm just going with my predictions;
Rabbits
Roosters
Panthers
Dragons
Cowboys
Manly
Raiders
Storm
Good luck all with those comps.
Submitted by Thinker's Little Helper on
Just a friendly reminder to those involved in the 'official' guest tipping to sign in and add your wisdom on the entry form for this round. Good luck!
Submitted by The Thinker on
A couple of notable late withdrawals coming through:
* Aidan Sezer is confirmed as unavailable for the Titans
* Ben Hannant is out for the Broncos - Martin Kennedy goes into the front row - this leaves the Broncos very short for big boppers, and means my Broncos tip is looking very shaky. I'll leave it as is, but it's looking hard now (the perils of tipping on a Wednesday).
Best of luck everyone. Hopefully Guru Craig will be with us shortly with his wisdom.
Submitted by The Joker on
Patiently waiting for the Guru.......
Submitted by The Joker on
My tips have changed to...
Bunnies
Roosters
Bulldogs
Sharks
Cowboys
Manly
Titans
Storm
Submitted by The Thinker on
a,
If you're having trouble signing in, click on the 'sign in' link top right of the screen.
Your username is 'a'
Hopefully your password is slightly more complicated than that.
If you can't remember your password click on the 'request new password' link.
Once you are signed in you can just click on the link from my Little Helper in the comments or the 'Tipsters - time for round three' link at the top of the page.
Hope that helps....keep tipping those winners.
I'm starting to think the Guru might be out looking for wreckage in the southern Indian ocean. He's a busy Guru, and may pop in tonight.
Submitted by a on
I have reset password and no email has come through so do I sign in to the scone email because the first one is not working
Submitted by newbie from perth on
Hi everyone,
This week's games look pretty cut'n'dry but the "beautiful game" has a habit of making me look foolish so I wouldn't be surprised if I only managed to get 4 right.
I've put my tips in and it seems I've gone the same as most of you:
Bunnies
Roosters (the pain from round 1 has now disappeared)
Panthers
Dragons
Cowboys (only after The Thinker changed my mind and after looking at the ladder)
Manly (still can't get used to calling them Sea Eagles)
Raiders
and the Storm Troopers
Good luck this week. I'm off to make a coffee and then I'll come back and see if the Guru has posted his comments. Then again it's roughly 10.30 or maybe 11.30 over east so maybe he's gone beddy-byes.
P.S. Double-header tomorrow night ... Tigers v Bunnies and then Chookies v Broncs straight after. It's about the only time I watch GEM. Thanks and good night!!
Submitted by Guru Craig on
Tigers – The Guru is a tad late with his tips, a bit like the bills at Balmain… taking a punt and going with the Tigers here on the chance the media mumbo this week has caused an ‘event’ with the players, one of those the coach got sacked moments, the club is broke, the club is ..well, Sharkies syndrome, is a gooda name as any..The ‘G’ predicts the Stripies to win by ‘Sharkies syndrome’, a rare football event that allows a bottom of the ladder, prob should just forfeit club like the Magpies here to win a few. The Guru witnessed one of these ‘Sharkies syndromes’ in 2012 when Para beat the Storm in Syd, could of just about patted Hindy on his hindy as he scored the match winning try. Ahh days of 4.70 H2H…albeit good peoples, the Guru is about as shaky as ‘The Thinker’ when it comes to tipping the Tigers, they’ll prob get beat by 40 if they don’t sneak a win.
Brisbane – Coach Griffin is doing a decent job with the Bronco’s and its about bloody time too! There are a few ideas the Guru would like to offer Anthony…mate get yourself a couple of cannon balls, young hitters in the mold of Papali and Taumalol, not easy? Mackay would be a top place to start, seriously. The ‘G’ played a bit himself not so long ago and the boys from that QLD town hit harder run faster and show more commitment than any ive seen. Failing that there is a lot of angry young Kiwi’s it seems over in Kiwi land, That and Corey should be in the backrow, the wear rate is much higher up front and Mr Parker is the best backrower at the club. Loving the twin 5/8 & #1 hitting both sides of the ruck and, that other bloke warming the bench, you know who, needs a bag of Oranges to peel down Redcliff way, tell him to keep the headgear on though, some off those Oranges are nasty little bastards.
Panthers – The Guru is warming to the Thinkers love for the Pennies, it was just last season The ‘G’ himself felt some of Gus’s emotion and sent a few tips via the Mountains. The Doggies will need some roster rotation I believe if they are to get back to 2012 form, that season is starting to look like the Mayans prediction. Seemed a possibility but ended with nothing more than a bit of cannibalism!
StGeorge – Good to see Stevie has been reading this column and adjusted accordingly, I tells ya NRL coaches, The Guru isn’t called that for nothing, last year as soon as Hook, yanked the golden boy and returned Hoffman to his #1 and a few other of the Genius ideas, they won a few. You got the points and you got the points that matter. Same here my good buddy, 25 will win it for you. Pressure Carney the Cat and match the biff. 1 try per quarter, that’s all you need from the boys..id love to see a tricky little bloke army crawl from dummy half between those tall forwards boots over the line, Sharks are big but they don’t do the Twerking like Myley does. Might also pay a few kids with BB guns to keep an eye out for Flanno’s shire special.
NQ – The Cowboys did the right thing last week, the ‘G’ had a nice chunk of that $2.12 the Stallions offered and NQ didn’t let me down. Pauly G has got the players motivation right just like Grif, however he is missing a bit of the skills factor. The problem is in the pack if you ask this Guru. Townsville should have beaten Brisbane up front but they didn’t and they were lucky to hold Canberra the previous week too. The Cowboys need to find the X factor soon if they want a shot in October.
Manly – The Guru thinks either Para or the Magpies will get a win this week, if the soon to be Birds get done, have a fiver or more on the Eels, they always give Manly a hard time and these crazy odds games come off once in a while. just ask GWS fans.
Canberra – should be starting to get a bit cold this time of year, heres hoping they’ve got a different accounting firm than their old sparring partners Balmain, Ricky should be feeling ok with his troops with 2 decent games under the belt and it only gets better this week, the GCT have nothing here, they couldn’t win in the heat and they won’t win in the cool. Free money I tells ya.
Storm – The Guru bought a car this week from Melbourne, got if from a decent bloke of the same name, no he isn’t a Guru, but he is a football fan, not so much our game but he was kind enough to show me that all Melbournians like The Storm, they love the other rubbish though, no not VB, though that’s almost as bad as the Blue stuff they call beer down here in the first state, ahh dreams of Gold..and Purple or white. They need to keep to the colours and stop messing with the jerseys. Melbourne will be far too good for Newcastle, put a mutli with the Raiders, winner winner microwave dinner.
Submitted by Guru Craig on
The Guru never sleeps Newbie and when he does he dreams of football
Submitted by Guru Craig on
johnny Ray, settle down with that spoon mate...or you might find yourself on 60 minutes
Submitted by Thinker's Little Helper on
Hi a,
I've altered your email address in the system and sent a password reset link to you. Good luck getting in -- if you still haven't plugged in your tips in the next couple of hours I'll jump in and submit them on your behalf, using the ones in your comment above.
EDIT: All done for you. I am too good.
Submitted by Grasshopper on
Come on Hursty show your Tips.
Here are this weeks WINNERS to help you.
RABBITOHS
ROOSTERS
PANTHERS
DRAGONS
COWBOYS
SEA EAGLES
RAIDERS
STORM
Submitted by Grasshopper on
Hursty from Wallavile Tips are as follows
RABBITOHS
ROOSTERS
BULLDOGS
DRAGONS
COWBOYS
SEA EAGLES
RAIDERS
STORM
Whats happened to Noel Matthews from Gympie ?
Submitted by a on
Thanks everything is okay now I can just go back to normal now with my comments
Submitted by Thinker's Little Helper on
Hey, I never said I was your mother :) Now that your login's fine you are welcome to fill out the form next week!
Submitted by The Animal on
G'day guys,
Watched this site all last year, did not too bad in the tipping from reading everyone's thoughts on Gods game so thought I might contribute this year.
Bunnies
Broncs (gotta have one upset)
Panthers
Saints
NQ
Manly
Raiders
Storm
Submitted by The Thinker on
Greetings football fans,
For those on the tipping ladder, I have now closed round three.
Good luck to us all....especially those of us deranged enough to tip the Broncos tonight.
Enjoy your weekends
Submitted by Gnu Hung on
Hi The Thinker,
I'm new here. Been following your website for a while. I'm keen to join the tipping ladder. Thanks.
Here's my selections for this week:
Rabbitohs
Roosters
Panthers
Dragons
Warriors
Sea Eagles
Raiders
Submitted by Gnu Hung on
I guess I'm too late. :(
Goodluck all!
Submitted by Gnu Hung on
And Storms!
Submitted by newbie from perth on
Hi everyone,
Just finished watching the Bunnies getting done by those Tigers. I told you this "beautiful game" makes me look foolish at times! Might have to think twice before I tip those Bunnies again. Amazing to see the Guru was on the money with this one. Now I know why he's the "Guru".
Desperately hoping his radar is off a bit with Broncs & Roosters though...
Gotta dash now, Broncs & Roosters is just about to start. Woo-hoo!! And yes, I'm gonna resist the temptation of checking out the score beforehand.
P.S. Pleasant dreams (of footy) Guru. Cheers.
Submitted by Rob on
0/2 friday night thinker.. Hope things pick up soon lol
Submitted by Johnny Ray on
Con"guru"lations goes out to Guru for picking the upset of season so far ! Tigers beat Bunnies 13 plus ! That and my commiserations to Thinker. The Broncos only getting beaten in last seconds of game. Go PNG Hunters ! ;-D
Submitted by Ivano Franco on
A, your right what a thriller that broncos game was!!!
I tipped the bunnies in the other and was let down. But also great to see those young halves from the tigers doing their stuff.
This season is getting better and better!!
Submitted by Ivano Franco on
All i can say Oh deranged one. What a great game!!!
Submitted by Johnny Ray on
Crap ! Now I know how The Thinker must feel ! :-(
Submitted by a on
I wished Cowboys would have beaten the Warriors they got robbed last night
Submitted by christine forb10 on
Morning Thinker
I am going to have to rethink my top 8 this is terrible, who would of thought dragons would be coming 1st & except for guru craig who would of thought west tigers would beat souths this is crazy whats happened to souths to be beaten by west tigers ?
Submitted by Johnny Ray on
WARRIORS !!! :-)
Submitted by christine forb10 on
i think the refs are so scared to make a call now that it's beyond a joke , what happend to the days when unless you bleed you where not playing football ?
Submitted by The Animal on
UP THE DRAGONS!!!
Submitted by christine forb10 on
Thinker i don't know about you but i say bring back the biff , this is not football anymore it's become way to precious & the refs are to scared to even make a call so let me know do you agree with me or not? bring back the biff, & do we really need so many refs ?
Submitted by Barbara on
Well I only got 3 out of 8 correct (you know I won't tip against the Dogs)but thanks Thinker I got margins Dragons by 2 and Storm by 8 correct which I think is amazing for you to pick that, it certainly made watching the last 20 mins of the Storm game exciting I couldn't believe neither team scored in the last 20 mins.
Submitted by christine forb10 on
Afternoon Thinker i have noticed that you are not responding to the comments i post even when i'm asking you a ? i would appreciate it if you do respond so i'm not just wasting my time. thank you christine
Submitted by The Thinker on
Hi Christine,
I must admit that I have some sort of life away from this website, so I'm not going to be here all the time. Occasionally some comments are going to be here for a while before I see them. It doesn't mean I don't love you all dearly.
As for your question about bringing back the biff:
The game isn't as thuggish as it used to be but it's still pretty tough. The truly tragic accident to Alex McKinnon on Monday night is proof of that.
It's the toughest ball sport in the world in my opinion, and the quality of the games this season have been pretty darn sensational as well.
I just wish I knew who was going to win :-)
Submitted by The Thinker on
Which brings me to round four this week.
I'll be away from Thinker headquarters this week to attend a funeral. My previews and selections will still be posted, but they'll be a bit later than usual as I'll be 'Up in the Air' for much of tomorrow afternoon.
Hoping to have my tips posted on Wednesday night. Stay tuned.
Submitted by christine forb10 on
Evening Thinker, thankyou for your response to my posts & yes i see your point about bringing back the biff there is a bad side to it with what has happened to alex mckinnon & i have to say did you see anyone get put on report for that? ,there is inconsistancy in the refereeing they are killing the game of nrl we all know & love & it's a shame , as to who is going to win this year well we will have to wait & see but i promise you one thing it won't be who you think it is & i will be waiting for your round 4 tips thank you from your loyal long time follower christine .
Submitted by christine forb10 on
Thinker i take back my previous comment storm's jordan mclean has been charged with the alex mckinnon spear tackle & stood down for next weeks game but that doesn't help alex with having a fractured c4 , c5 & a compromised spinal cord i mean who knows if alex will ever walk again let alone ever play football again but it dosen't sound good.
Submitted by dipak on
How come jonny roy got 3 on round 3? He got 2 and counting 3.
thanks
Submitted by Thinker's Little Helper on
By jingo by crikey you're onto something there. I've double-checked the scores for everyone for round three, and Johnny Ray did indeed get two, and The Joker only landed four. Scoreboard corrected.