South Sydney Rabbitohs vs St George Illawarra Dragons – Thursday night – ANZ Stadium

The Englishman almost outnumber the Australians on Thursday night - clearly our nation is in danger of being over-run by pasty white immigrants from the north of England. Stop the boots. Both sides surprised us (in my opinion) with victories last week but (in my opinion) there was more to like in the Rabbitohs victory. Adam Reynolds is a better halfback with Greg Inglis next to him. Perhaps Inglis gets more attention and that gives Reynolds a little more time to do what he does best. Last round was his best performance in quite some time, and Inglis will improve in the playmaking role the longer he stays there. If those two stay fit and in form the Bunnies could even make the top eight. The Dragons victory over the Raiders gave us a dramatic finish but the quality of football leading up to that was barely first grade. They'll need to be better than that. In what I can only assume is a policy change for the NRL the lights at ANZ Stadium will be turned on for Thursday night football this round. The Dragons may spend the first thirty minutes of this game squinting.

Verdict – Rabbitohs by 4

Result - Rabbitohs 34 defeated Dragons 24

North Queensland Cowboys vs Brisbane Broncos – Friday night – 1300SMILES Stadium

Forgive me for doing a 'Homer Simpson missing the chilli cook-off dance', but I'm pretty excited about this Friday night. I was this close (imagine tiny gap between my thumb and index finger) to being at this game...in the Cowboys box...with free beer and deep fried things... but I'm not. Damn kids and my adult responsibilities. I'm still looking forward to the game though. Even my damn kids are looking forward to this one, and why not? It's the Grand Final replay, and the last three times these sides have met it's been unbelievably good sport. The Broncos won by one in round four. The Cowboys won by one in the 2015 grand final. The Cowboys lost by one last week, but they haven't lost at home all year. Quite frankly, this game deserves a new stadium in Townsville. There's a political opportunity in the lead-up to this game if anyone wants to take it (Bill/Malcolm...are you listening?). The Storm provided a blueprint for beating the Cowboys last week, but can the Broncos forwards repeat the process - certainly the timely return of Blair, Glenn and McCullough helps. The Cowboys just keep naming their best seventeen week in week out - their medical team are on track for some hefty performance bonuses this season. I hope the NSW selectors are considering Lachlan Coote as an 'Origin bolter'...but they probably aren't. I'm leaning the Cowboys way on the basis that Thurston will be primed for a big performance after the frustrating loss to the Storm. That said, they'll all be primed for this one. Compulsory viewing folks - be there or be on your couch.

Verdict – Cowboys by 1

Result - Cowboys 19 defeated Broncos 18

Wests Tigers vs Newcastle Knights – Saturday afternoon – Campbelltown Stadium

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. Friday night brings us rugby league at it's best, then it's a steep and slippery slope down to Campbelltown. The Knights are doing what they can with what they have, but what they have is a squad of kids in a game for men. What doesn't kill them makes them stronger, but signs of strength from the Knights could be years away. The Tigers aren't shooting the lights out either, but there's enough first grade experience in their seventeen to take the points at home.

Verdict – Tigers by 14

Result - Tigers 20 defeated Knights 12

New Zealand Warriors vs Canberra Raiders – Saturday night – Yarrow Stadium

"Where the heckity heck is Yarrow Stadium?" you hear me asking. Good question Thinker. Yarrow Stadium is in New Plymouth. "And where the heckity heck is New Plymouth?" you hear me asking. Good question Thinker. New Plymouth is on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It's probably a good thing the Warriors are taking their freak show carnival on the road so often, because they're in danger of being rail-roaded out of Auckland for good. Blake Austin crawled around in the dark last Thursday, stumbled across his nose and successfully re-attached it to his face. He's playing. The Raiders have named some big units on an extended bench but at least one of them needs to take on the tasks usually left for Shaun Fensom. Without a shard of confidence I'm tipping the Warriors, because the Raiders shot themselves in the foot so many times last week they all get one of those disability parking stickers for their cars. One thing I am confident of though, is points. Unless the weather in New Plymouth is hideous you just know this game is going to end up with one of those 36-32 scorelines at full-time.

Verdict – Warriors by 4

Result - Raiders 38 defeated Warriors 12

Cronulla Sharks vs Manly Sea Eagles – Saturday night – Southern Cross Group Stadium

In round nine the Sharks beat the Broncos, and in round ten the Broncos completely dismantled the Sea Eagles. In round eleven I expect the Sharks to completely dismantle the Sea Eagles too. Oddly enough the Sea Eagles were the last team to beat the Sharks way back in round three, but a repeat of that result seems highly unlikely. Their 62-0 win last week was against a poor opponent but this is a team on the rise. Their next major challenge is managing the Origin period of the season - we could have 5 or even 6 Sharks playing rep footy this winter. When you're a very good team that's just one of the hurdles you have to overcome. Let's see how good they really are.

Verdict – Sharks by 14

Result - Sharks 20 defeated Sea Eagles 12

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

I rather bravely suggested the Panthers would finally score more than 20 points last week...and I was right. And I rather bravely suggested the Titans could beat the Roosters on Monday night at juicy odds...and I was right again. By my reckoning, that's two things I got right in round ten, and only a dozen things I got wrong. Genius I say...sheer genius. Speaking of juicy odds, the Panthers are in the top eight and they look set to stay there. They are about to start a run of very winnable games and this is the sort of game a genuine top eight side needs to be winning. Cartwright, Campbell-Gillard and Moylan can all press their claims for an Origin debut. They're $1.28 with the bookies to win this game, toxic odds I say against an under-rated opponent, but I'll be tipping them regardless.

Verdict – Panthers by 4

Result - Titans 28 defeated Panthers 24

Canterbury Bulldogs vs Sydney Roosters – Sunday afternoon – ANZ Stadium

The Roosters put the Knights to the sword in round nine, and I suspect the Chooks got ahead of themselves a little on the back of that win. They came back to earth with a shuddering thud on Monday night, and they'll spend the lead-up to this game having a good hard look at themselves. At least I hope they do as I'm tipping them here. When the Roosters beat the Rabbits, Dylan Napa single-handedly took on the Bunnies forwards and won. I think he'll do it again, and I think he'll bring some big chickens along with him. On the back of that, the Roosters backline can outpoint the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs are favoured to win, and they should be, but I'm not yet convinced they're the real deal.

Verdict – Roosters by 8

Result - Bulldogs 32 defeated Roosters 20

Parramatta Eels vs Melbourne Storm – Monday night – Pirtek Stadium

42-0. 38-0 and a 15-14 victory over the defending premiers, and the last two victories were away from home. That's fair form for the Storm, and it has me wondering why the Eels are the favourites on Monday night. Craig Bellamy doesn't throw compliments around lightly but he was positively beaming after their last start victory. If they can contain the Cowboys I'm assuming they can contain the Eels. I have a feeling the odds will flip on this game, so if you're thinkering what I'm thinkering you may want to consider backing the Storm at $2.00 while you still can. Gamble responsibly.

Verdict – Storm by 7

Result - Storm 18 defeated Eels 6

Wally Lewis - round eleven selections (in bold)

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

• RABBITOHS vs Dragons
• COWBOYS vs Broncos
• TIGERS vs Knights
• WARRIORS vs Raiders
• SHARKS vs Sea Eagles
• PANTHERS vs Titans
• BULLDOGS vs Roosters
• EELS vs Storm