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

Reports of the Rabbitohs death (by me mostly) have been exaggerated, given their successive victories without Greg Inglis and their reasonably lofty position on the ladder. Wins are wins and they're all worth two points, but I'm not convinced that victories over teams I expect to struggle this year (Sea Eagles and Knights) is strong enough form to beat the undefeated Chooks. That said, they'll lift for what has to be the longest running derby in Australian sport. I went looking for an older rivalry globally – Yankees vs Red Sox (since 1901) sprang to mind. I imagine there are country cricket teams in England that can match it too but I simply don't care enough to look it up. I'll be looking up this game though – live on the lounge if anyone wants to join me. George Burgess and Hymel Hunt are spending some time off the field for some ugly discretions on the field, while Blake Ferguson is some chance to return. I'll be sticken with the chickens who have, in my opinion, been defeating tougher opposition than the bunnies. Closer than some may think, but the Chooks will prevail. Here I go with the rudest animal call in the world...cock-a-doodle-do

Verdict – Roosters by 4

Result – Roosters 20 defeated Rabbitohs 6

Penrith Panthers vs Newcastle Knights – Friday afternoon – Pepper Stadium

When I saw that the Panthers were $1.18 to win this game my first thought was 'whoa Nelly! The only reason you'd be backing the Panthers at $1.18 is if you were some Russian criminal trying to get money out of Moscow before some KGB operative takes you out on the way to the airport'. Then I stopped working on my terrible screenplay and started thinking about this game a little more seriously. And guess what? The Panthers are deadset specials and $1.18 is giving money away. One from three is not where the Panthers should be and they'll be proving that this weekend. Bravo to the Knights for their efforts this season – clearly they are putting in and improving, but that only gets you so far. The skill gap between these sides is too large to ignore, and unless the Panthers playing group want to get rid of their coach they'll be winning this in a canter. Lock of the week...gamble responsibly.

Verdict – Panthers by 38

Result – Panthers 40 defeated Knights 0

Brisbane Broncos vs Canberra Raiders – Friday night – Suncorp Stadium

If the Bunnies and the Chooks hadn't been tackling each other for 120 years this would be the game of the round. The Broncos may have lost their last two games but there is no denying the quality of their effort. The Raiders were close to awful in their big loss to the Sharks, but were very good indeed in rounds one and three. Their golden point loss to the Cowboys in Townsville should hold up here, given that the Broncos lost to the Cowboys in golden point in Brisbane. I flagged Junior Paulo as the player to watch at the Raiders this year and it's nice to know I got one thing right. He is near enough to unstoppable and I'm so old he reminds me of big Sam Backo – potentially the prop forward of the year. Despite all my Paulo love I'm tipping the Broncos – they'll be a much more resilient opponent than what the Raiders faced in round three and I still have this lukewarm theory that the Raiders are a better team during the day. Looks like a belter of a game...unmissable.

Verdict – Broncos by 4

Result – Broncos 13 defeated Raiders 12

Manly Sea Eagles vs Canterbury Bulldogs – Saturday afternoon – Lottoland

I suppose the Sea Eagles will take some confidence away from that (somewhat) surprising win over the Cowboys last weekend (I almost tipped them dagnabbit). They will face a sterner test in the middle against the Bulldogs and I expect the visitors to dominate on that front (although the return of Martin Taupau does even up that forwards battle a little). One of the Morris brothers (Brett...probably) racks up NRL game number 200 on Saturday afternoon and both brothers will be keen to celebrate the milestone with a win. The hopeless romantic in me suggests backing Brett Morris to score a try at any time during this game at $1.91. Back the Bulldogs too. They may have lost two from three but both losses were narrow and the two teams that beat them are the only undefeated teams in the competition.

Verdict – Bulldogs by 8

Result – Sea Eagles 36 defeated Bulldogs 0

Parramatta Eels vs Cronulla Sharks – Saturday night – ANZ Stadium

The Eels jumped out of the gates against the Titans and all appeared to be going to plan...until it wasn't. Suddenly, as if by magic, they went cold, and the Titans triumphed. Clearly they missed Corey Norman, and I expect his return will see the Eels reclaim their earlier form. The Sharks aren't likely to submit to anyone easily, but I feel like they've come down quite a few notches from where they were at the tail end of last season. Note that Valentine Holmes returns on the wing, and Jack Bird retains the fullback role for now.

Verdict – Eels by 2

Result – Sharks 20 defeated Eels 6

Gold Coast Titans vs North Queensland Cowboys – Saturday night – Cbus Super Stadium

The Cowboys never looked like winning last weekend, but I'm tipping they'll bounce back here. I expect their forwards to respond in the only way forwards can. Any sort of platform for Thurston and Morgan and I think they'll expose those new combinations and the youngsters in that Titans backline. Given what happened against Manly you couldn't possibly tip the Cowboys with confidence, but I'm certainly tipping them..

Verdict – Cowboys by 10

Result – Cowboys 32 defeated Titans 26

Wests Tigers vs Melbourne Storm – Sunday afternoon – Leichhardt Oval

When I was younger so much younger than today, I was in a relationship with this girl. At the beginning it was all pretty exciting and fun. Then, after about 18 months, I started to get a feeling that she wasn't really making an effort for me anymore. She started farting on the couch and leaving the toilet seat up and coming up with ludicrous excuses not to do things we used to enjoy doing. I knew it was over before it was over. As Jason Taylor watched his stripey cats turnstiling their way around GIO Stadium last Sunday afternoon, he knew it was over too. He wouldn't have known it would come so quickly, but he would have known it was coming. Stay strong JT...we've all been there. There are any number of examples where teams have put it all together in their first performance after the coach is sacked, and that's just sticking the knife in surely. I don't think JT would want the boys to lose at Leichhardt this Sunday, but he wouldn't want them winning well either. Don't worry JT...it isn't going to happen.

Verdict – Storm by 8

Result – Storm 22 defeated Tigers 14

St George Illawarra Dragons vs New Zealand Warriors – Sunday afternoon – UOW Jubilee Oval

There are a couple of important inclusions in the Warriors list this weekend. One is Roger Tuivasa-Sheck who will almost certainly play. The other is Kieran Foran who almost certainly won't. Regardless I cannot possibly tip the Warriors, particularly over here, against a pack of forwards who will actually put in. If the Sharks couldn't get through the Red V last week the Warriors pack have Buckleys. The bookies can't split these two, but I can. Dragons...specials.

Verdict – Dragons by 10

Result – Dragons 26 defeated Warriors 12

Wally Lewis - round four selections (in bold)

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

• Rabbitohs vs ROOSTERS
• PANTHERS vs Knights
• BRONCOS vs Raiders
• Sea Eagles vs BULLDOGS
• EELS vs Sharks
• Titans vs COWBOYS
• Tigers vs STORM
• DRAGONS vs Warriors

Last one on the Couch competition

For those of you looking for the Coach Potato competition you can find it in the Lounge section of the website. Just click on 'The Lounge' tab at the top of the page, or you can find it here.