Canterbury Bulldogs vs South Sydney Rabbitohs – Friday afternoon – ANZ Stadium

Note the 4pm kick-off on Good Friday folks – this game has a habit of sneaking up on me (and starting without me...rude). Both sides head into this game off the back of last round victories, although the strength of the opposition is questionable in both cases. In some ways these two clubs have similar issues – both have big forward packs but lack the creative playmakers to capitalise. Adam Reynolds has a very reliable kicking game but it's almost too reliable – there's not a lot of X factor in his play. While they got the win against an under-strength Panthers they only just got there. All too often they seemed hellbent on going around the Panthers. Now perhaps they were playing to a game plan, and they did win, but a repeat of that style is just too predictable to get past the Bulldogs. Cody Walker though, did show some flourishes so perhaps the Bunnies have a work in progress there. Having criticised the team in the red and the green the Bulldogs attack doesn't have me salivating either. All the interest (for me) lies in the battle of the forwards. The winner on that front wins the game, and I do lke that Bulldogs engine room. The other Reynolds (Josh) to score the match-winner.

Verdict – Bulldogs by 6

Result – Bulldogs 24 defeated Rabbitohs 9

Newcastle Knights vs Sydney Roosters – Friday night – McDonald Jones Stadium

The Knights continue to compete but winning seems a bridge too far. Their only win this year was against the Titans when just about everything went wrong for their opponent. Plenty went wrong for the Chooks in round five – their defence was barely there against the Broncos, but you would expect their coaching staff to focus us on that in the lead up to this clash. There's certainly nothing wrong with the Roosters attack, so that should click into gear at some point during the 80 minutes. My gut feel – a low scoring first half and the tricolours class with the ball to shine brightly in the last quarter of the game.

Verdict – Roosters by 14

Result – Roosters 24 defeated Knights 6

Brisbane Broncos vs Gold Coast Titans – Friday night – Suncorp Stadium

I'm having one bet this weekend, and it's a slightly unusual one – I'm backing the Titans with a 16.5 point start at $1.53. While I expect the Broncos to prevail I've a sneaky feeling the Titans are going to pull a competitive effort out of their collective rear ends on Good Friday. Peats and McQueen are back for the Titans, and there's a few ex-Broncos in that Titans line-up (Taylor, Copley and Wallace) who will give their all. The Broncos are without Ben Hunt, and I'm not entirely convinced that the Broncos playmaking duo of Milford and Nikorima will work. I have to go with the Broncos on class alone, but don't let me talk you out of tipping an upset here.

Verdict – Broncos by 4

Result – Broncos 24 defeated Titans 22

Manly Sea Eagles vs Melbourne Storm – Saturday afternoon – Lottoland

Unfortunately for the Sea Eagles the Storm don't lose two games in a row very often. The last time that happened was in 2015 in rounds 14 and 15 during the Origin period of the season. Note that Munster and Bromwich (Jesse) have been named on an extended bench but it would be a surprise if either are playing this weekend. The Storm played in atrocious conditions in their round five loss and if there's one team you don't want to face in the wet it's the Sharks. They'll be back near their best this weekend. The Sea Eagles were surprisingly awful against the Dragons. Let's hope that was a one-off rather than an indication of where their season is heading. Both sides take to this game with under-strength forward packs but Bellamy will give the purple forwards a simple game plan and the best brains in the business will win the game from there..

Verdict – Storm by 8

Result – Storm 30 defeated Sea Eagles 26

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

While most of the teams I had pencilled in for greatness in 2017 are letting me down, the Raiders are starting to look like the side we all hoped they could be. Competitive losses against the better sides and dominant victories over the poorer sides sees them sitting on the cusp of the top four. Meanwhile the Warriors are on the cusp of the top eight after successive victories at Mt Smart. Their challenge now, as it always has been, is to win a game in Australia. They haven't done that in season 2017 thus far, and I'm not enthused about them breaking their duck in Canberra.

Verdict – Raiders by 10

Result – Raiders 20 defeated Warriors 8

St George Illawarra Dragons vs North Queensland Cowboys – Saturday night – WIN Stadium

Few if any would have thought the Dragons would be on the top of the NRL ladder at any point this season. Five wins from six starts and a very healthy points differential – this is a side that is putting opponents to the sword. To think their coach was expected to come under a ton of scrutiny this season but the critics have put their mouths in their pockets for now. There's no reason to doubt them this weekend either – playing at home against a team without their co-captains and their first-choice fullback and hooker. It's hard to measure how much Thurston is worth to the fortunes of the Cowboys but the short answer is 'heaps'. The Dragons have racked up 89 points in the last three rounds while conceding just 28, and they've done that against teams that have been beating other teams. I'm expecting more of the same.

Verdict – Dragons by 16

Result – Dragons 28 defeated Cowboys 22

Penrith Panthers vs Cronulla Sharks – Sunday afternoon – Pepper Stadium

In round five the Storm beat the Panthers 28-6. In round six the Sharks beat the Storm in Melbourne 11-2. In round seven the Sharks face the Panthers, and the Panthers are the favourites. Granted the Panthers have most of their first grade squad returning on Sunday afternoon, but are we to assume they can just turn on a good performance like a tap? We haven't seen much of that thus far. The Panthers haven't beaten a good side yet this year and the Sharks are heading west with their best seventeen. To borrow a phrase from the great Phil Gould (before he starts borrowing some of mine) – what am I missing here?

Verdict – Sharks by 4

Result – Sharks 28 defeated Panthers 2

Parramatta Eels vs Wests Tigers – Monday afternoon – ANZ Stadium

Here's another game where I feel like the market has it wrong. The Eels have lost four games in a row and, to be frank, haven't looked like winning. The Tigers competed well against the Storm two weeks ago and then followed that up under the new coach with a surprise victory over the Cowboys in Townsville. Those two performances tell me the effort is there. Mitchell Moses gets to prove he is serious about putting in for the Tigers this season against his next club. Even if Tedesco and Woods are going somewhere else they'd want to show their next club how good they are. And given the neutral venue the Eels don't even get any home ground advantage. I'm wrong occasionally and I'll probably be wrong here too, but the Tigers for me in what is apparently an upset.

Verdict – Tigers by 4

Result – Eels 26 defeated Tigers 22

Wally Lewis - round seven selections (in bold)

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

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

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.