St George Illawarra Dragons vs Cronulla Sharks – Thursday night – WIN Stadium, Wollongong

One of those proper local derbies, but I doubt the PM will be there with his magic fingers to help the Sharkies over the line. Even without the mystical forces of Scomo willing them on, I'm happy to pick the Sharks in this. The Moylan/Hynes combo in the halves hasn't quite clicked yet, but at some point Moylan should work out what he's meant to be doing out there. Their forwards are a nice blend of hard-working trenchermen and brutal blocks of angry granite. The Sharks beat the Dragons twice in 2021, and while the Dragons are on the improve, you could argue that the Sharks are too. Also, there's that whole Burgess situation to unsettle the Red V just two days before the game.

Verdict – Sharks by 2

Result – Sharks 36 defeated Dragons 12

Wests Tigers vs New Zealand Warriors – Friday night – Campbelltown Sports Stadium

When I heard that the Murdoch papers had some big scoop on some awful behaviour from the Wests Tigers on the eve of their game against the Knights last weekend, I feared the worst. In reality, two of their players walked three minutes from their hotel to play the pokies and not drink anything until 10 o'clock at night. Then they walked for three minutes back to their hotel, and had just enough time to get some rest before they played football some seventeen hours later. Scandalous!!! I'm not much of a pokies fan myself, but given that most of the NRL clubs would go broke without them it seems silly to criticise their behaviour. Needless to say the Tigers were poor against the Knights, hence the pokies criticism I guess. There's also talk that Luke Brooks isn't happy, and there may be some truth in that given he asked for a release from the club in the off season. James Tamou and Jacob Liddle return while Jackson Hastings is suspended until round six. For the Warriors, Kodi Nikorima replaces Ash Taylor in the halves. I don't mind that change. In a game where points could be freely scored (weather permitting), I'll back the Warriors attack to score a few more. 

Verdict – Warriors by 4

Result – Warriors 16 defeated Tigers 12

South Sydney Rabbitohs vs Sydney Roosters – Friday night – Accor Stadium

It's still, I think, the biggest and most important rivalry in the game. This will be the first time these sides meet since Latrell Mitchell caught Joey Manu high and changed the shape of his skull. Both players line up on Friday night, and it's all just another chapter for 'The Book of Feuds'. The Bunnies are yet to win a game this season but you just know they'll be up for it. It's also their first home game (and first game in Sydney) which can't hurt. They created enough chances against the Storm to win comfortably but couldn't quite find the player or the line when they needed to. I expect they'll improve, and Walker and Mitchell will keep getting fitter each week. For the Chooks, there was marked improvement from round 1 to round 2, particularly from their spine. They also had an opportunity to play some wet weather football last week, and there's a fair chance they'll be working in similar conditions here. I'd be surprised if this game doesn't go down to the wire. Roosters...just

Verdict – Roosters by 2

​​​​​​​Result – Rabbitohs 28 defeated Roosters 16

Penrith Panthers vs Newcastle Knights – Saturday afternoon – Carrington Park, Bathurst

First plays second in a contest between two sides who are yet to taste defeat in 2022. To be fair, the Panthers have barely tasted defeat in years. They're also winning without Nathan Cleary, so it's hard not to be impressed. He's edging closer to a return, but it won't be this week. Note that the Panthers have lost Brian To'o for quite some time, and there has to be considerable doubt over Fisher-Harris playing (although he has been named to start). With Leota also unavailable for a couple of months, the Panthers are going to start missing these players that give them so much field position through brute force. The Knights often start the year well. They won last week without Ponga at fullback, and even though their opponents were poor I was impressed with what I saw. They're probably rank outsiders, but I think they can pull this off.

Verdict – Knights by 4

​​​​​​​Result – Panthers 38 defeated Knights 20

Melbourne Storm vs Parramatta Eels – Saturday night – AAMI Park

I was leaning ever so slightly to the Storm in this, if only because of their relentless consistency and winning strike rate, particularly at home. But the withdrawal of Harry Grant (COVID protocols) has sent me over the edge. So here I am, tipping against the Storm in Melbourne. It's the tipping equivalent of pushing a medicine ball up a sand dune with a pair of chopsticks but look at me, tipping like a goose. The last 20 minutes of the round two game between the Storm and the Rabbitohs was some of the maddest sport I've ever seen. The Storm found a way to win, as they tend to do, but without Grant, Brandon Smith and Christian Welch I think they're vulnerable. Look at me, calling the Storm vulnerable. When will I learn?

Verdict – Eels by 1

​​​​​​​Result – Eels 28 defeated Storm 24

Canberra Raiders vs Gold Coast Titans – Saturday night – GIO Stadium

The Raiders were sub-par against the Cowboys, but they did have to strap a bunch of cats together to name a backline for that game. This weekend they welcome back Cotric, Rapana and Schneider, so they should be a lot less cat-like. They need to be though, because the Titans look like a team on the ascendancy. I still think they'll be playing finals football this year.

Verdict – Titans by 8

​​​​​​​Result – Raiders 24 defeated Titans 22

Brisbane Broncos vs North Queensland Cowboys – Sunday afternoon – Suncorp Stadium

Since an epic grand final back in 2015, these two clubs had been on a steady decline, and for the last two seasons they've been battling each other to avoid the wooden spoon. It's been an ugly couple of years. Finally, there are some green shoots emerging for both clubs, and in both cases it's taken the recruitment of an experienced halfback to turn things around. Chad Townsend (Cowboys) and Adam Reynolds (Broncos) are both well-paid for what they do, but they understood why they are there and they are delivering. Both bring experience and intelligence to clubs that really needed it. Perhaps even more importantly, they're both good people, and the youngsters at both clubs will be better people for working alongside them. These clubs leaked more than 1400 points combined last season and this year their defence has been miserly - so they've come a long way. As a guide to this contest, both sides have played the Bulldogs already this year, with the Cowboys losing by 2 points in Townsville while the Broncos won by 6 in Sydney. That would suggest the Broncos have a slight edge, but the round two Cowboys were much better than they were in round one. In a rare Sunday afternoon timeslot for the Broncos at home I'd be surprised if we don't have a crowd of 40000+ for this game. There will be plenty of support for the Cowboys at the ground, but the weight of support will be behind the Broncos. It will help, and I'll back the Reynolds kicking game to get the Broncos home in his first game for the club at Lang Park. There's a bunch of games you should be watching in round three, and this is definitely one of them

Verdict – Broncos by 7

​​​​​​​Result – Cowboys 38 defeated Broncos 12

Manly Sea Eagles vs Canterbury Bulldogs – Sunday afternoon – 4 Pines Park

Manly coach Des Hasler isn't panicking. He's named the same seventeen as last week, and Des would know better than you or I if he needs to make changes. Last year the Sea Eagles lost their first four games of the year, then they went on a bit of a tear and looked like world-beaters, so they've been through this before. Importantly, their first two games of the season were away from home and against premiership heavyweights, so this should be a little easier. They've also had two more days than the Bulldogs to prepare for this game. At some point they're likely to fire up the after-burners and show us all they are still a force in this competition. A Sunday afternoon at Brookie seems the right setting for such a show.

Verdict – Sea Eagles by 8

​​​​​​​Result – Sea Eagles 13 defeated Bulldogs 12

Wally Lewis - round three selections (in bold)

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

• Dragons vs SHARKS
• Tigers vs WARRIORS
• Rabbitohs vs ROOSTERS
• PANTHERS vs Knights
• STORM vs Eels
• Raiders vs TITANS
• BRONCOS vs Cowboys
• SEA EAGLES vs Bulldogs