Tipping the Titans is akin to tipping the Warriors, or the Dragons of 2020. It'll be a hard time this week if the Titans could maintain the rage.

LOL, thanks for the reply thinker, i didn't expect even 3 digits so all good!
Your note as to the win ratio is interesting. Didn't realize the gap between the 2 best performing coaches was so large. I wonder if Bennett would ever come back to the Red V, i mean he is getting pretty old but then again he doesn't strike me as having a 'use by' date.

"They would have to pay a premium to convince them to come to the dragons". Yes, and the fact players are rejecting huge pay rises to join means who ever takes the job is going to have to work with the current roster.

Hey baggy congrats on round 4.

Yes there's going to be a long rebuilding phase i believe, so keeping the youth at the club is key - sailor, saab (who is still asking for a release), Blacker, Kerr.
Done! if you get the gig at dragons i'll be your advisor :)

Baggy
The Broncs certainly have the talent roster (except for a couple I won't name but you know who I mean) I know the Chooks are now favs to take out a third title but most of the Broncs seemed disinterested.
Are they all being paid too much and just don't care. A shake up is needed, and needed now.

The Butcher
If you took offence at my post, I'm sorry, after copping a 59-nil flogging I thought it was unkind to offer a minute by minute try scoring feast by your team and then "Broncos - no try" It was carnage but didn't think we needed our noses rubbed in it. I know where your post was aimed and should have stayed out of it, but I love my club.
Please keep posting as I enjoy them (well almost all of them).

Its the back up that beats them.

Sa-wat-dee krup,

Don’t normally post on Tuesday but what the heck, why not. I didn’t realise how hard it would be for me to “shorten” my comments (I can hear Mr Ashford laughing from all the way over here in the West). Took about 3 re-writes to get it down to what I have here and it’s still a bloody long read 🤪. OK, let’s get into it…

Manly vs. Broncos 65-35 @ Central Coast
Ladder Position = Manly
Bookies Favourite = Manly

Manly were down 12-2 at half-time and had a bit of work to do in the second. If not for that disallowed try in the 80th minute they would have scored an amazing win coming from 12-2 down at half-time. Unfortunately they seemed to have been “dudded” by that incorrect forward pass call. They were behind all game but fought back as they’re known to do. Like Des mentioned, if they hadn’t been so far behind they wouldn’t have had to work so hard and may have won that game. If you wanted to be harsh you could possibly say they only have themselves to blame. An Eels try in the last minute of the first half and another in the first minute of the second half is what I’m talking about. Yikes! They generally shared the stats last week as far as I could see with the exception that they missed less tackles (34-45) and made more tackle breaks (45-34).

The Broncos fans must be beside themselves. What is going on with these fellas? Unfortunately they repeated their effort from the previous outing against the Eels and were totally dominated by the Roosters, eventually recording their “worst game ever” losing 59-0. Biggest half-time deficit in club history. Biggest losing margin in club history. First time they failed to score any points whatsoever at Suncorp in club history. At least there’s only one way up from here 👍. I hate to say it (and no offense intended) but their effort was sorta soft. To make matters worse they had Jesse Arthars sin binned and while he was having a rest, the Roosters scored twice. The Broncos had a couple of chances to score … Corey Oates missing out on a try when Brett Morris tackled him out of touch and another when Brodie Croft chip kicked and Darius fluffed it. Truly a night the Broncos fans need to forget. Too many errors and penalties cost them dearly. Lack of possession (39%), completion rate of just 69%, 414 tackles made and 44 missed tackles suggests they have a little work to do but I’m pretty sure this will all be addressed and an improvement is just around the corner 🙏.

Verdict: Obviously I have to tip Manly here.

Warriors vs. Cowboys 35-65 @ Central Coast
Ladder Position = Cowboys
Bookies Favourite = Cowboys

The poor ol’ Warriors went from “heroes” to “zeroes” in the space of a week. Ugh! Yeah they did the Dragons 18-0 the week before but obviously the Panthers were tougher opposition and they found that out the hard way, eventually losing 26-0. The Warriors couldn’t replicate what they did in Round 3 and without enough possession (44-56) they had plenty of defending to do. They tried hard but looked too much like the Warriors of bygone days. Too many missed tackles (26-17) and ineffective tackles (29-10) cost them dearly. Poor running metres (1605-2223) and post contact metres (581-848) did as well.

The Cowboys tried hard last week but ended up losing to the Sharks 26-16. It took them 25 minutes before they scored and were only down by 6 at half-time. Even though they had 54% possession, a shocking completion rate of just 61% (25/41) certainly did not help. Neither did making twice as many errors as the Sharks (17-9). Unfortunately for the Cowboys, they were already missing the “wrecking ball” (JT) and lost Dunn and Asiata in the first half. All things considered, not that bad an effort. Get some bodies back and tidy up their play and they’re a chance.

Verdict: There’s a (very) faint whiff of an upset brewing but I’ll stick with the Cowboys.

Eels vs. Panthers 60-40 @ Bankwest
Ladder Position = Eels
Bookies Favourite = Eels

The Eels had a good first half and led Manly 12-2. They were outscored in the second 7-14 but held on for a controversial win 19-16. Can’t believe Moses told the ABC that the pass was "100% forward” and that he was happy the refs “got the right call”. Really? At least we now know the Eels are the real deal. Knocking off the current Manly side is “franking the form” as they say. A pretty good effort from the Eels overall. They basically shared the possession (51-49) but had more kicking metres (748-519) and more forced drop outs (3-0). They missed more tackles (45-34) and had less tackle breaks though (34-45).

The Panthers made up for their disappointment in the draw against the Knights by smashing the Warriors 26-0 last week. Matt Burton had a blinder, scoring two tries in the process. They kept the pressure on the Warriors for most of the game and things are looking a lot better for them (the Panthers that is) at the moment. They enjoyed 56% possession, ran 618 metres more than the Warriors, had more post contact metres (848-581), had less missed tackles (17-26) and had less ineffective tackles (10-29).

Verdict: As improved as they are, I just can’t see the Panthers getting up in this one. Baggy’s BOYS for me.

Rabbitohs vs. Titans 75-25 @ Bankwest
Ladder Position = Rabbitohs
Bookies Favourite = Rabbitohs

The Rabbitohs started well and had their chances but some poor defence at times wasn’t helping their cause. They had little passages of dominance here and there but those don’t win you games. I wouldn’t think they would be too happy with last week’s effort. Plenty of opportunities got missed and too many simple mistakes made. Having said that, I reckon they were slightly better (only just) than the Storm for most of the match. A better effort from Latrell Mitchell and Souths must be pleased at how he’s coming along. Their record in Melbourne is starting to blow out 🤔. They only managed 47% possession and 478 post contact metres but did manage more tackle breaks (45-18) and had less missed tackles (18-45).

A vast improvement from the Titans last week (who would have thought it). After being level at half-time (12-12), they hung in and managed to get up in the 78th minute courtesy of a great grubber from Kelly and a try from Sami to run out 28-23 winners over the Tigers. Finally the Titans and Ash Taylor have seemingly rediscovered their “mojo” and have registered their first win in a year. Woo-Hoo! A nice effort considering they were 10 points down with 25 minutes to go. Up and down stats-wise with more possession (54-46), less tackle breaks (22-38), more missed tackles (38-22) and less conceded penalties (1-4). Get working on the basics and they might win another one 😁.

Verdict: Unfortunately for the Titans, the Bunnies will have the “bounce back” factor working for them this weekend. Rabbitohs for me.

Knights vs. Storm 40-60 @ Central Coast
Ladder Position = Knights
Bookies Favourite = Storm

I bet I’m not the only one surprised with the Knights’ effort last week. They scored 3 tries to one in the first half and were leading 16-6 going into the sheds and ended up with a convincing 34-18 win over the Raiders last week. They were just too good for the Raiders in attack and defence and thoroughly deserved the win. Nice basic footy with Ponga and Best absolutely shining. Good efforts from Klemmer and Ese’ese as well. Except for possession (49-51), the Knights won most of the (important) stats. Line breaks (5-2), tackle breaks (33-21), offloads (10-3), bombs (13-5), missed tackles (21-33), ineffective tackles (6-22) and errors (7-13). Great win indeed.

The Storm managed to win last week, beating the Rabbitohs 22-8. The scoreline was a bit flattering though considering the Storm weren’t really that impressive. Cameron Munster on the other hand WAS impressive. Sometimes he can be "bordering" on grubby and he is definitely a pest at times but you can’t deny his talent. Take away his negatives and I love watching him play. That beautiful (freakish) tap in from Papenhuyzen in the second half was a joy to behold. I love this game 💪. Could’ve been anyone’s game had the Storm not scored those two tries in the last 15 minutes. The Storm struggled at times and didn’t look like the team of old. They’ll be happy with that win but will need to improve if they’re gonna be a chance here against a very good Knights outfit. A few things to be concerned about was their 45 missed tackles and only 18 tackle breaks. They did record 621 post contact metres though.

Verdict: Man this is a tough one. The way the Knights took care of the Raiders last week was impressive and the Storm were not that convincing. Did I mention this was a tough one? Got a bad feeling about this but I’ll tip the Storm here.

Tigers vs. Raiders 30-70 @ Campbelltown
Ladder Position = Raiders
Bookies Favourite = Raiders

The Tigers started well (just like they did the previous week against the Sharks) and everyone must’ve thought they were heading for an easy win. Unfortunately for them they didn’t count on the football gods throwing a spanner in the works. They might’ve thought they’d weathered the storm when they were up 23-22 (after Benji’s field goal) with about 4 minutes to go but then they get smacked by that freakish try from the Titans right at the end. Just like the Titans, stats were a bit up and down with less possession (46-54), more tackle breaks (38-22), less missed tackles (22-38) and more conceded penalties (4-1). Where to from here?

Boy oh boy, not many would’ve thought the Raiders would get rolled last week. Hard to believe the side who demolished the Storm the week before got beaten quite comfortably in the end, going down 34-18 to the Knights. They must’ve been wondering what the hell was going on after the Knights put two tries past them in the first 10 minutes of the game. With the exception of a brief period in the second half, the Raiders were pretty poor, especially their defence. Did they go into the game feeling a bit cocky I wonder? They had less line breaks (2-5), less tackle breaks (21-33), less offloads (3-10) and less bombs (5-13). They had more missed tackles (33-21), more ineffective tackles (22-6) and more errors (13-7). Not very good stats to say the least.

Verdict: Yeah, gotta go the Raiders here. They “should” come good. Let’s wait and see eh?

Bulldogs vs. Roosters 15-85 @ Bankwest
Ladder Position = Roosters
Bookies Favourite = Roosters

The Bulldogs just kept chipping away and ran out convincing 20 point winners over the Dragons last week 22-2. Seems the return of Foran had the desired effect. After a sloppy start the Dogs dominated possession for most of the first half and went on with it to score their first win of the season. They had more possession (55-45), more line breaks (3-1), made 93 less tackles (330-423), 7 less errors (8-15) and completed at 86%. Downsides were less tackle breaks (19-25) and more missed tackles (25-19).

The Roosters absolutely dominated (smashed) the Broncos last week and never let them into the game, running out massive 59-0 winners. The Roosters were lining up to score and had 9 individual try scorers. On the face of the last 2 weeks, it seems like they’re back in form. Great effort from Brett Morris filling in for Tedesco at fullback. The Roosters just had too much possession and made the Broncos look ordinary. Stats-wise a great night for the Roosters (obviously). Loads of possession (61-39), an adequate completion rate of 82%, ran for 2361 metres, 884 post contact metres and 10 line breaks. All in all a great showing.

Verdict: Really, you need to ask? Roosters of course. Begurk! 🐔 Begurk! 🐔

Dragons vs. Sharks 35-65 @ Campbelltown
Ladder Position = Sharks
Bookies Favourite = Sharks

And then there was one 😥. The Dragons started well but seemed to drop off and ended up losing last week (yesterday) against the Dogs 22-2. It goes without saying that there’s gonna be some tough questions asked and heads may very well roll. Two wins from their last 14 just ain’t cutting it I’m afraid. Feeling your pain DFB & Bubble. Another poor showing from the Dragons and further proof that teams that don’t score in the second half rarely win matches. They scored the first points with a Zac Lomax penalty goal after just 3 minutes but unfortunately for them there were no more points after that. Just don’t understand how a side with so much rep firepower cannot win a game. Beggars belief! Only encouraging signs stats-wise were that they had more tackle breaks (25-19) and less missed tackles (19-25). What was worrying was they had less possession (45-55), less line breaks (1-3), made 93 more tackles (423-330), had 7 more errors (15-8) and only completed at 71%. Certainly some work to do.

Despite the pre-game “temperature fail” drama, the Sharks finally opened their account for the year by beating the Cowboys 26-12 last week but had to work for it. The Cowboys applied some early pressure but the Sharks were first to score, albeit it took them 20 minutes to do so. Stats-wise they had less possession (46-54), less errors (9-17) but had more ineffective tackles (14-6).

Verdict: Based on what I’ve seen, I just can’t get on that Big Red V-train just yet. Sharks for me.

Let’s finish off with another “Song of the Week”…

This is truly joyous 💖 One of the best she’s ever done…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69fx7n-D_nU

OK kids, good luck with your tipping and may your team win by 40 points! Until next week people. Cheers.

Newbie
Another short analysis of our great game, yes you would have heard me chuckling over there in WA and I'm laughing again tonight. Do you suffer from RSI from all those keystrokes, hope not mate and keep it up.
Your Chooks are flying and no doubt you are happy. Ones to watch are Eels, Raiders, Manly & Storm. Sorry I can't include my Broncs, not yet.

Hello everyone, my tips for this week are:

Manly by 12 - The Broncos were horrible last week against the Roosters. Damn to loss 59-0 to them and suffer their biggest loss in their club's history is a tough pill to swallow. Along with the Dragons, the Broncos are the worst team at the moment and are under a heap of pressure as a club, their culture is in question and their young players are under so much pressure, not to mention the senior players for the Broncos too! I think that they'll have it tough again against a Manly side who were very unlucky last week in their loss to Parramatta. Even though they lost, they should have their heads held high Manly, they probably should've won that one against a quality team. I think they will definitely bounce back this week and will win comfortably here. Will we see improvement from the Broncos? I think only a little improvement, surely they can't get worse than last week! Great to see Benny Te'o back in the game by the way! We'll see how he goes for the Broncos.

Cowboys by 6 - The Cowboys lost last week to the Sharkies 26-16. Now they weren't absolutely poor in this one, but the Sharks were just too good in the end. The key for the Cowboys now is consistency, they have to work on their consistency week in, week out if they are going to be a top side this year, they have a quality side who have the potential to finish in the top 6 but will they? We'll find out! The Warriors on the other hand, came away empty handed after they kept the Dragons scoreless. Talk about a reverse turnaround. Keeping a team scoreless to being held scoreless the next week. I guess that is the Warriors at their best ;P. This week they have the Cowboys to contend with, as competitive as I think they could be on Friday night, it'll be the Cowboys we get the win. If Taumololo comes back, the Warriors can kiss the win goodbye for sure, he is most definitely a game changer that bloke.

Eels by 2 - This one should be a cracker. Two undefeated teams going at it in a wild west showdown. Yes please! The Eels were lucky to come away with the win last week but hey, a win is a win regardless and credit to the Eels where credit is due, they have started 4 and 0 in 2020 and are the only team with a 4-0 record so far this season! Impressive stuff indeed! The Panthers themselves are undefeated and have a draw under their belt as well. They will be buoyed with the return of Nathan Cleary this week which means that Burton who had a blinder last week is put on the bench. Interesting move to go with Luai at five-eighth over Burton. Then again, I guess there is that connection there with Luai and Cleary having played in the halves together already (please let me know if I'm mistaken). This one should get tight! But I'm going with the boys from Parramatta to get the win here at Bankwest. Mind you, the Panthers have defeated the Eels at Bankwest and were the first team to achieve that feat so you just never know an upset may be brewing here but it'll be the Eels who go 5-0 for the first time since 1986 for me.

Rabbitohs by 20 - Congratulations to the Titans for getting their first win since June of last year last week! Round of applause for them, I'm sure it was great to get that winning feeling back! A hard-fought 28-23 win over the Tigers have definitely done the Titans a world of good in terms of their confidence. But unfortunately for them I think that'll be short-lived. The Rabbitohs haven't been in the best of forms and will be desperate to bounce back here this week. I think they will and will smash the Titans in the process. The Rabbits do have some troops coming back with Cody Walker and Roberts both returning for the Bunnies this week. Wayne will be looking for a response from his boys and that's exactly what he is going to get here.

Storm by 8 - This will also be a cracker. A heavyweight showdown between the Knights and the Storm. The Knights are one of three teams who are undefeated and will be looking to take another victim this time the Storm and oh my what a victim that would be. Yes the Storm aren't at their clinical best yet but expect to get their soon and it could even be as soon as this game. I think the Storm will want to prove to Craig that they haven't slowed down this season compared to previous seasons and that they still have what it takes to be that clinical best team in the competition. What better way to prove that by beating the high-flying Knights. I reckon it would be cool to see the Knights beat the Storm but the Storm have had the wood over the Knights as a matter of fact beating them by convincing margins in the past 5 games these two have met. Expect a much closer game this time round. How good was Ponga though in his return! Absolute freakishly talented that guy is!

Raiders by 10 - The Raiders should bounce back here this week. Macguire has opted to go with a raft of changes this week. Will it work? I say no, I think that the Raiders will be too good here for the Tigers. The Raiders would want to send a message to the competition that the downfall is not going to go down and that they are still a force to be reckoned with in 2020. I still think that the Raiders can finish up there by season's end. Yes they had this hiccup now last week but how they go this week will be a good indication on whether or not it was only a hiccup or if they are on a downfall. Time will tell! I wish the Tigers the best of luck considering the changes made and I do hope that this is the wake up call they need.

Roosters by 30 - I could see a shellacking here! I know the Bulldogs smashed the Dragons last week but this week they have to contend with the Roosters and we all know what the Roosters done to the Broncos last week. If the Bulldogs are any chance of beating the Roosters, they have to be on their game just like last week (Monday technically but whatever), they have to probably be better than they were on Monday if they are going to beat the Chooks, especially if the Roosters are going to be on their game like last week. But surely it'll be the Chooks who get win number 3 in season 2020 and it will be a convincing win here. Something to note, Reimis Smith has been suspended and will be missing this game for the Bulldogs, expect Crichton (Christian that is) to come in for him, maybe a reshuffle in the backline? Who knows.

And finally... Sharks by 14 - *Sighs* Oh Dragons, Dragons, Dragons, Dragons! Where to from here, seriously! The St. George Illawarra Dragons have been in the centre of the news in the rugby league world because of one name, Paul "Mary" McGregor who has been the centre of attention. He could've been sacked yesterday morning but instead retains his position but for how long? How long does Mary have left? Will he only be around for 4 more weeks or will he see out his contract. A lot is resting on the next few games that's for sure. We can't go 0-6 and expect more uproar from not only us the fans but from many others in the rugby league world. We've got the Sharks this week and the Titans next week. ANnother two games that are winnable. But honestly what is winnable at this point for this club. Our last two performances we haven't even scored one try and we faced two weak sides in the Warriors and the Bulldogs. Absolutely pathetic! This club is in the worst state that it has ever been and being an absolute tragic it really hurts, it really does! I love the Dragons, I really do when we are going well, we are probably the best team to watch in the competition and nothing beats a packed Kogarah Oval or a packed WIN stadium to see our boys go well. As much as I love to reminiscent on our glory days especially right now! The reality is my mighty Dragons are in a massive hole at the moment and I really hope this club can fix it up sooner rather than later! This week we've got the local derby against the Sharks. The Sharks were good last week in their win over the Cowboys to get on the board in 2020. Unfortunately I can see the Sharks winning and they can easily win well here, especially if the Dragons don't find a way to actually play some football. Our boys just need to enjoy our footy, but unfortunately we aren't at the moment, we are too structured and structure isn't the style of footy anymore. I really deeply hope the boys can find a way to win on Sunday but I just cannot go with my team in this one and I'm going with the boys from Cronulla in this one. :(

Awesome. Good luck with everyone's teams for this week and with everyone's tips for this week. Cheers and enjoy the rest of your week everyone!!!!!

Hey Tigerholic they haven't called for women and children to abandon ship yet at Leichhardt don't you look silly in your tiger pajamas floating out there in the dark with the life boats still coming down.
Get a big set of horns and practice the vikings clap you buffoon.

Hello everyone, here are my guesses for round 5:
Eagles
Cowboys
Eels
Rabbits
Knights
Raiders
Roosters
Sharks
Good luck to everyone for this round, manyana.

Hi JKBubble,

No, you are not able to change your pick online on Thinker's website after the show/hide tipping entry form is taken off - usually around the 7.00 - 7.30pm mark before the first game starts for the new round.

Cheers,
Mary

Mark,my broncos have disappointed me the last few weeks. It seems the rule changes have not been accepted by the play makers. It seems that Boyd and Milford just don't want to be there.
I didn't tip them last week and again tonight. It just seems their heart is not in it.

Well at least the Broncs won't have a zero next to their name tonight.
They look like a different team.

Good job Ryan, hang tough.

Where has this Broncs team been for the past two weeks.
Sure some big names are back but Manly are worthy opponents.
Darrius scores a long awaited try, go the Broncs.

Hi Baggy & teraflare,

If you tune in here at half time, from this amazing Broncos turnaround, you haven't, as yet, submitted your pick for 'a's 3 strike comp!

Cheers,
Mary

Can anyone tell me why Boyd's last try was disallowed?
Cherry Evans grabbed Cory Oates and started wrestling with him.
Oates in no way stopped Evans making a tackle on Boyd who wouldn't have stopped him anyway. Another ref blunder.

Thats the square up from last week Mark.

Morning Folks
I just want to say that the Broncos were a much improved team last night although Manly were off their game in the first half.

Broncos should have been able to hold that 18-0 lead with the experience of Boyd and Milford and Oates.

Bronco fans can be a little happier overall with that effort, they will get it right soon. Rocket you need to get back on here to support Mark and the other Broncos tragics.

Have a great Friday folks.

Well said Rocket

Cheerie-Evans is in line to receive a Grammy Award for that piece of acting. He grabbed Oates and knew that he would receive the penalty.

Klein for me would have to be one of the worst refs going around.

How are you going Christine?

Tiger

@dumb
Your spot on with most of your assumptions the Broncos were a lot better obviously as they couldn’t get any worse but giving up an 18 point lead is good enough, Don’t worry about the Oates call ,passing the ball after called held is a great call by Klein too often they get away with it because of crowd noise well you can’t use that excuse now
@ Dumber
The coach doesn’t give away dumb penalties...the players do
The only people that think the ref is piss poor is the team that loses
For a team you support you seem to tip against them quite often?
Enjoy the rest of the footy
Tata.

Thanks Dumber love you too x