Melbourne Storm vs Brisbane Broncos – Thursday night – AAMI Park

The Storm have named Jesse Bromwich on an extended bench – he must be a quick healer. I would urge the Broncos forwards to avoid making contact with the bones poking out of his body. Also back, after a slightly longer break from the game, is Billy Slater. He reclaims his number one jersey, Munster moves back into the halves while Riley Jacks and Young Tonumaipea will probably have to wait for another day. In a competition that is so darn unpredictable, I take some comfort from knowing what I'm going to get with the purple machine. Undefeated thus far after two away games in atrocious conditions, they continue on in their relentless pursuit of rugby league perfection. Some may say they are bored by the way they play, but by gee by jingo by crikey it's successful. The Broncos back up from another epic golden point encounter with the Cowboys. They have a short turnaround and one of the hardest road trips in town. I have to single out two Broncos from last week – Ben Hunt showed us how good he can be and Sam Thaiday played the full 87 minutes and looks ten years younger. He must be on the Corey Parker diet. The Storm return home and they don't lose their first home game of the season very often – they do like to remind the people of Melbourne that they have a very good NRL team before the AFL takes over the town like some hideous pandemic. It's the game of the round.

Verdict – Storm by 7

Result – Storm 14 defeated Broncos 12

Canterbury Bulldogs vs New Zealand Warriors – Friday night – Forsyth Barr Stadium

Note the locations tipsters – this is the home game the Bulldogs take to New Zealand so they can come fly home with a briefcase full of crisp non-sequential fifty dollar notes. They often get the two points too, despite the travel. For those of you that aren't Super Rugby fans (and there are many of us), Forsyth Barr is the home of the Highlanders in Dunedin. It's an interesting stadium, and that's a good thing too because it usually plays host to Super Rugby matches (take note that I'm planning to have a dig at every other sport on the planet this week...two down). For reasons unknown the Bulldogs are rank outsiders on Friday night. They have lost Hopoate and Holland with injuries but they bring a big and willing forward pack, a pair of halves that have to prove themselves and enough Morris brothers to fill a......Mini Morris. The fullback for the Dogs, Brad Abbey, is a former Warrior who sought a release from them when they signed Tuivasa-Sheck. He'll be keen to prove himself. Marcelo Montoya gets a start on the wing. It's a name that wouldn't be out of place on Channel V or Rage but in reality he's a promising young Fijian and a great finisher. If there's one thing this game can do it's unearth a promising Fijian winger. Good luck son. The Warriors just beat the Knights and never looked likely against the Storm. Granted this game is in New Zealand, but the Warriors have a pretty ordinary record when they head out on tour in their native land. The Dogs competed in a high quality game in round two and I'm tipping an upset. $2.70 looks generous to me if such things interest you. 

Verdict – Bulldogs by 4

Result – Bulldogs 24 defeated Warriors 12

Gold Coast Titans vs Parramatta Eels – Friday night – Cbus Super Stadium

When Channel Nine claimed this for their Friday night timeslot they were banking on Jarryd Hayne taking on his old club – but it's not to be. To make matters worse Corey Norman is out with a hamstring issue. Jeff Robson steps into the halves in lieu of Norman, and while he doesn't have the speed or the brilliance (or the looks according to Ms Thinker), he does bring a steady hand and a wise old (unattractive) head. Providing he can give his backs enough opportunities there's enough finishing power out wide for the Eels to get the job done. The Titans won't relent easily – that loss to the Knights would hurt even though circumstances were against them on the day. They'll try, but they'll fall short.

Verdict – Eels by 8

Result – Titans 26 defeated Eels 14

Newcastle Knights vs South Sydney Rabbitohs – Saturday afternoon – McDonald Jones Stadium

Well blow me down with a feather – the Knights have won their first game in 300 and something days. Good for them I say, and may they celebrate like it's 2001. Clearly they are getting better but the stars did align for them in round two – round three may be more of a horrorscope. The Bunnies proved they could still compete in a post-Inglis world and they're unlikely to take their opponent lightly.

Verdict – Rabbitohs by 16

Result – Rabbitohs 24 defeated Knights 18

Penrith Panthers vs Sydney Roosters – Saturday night – Pepper Stadium

If Channel Nine could swap their Friday night game I suspect they'd ask for this one. The Panthers bounced back in the best way possible with a demolition job on the other cats while the Roosters are undefeated after two solid performances. I'm leaning to the Panthers in their first home game of the season – given I've tipped them to win the premiership this season I naturally think they have a little more upside in them than the tricolours. The absence of Blake Ferguson gives me a little more confidence too – that does take some of the firepower out of that backline. Take note also that the Panthers have named Hiku and Zelezniak on their extended bench. The weather in Sydney is a little bleak of late and that may take some of the shine off this contest – in any case this is one of the must see contests this weekend.

Verdict – Panthers by 2

Result – Roosters 14 defeated Panthers 12

North Queensland Cowboys vs Manly Sea Eagles – Saturday night – 1300SMILES Stadium

The Cowboys are without Matt Scott, Jason Taumalolo, Lachlan Coote and Antonio Winterstein on Saturday night – yet they remain a $1.25 favourite to beat the Sea Eagles. That's hardly a ringing endorsement for the Sea Eagles. I accept they were pretty awful against the Bunnies, but their narrow loss to the Eels in round one had merit. If I could add Martin Taupau to the Sea Eagles pack I'd be tipping them. I still think they can win, and I will disclaim that I have backed them with 11.5 points start at $1.91 (gamble responsibly), but the Cowboys have players in their deck who just know how to win. They're on track for 26 consecutive golden point victories this season and it wouldn't surprise me if this went beyond 80 minutes also. The Cowboys...but only just.

Verdict – Cowboys by 1

Result – Sea Eagles 30 defeated Cowboys 8

Canberra Raiders vs Wests Tigers – Sunday afternoon – GIO Stadium

Hey Dave Taylor is a big man. Never one to be late. Explains complex ideas in his brain.

He just wanders around, unaffected by, the winter winds, yeah. He'll pretend that, he's somewhere else, so far and clear, about two thousand miles from here.

Canberra coach Ricky Stuart was disappointed with the Raiders poor choices, silly errors and poor handling last weekend, and he's addressed that by bringing big Dave Taylor into the seventeen. Sheesus McSneezuz, I think Ricky has finally lost his gourd. Despite this rather baffling selection, I expect the Raiders will regroup and give their fans at home a better performance this week. That said, the Tigers at $2.94 for this game seems an over-reaction. Was their loss to the Panthers poorer than the Raiders loss to the Sharks? Anyhoo, I'm here to tip a winner and it's the green machine to bounce back at home. Total points overs folks...these two sides will rack up about 70 points in the capital on Sunday afternoon.

Verdict – Raiders by 4

Result – Raiders 46 defeated Tigers 6

Cronulla Sharks vs St George Illawarra Dragons – Sunday afternoon – Southern Cross Group Stadium

As far as local derbies go this is one of the biggies. I don't want to say these sides hate each other, but they definitely don't send each other Christmas cards. To borrow a phrase from the great Steve Roach – forwards determine who wins the game and the backs determine by how much. This forwards battle looks delicious, and I'm giving the Sharks a very slight edge because they'll have a big home crowd pushing them on. While the Dragons attack is showing signs of life, the Sharks are racking up 42 points against the Raiders. They may even give Valentine Holmes a run on Sunday. Worth watching.

Verdict – Sharks by 10

Result – Dragons 16 defeated Sharks 10

Wally Lewis - round three selections (in bold)

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

• STORM vs Broncos
• Bulldogs vs WARRIORS
• Titans vs EELS
• Knights vs RABBITOHS
• PANTHERS vs Roosters
• COWBOYS vs Sea Eagles
• RAIDERS vs Tigers
• SHARKS vs Dragons

Last one on the Couch competition

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