Brisbane Broncos vs St George Illawarra Dragons – Thursday night – Suncorp Stadium

Sometimes I repeat myself. Often times its because I'm a tad forgetful, but occassionally I repeat myself because I'm trying to make a bloody good point. Last week I mentioned the Dragons had scored just three tries in their last four hours of football. We're now up to 5 hours and 20 minutes, and they're still on three tries. Their last two away outings have yielded no tries at all, and here they are in another away game, against a team that recently beat the team that just beat the Dragons 36-0. The Broncos are yet to taste defeat at home this season, and I suspect I can repeat that statement in a weeks time.

Verdict – Broncos by 10

Result - Broncos 26 defeated Dragons 0

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

At the start of the season I would have highlighted this game in the schedule, but a lot can change in five weeks. The Eels/Raiders clash the next day looks more enticing, and I would never have said that five weeks ago. These sides actually met in round one when the Rabbitohs put the Chooks to the sword in a clinical display. Things have only gotten worse for the tricolours since then. Losing is a much harder habit to break than winning, and there's no reason to think they've cured their woes yet. To make matters worse, the Rabbitohs will take great delight in pinning some tailfeathers to the bottom of the ladder. No doubt the Chooks will try - there's every chance they'll lift and give us their best performance of the year thus far, but they shan't be winning. No they shan't.

Verdict – Rabbitohs by 10

Result - Roosters 17 defeated Rabbitohs 10

Parramatta Eels vs Canberra Raiders – Saturday afternoon – Pirtek Stadium

I'm teetering here, and I'm very close to tipping the Raiders. Their form is tremendous, their record against the Eels is good and they have a better strike rate in daytime games. That's three good reasons to tip them, but here are my three reasons I'm not:

1. Successive away games and a short turnaround from Monday night.
2. Iosia Soliola is out and he give the Raiders some real punch in the middle third.
3. Nathan Peats is back for the Eels, and if he can keep his body together long enough he'll be quite the footballer.

It seems odd to say this, but we could be looking at the game of the round. If you like a bet back the Raiders with the handicap start - if they don't win I don't think they'll lose by much.

Verdict – Eels by 2

Result - Eels 36 defeated Raiders 6

New Zealand Warriors vs Manly Sea Eagles – Saturday night – Mt Smart Stadium

The Warriors are a frustrating outfit at the worst of times, so I've made a bit of an effort to avoid watching them this season. I didn't think I was missing out on much, until I found out (just now) that the Warriors have an interchange player named 'Jazz'. That is outstanding, and some very brave parenting from someone out there. I don't know if Jazz is any good, but I have a copy of 'Kind of Blue' by Miles Davis...and I will listen to it, right after this game. For reasons I can't quite fathom the Warriors are a very short priced favourite here. They did beat the Roosters last week...just, but the Sea Eagles just beat the Roosters too. Granted the Sea Eagles are missing a few key personel, but they win a lot more games at Mt Smart Stadium than the Warriors. Trent Barrett has given his side a nice little freshen up leading into this game and I'm taking a punt that they'll respond positively.

Verdict – Sea Eagles by 4

Result - Sea Eagles 34 defeated Warriors 18

Penrith Panthers vs North Queensland Cowboys – Saturday night – Pepper Stadium

At the risk of upsetting our resident Coach Potato, the Panthers are lucky they aren't sitting on zero points right now. They deserved the wins they got, and they were against decent opposition, but if things didn't work out they could be hanging out with the Roosters (and after the Mitchell Pearce fiasco no-one wants to socialize with them). Now at the risk of pleasing our resident Coach Potato, the Panthers could also, with a little more luck, be entrenched in the top four. All their losses, like their wins, have been by narrow margins. I happen to think the Panthers are a team on the rise - Matt Moylan will improve each week, and Segeyaro and Whare should return in the next fortnight or so. Now at the risk of upsetting our resident Coach Potato yet again, I won't be tipping them here. The Cowboys are the form team in the NRL right now and, given the Panthers victories over the Broncos and Eels, they'll be preparing for a contest on Saturday night. If this game was mid-winter and smack-bang in the middle of the Origin series I could entertain a victory for the locals...but not right now. Here's a little stat for you - five games down and Jonathan Thurston is yet to make a single error this season. All those touches and all that running around like a terrier in defence...and not a single error. If he keeps this up he might end up being a pretty decent footballer one day.

Verdict – Cowboys by 4

Result - Cowboys 23 defeated Panthers 18

Cronulla Sharks vs Gold Coast Titans – Sunday afternoon – Southern Cross Group Stadium

As a man who likes to poke sticks at the Cronulla club from time to time it unnerves me a little to say this, but here goes - I like the look of this squad. They have the combination of tough, aggressive forwards, level-headed playmakers and exciting backs just about right. Can they actually bring the Shire their first premiership? I say no, but the rumblings have already started on the beaches. Ben Barba appears to have his zing back, and rugby league is a much better spectacle when the little men are zinging. As for the Titans, they've won more games than they've lost - not too bad for the team most assumed would run last. This challenge might be just beyond them - Cameron Cullen makes his NRL debut in the halves and this won't be the easiest place to start your first grade career. There are a few other notable inclusions for the visitors (David Shillington, William Zillman), and they'll give this a good shake. The Sharks to prevail, shaken but not stirred. The name is Bird...Jack Bird.

Verdict – Sharks by 4

Result - Sharks 25 defeated Titans 20

Newcastle Knights vs Wests Tigers – Sunday afternoon – Hunter Stadium

If the Knights repeat that effort from last week they beat the Tigers on Sunday, particularly with the support of a home crowd. I do have a rich history of backing the Knights in these Sunday afternoon fixtures in the Hunter, and it's a strategy that has served me well over the years. But, and there's always a but, this is very young Newcastle squad, and its quite the challenge to back up after a strong effort and produce another strong effort. I suspect they'll be below their best this weekend, and that's a level that doesn't win games in the NRL. The Tigers have lost three games in a row, but they've been competitive. Narrow losses to the Sharks and the Eels is better form than it used to be. Curtis Sironen returns to an otherwise settled Tigers line-up. You want to have points in you to win these afternoon fixtures, and the Tigers have scored 114 in five games - not bad given that they won game where they didn't score at all.

Verdict – Tigers by 8

Result - Knights 18 defeated Tigers 16

Melbourne Storm vs Canterbury Bulldogs – Monday night – AAMI Park

There are four teams below the Storm on the ladder with a better points differential this season, including the Bulldogs. Such is the nature of the purple machine, particularly early in the season where they do enough to keep on winning and not much more. They aren't at their best, but they've won four from five and are undefeated at home. Their only loss came at the hands of the Sharks on a Monday night in Cronulla, and even then they only conceded 14 points. This is a difficult team to tip against, even when you know they aren't firing on all cylinders. While the Storm are a metronome, the Bulldogs remain a riddle wrapped inside an enigma. Just when you convince yourself they're a premiership force (racking up 42 points against the Bunnies) they underperform a week later in a game where I had them pegged as a lock. I'll stick with what I know, and I know the Storm. I don't expect it to be pretty, but they'll get the job done. I've a feeling this game will be the lowest scoring for the round - adjust your betting accordingly.

Verdict – Storm by 7

Result - Bulldogs 18 defeated Storm 12

Wally Lewis - round six selections (in bold)

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

• BRONCOS vs Dragons
• RABBITOHS vs Roosters
• EELS vs Raiders
• WARRIORS vs Sea Eagles
• Panthers vs COWBOYS
• SHARKS vs Titans
• Knights vs TIGERS
• STORM vs Bulldogs