Penrith Panthers vs Manly Sea Eagles – Thursday night – BlueBet Stadium

A terrific way to start the season, with what is clearly the game of the round. The 2021 premiers start their 2022 campaign at home on what could be a pretty heavy surface (given the rain expected today - Tuesday). As a rule, I try not to pay too much attention to trial form before the season. That said, it's hard to ignore the Panthers 36-0 loss to the Eels at this venue in wet weather late last month. The Sea Eagles lost narrowly to the Raiders at Gosford but did lose a few to injuries in the process. The injury to Haumole Olakau’atu is a significant blow - I had him pencilled in as a breakout star this season so I wish him a speedy recovery. With Olakau’atu unavailable, I have the Panthers with an edge in the forwards. Should that happen, it's likely that Cleary, Luai and Koroisau can get the job done with ball in hand.

Tipsters take note: Cleary has now been ruled out and is likely to miss the first three weeks of the season. I stick with my picks and my previews even when major team changes happen after I've published, but in case you didn't know about Cleary...now you do :-)

Verdict – Panthers by 7

Result – Panthers 28 defeated Sea Eagles 6

Canberra Raiders vs Cronulla Sharks – Friday night – GIO Stadium

There are always a few tell-tale signs that the NRL season is about to begin - journos start taking punts on which coach will get sacked first and writing stories about naughty things footballers have done that we had mostly forgotten about, I can hear the Broncos tackling each other properly at training and they play a lot less basketball, and Ricky Stuart starts complaining about something in his particularly colourful way. Sometimes it's because he has a point, but every time it's about galvanising his squad and creating an 'Us versus Them' mindset among the playing group...and it works. Youngster Brad Schneider is likely to start in the number 7 jersey, and I have to be honest with you all - I haven't seen the kid play. He's a product of Kirwan High up in Townsville which is a proper rugby league school - he was team captain when Kirwan High won the NRL Schoolboy Cup final in 2019, so we can safely assume he knows his way around the paddock. Clearly this is a step up, and his counterpart (Nicho Hynes) is no slouch with the pill, but he's got smart and experienced players around him and that will ease the pressure. The Clap is back, and I'm tipping the Raiders to get the points.

Verdict – Raiders by 4

Result – Raiders 24 defeated Sharks 19

Brisbane Broncos vs South Sydney Rabbitohs – Friday night – Suncorp Stadium

Some of the wind has been taken out of the sails here, with Adam Reynolds isolating and unavailable. In any case there will be a healthy crowd in place, and Daryl Braithwaite will be patching up his voicebox and warming them up before the game. With Reynolds out, the Broncos coach has brought in his own son to fill the void alongside Albert Kelly in the halves. Isaako takes over the goal-kicking, so no real harm there. These sides played each other at Suncorp Stadium twice last year and the Rabbitohs won both in a canter (35-6 and 46-0). I'm sure the Broncos are improving, but have they improved enough? I'm hopeful (because it's a better competition when the Broncos are competitive), but I'm doubtful. That's the way it's gonna be little darling.

Verdict – Rabbitohs by 10

​​​​​​​Result – Broncos 11 defeated Rabbitohs 4

Sydney Roosters vs Newcastle Knights – Saturday afternoon – Sydney Cricket Ground

Forgive the early crow - the Roosters best seventeen, should they stay fit, will win the premiership this year. It's a silly crow of course, because no team gets through a season without injuries, but if you take a look at the side they have named in round one, and note that they have Verrills and Suaalii still to return...it's quite the squad. Walker will be bigger, stronger and fitter after a season with the big kids and he'll have Luke Keary alongside him. The Knights often start the season strongly so I expect this will be a genuine contest, but the Chooks look strong.

Verdict – Roosters by 8

​​​​​​​Result – Knights 20 defeated Roosters 6

New Zealand Warriors vs St George Illawarra Dragons – Saturday night – Sunshine Coast Stadium

For a few years now, most Australians have hardly been able to leave home. The Warriors have hardly been able to go home. Even though much of the eastern seaboard is a disaster zone, the Warriors are still stuck here, and the season will be two-thirds over before they play their first game in New Zealand. This home game is on the Sunshine Coast, which isn't even their home away from home, but it will have to do, and I expect there will be a fair smattering of expat Kiwis in the crowd. As for the Dragons, the last game they won was by a single point way back in round 16 last season. The team they beat was, you guessed it, the Warriors. Unfortunately they celebrated that victory in a way they shouldn't have. If they win this one, I would hope the Dragons coach will put the whole squad on a very short leash after full-time. I'm not tipping them anyway, and I genuinely hope the return of Shaun Johnson to the Warriors is a successful move.

Verdict – Warriors by 2

​​​​​​​Result – Dragons 28 defeated Warriors 16

Wests Tigers vs Melbourne Storm – Saturday night – CommBank Stadium

The Tigers have named five captains this season - two of them aren't available in round one, so that should simplify things a little in this game. James Tamou is suspended for a week and Adam Doueihi could be some time before his knee is ready for football. The Storm don't usually lose the first game of the season, but they will be tested this year. Munster and Grant are suspended and Papenhuyzen is resting an ankle. That means the Storm have Tyran Wishart, Jayden Nikorima and Nick Meaney in key positions. It's a challenge, but that Storm forward pack is about as good as it gets and you just have to trust Bellamy to find a way with the troops he has. Fun fact - Tyran is the son of Steelers great Rod Wishart.

Verdict – Storm by 4

​​​​​​​Result – Storm 26 defeated Tigers 16

Parramatta Eels vs Gold Coast Titans – Sunday afternoon – CommBank Stadium

I mentioned earlier that I try not to pay attention to form from the pre-season trials, but when a team beats the defending premiers 36-0 in the rain you can't just ignore it. Further to that, the Eels almost always start the season like world beaters. If the grand final was held in April they'd be competing in it almost every year. The Titans have one of the most exciting spines in the NRL but they are also one of the youngest. Clark (24), Brimson (23), Sexton (21) and Campbell (22) all look like genuine long-term first graders (at least). I have finals hopes for the Titans this season, but it may take a few weeks before we see these young guns at their best. Given all the rain in Sydney its going to be heavy underfoot, and that should assist the home side more than the visitors. A really interesting game of football though. Get your couch ready.

Verdict – Eels by 8

​​​​​​​Result – Eels 32 defeated Titans 28

North Queensland Cowboys vs Canterbury Bulldogs – Sunday afternoon – Queensland Country Bank Stadium

Has anyone else noticed the weather Townsville has been copping for the last week - high 30s every days, barely getting under 30 overnight and humidity that will melt your face away. This sort of weather often spells trouble for visiting teams from the southern states. They will struggle in the conditions I am sure, but the Cowboys have been struggling with it for a week. I fear the home team could be exhausted before they even take to the field. To make it worse it's a 5.15pm kick-off, so it will still be brutally warm. I'm leaning slightly to the home side who have been training in these conditions at least. The inclusion of Taumalolo helps too, but no confidence here. 

Verdict – Cowboys by 2

​​​​​​​Result – Bulldogs 6 defeated Cowboys 4

Wally Lewis - round one selections (in bold)

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

• Panthers vs SEA EAGLES
• Raiders vs SHARKS
• Broncos vs RABBITOHS
• ROOSTERS vs Knights
• Warriors vs DRAGONS
• Tigers vs STORM
• EELS vs Titans
• COWBOYS vs Bulldogs